notion : Technofeminism
Technofeminism
"An emerging technofeminism conceives of a mutually shaping relationship between gender and technology, in which technology is both a source and a consequence of gender relations. In other words, gender relations can be thought of as materialized in technology, and masculinity and femininity in turn acquire their meaning and character through their enrolment and embeddedness in working machines. Such an approach shares the constructivist conception of technology as a sociotechnical network, and recognizes the need to integrate the material, discursive and social elements of technoscientific practice. [...] What has been missing from much of the debate about getting women into technoscience is that their under-representation profoundly affects how the world is made. Every aspect of our lives is touched by sociotechnical systems, and unless women are in the engine-rooms of technological production, we cannot get our hands on the levers of power. This is the insight that technofeminism brings to these debates. I believe that there is room for an effective politics around gaining access to technoscientific work and institutions. There are opportunities for disruption. [...] Technofeminism is grounded in the understanding that only we can free ourselves. This makes a feminist politics both possible and necessary. Feminist politics has made a difference, and we can build upon the difference it has made. We do not live in a world that is post-feminist, but we do live in a world that feminism has shaped and will continue to shape." (Wajcman, 2004)