CYBER FEM

         As time continues to move forward, people work tirelessly to innovate, increase, and invent. With new inventions and possibilities, previously non-existent social situations arise. The world-wide web is an example of a relatively new phenomenon that has only existed for approximately twenty years (scientificamerican.com, 2009). In this new frontier, breakthroughs have occurred and moral compasses have been pushed to the extreme; we are able to communicate ideas and important information easily, but we are also exposed to desensitizing imagery. The internet has created a space for human beings to interact with each other at will, and as some may say, free of any social norms or rules. As it is made increasingly effortless to peer into the lives of our friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and individuals whom we do not formally know, it is important to examine how our roles online differ from our roles in “real life,” or the day-to-day, face-to-face, tangible world. This piece aims to discuss the role of gender and sexuality, and more specifically feminism, within the massive arena of the world-wide web and how acceptance of behavior online may differ from its acceptance in the tangible world.

       The birth of the internet, combined with the dawn of the new millennium, created a social climate change. This change was evident in the music of the late 1990's and early 2000's. In hip-hop music specifically, there was an increase in the prevalence of futuristic and robotic themes. The beats as well as the music videos of the time period were characterized by themes of “cyborg-like” humans and scenarios inspired by science fiction. In Steven Shaviro's “Supa Dupa Fly: Black Women as Cyborgs in Hiphop Videos,” (Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 2005) the author discusses the hyper-idealized qualities of the artists in the music videos for Missy Elliott's 1997 release “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” and Lil' Kim's 2000 release “How Many Licks.” In each video the artists appear mechanical, as if they are at least partially cyborgs. A major difference between the two videos, however, is the intensity of sexuality that is presented. In “How Many Licks,” Lil' Kim shows seemingly contradictory depictions of herself as both a robotic, sexually fetishized object for male pleasure and a dominatrix who demands sexual satisfaction. Although the videos portray females in different ways, they both contain themes of a futuristic world of science fiction. The internet, with its incomprehensible capacity to connect and discover, is something that at one time seemed impossible, but with the world's information now at our fingertips, it seems that the romanticized future has arrived. The internet, as seen in these music videos, pushes individuals, perhaps especially women-identified individuals, to strive for perfection in every aspect of their lives.

       Celebrities have long been held to a higher standard of beauty, but with the advent of the world-wide web, celebrities as well as “ordinary” people are forced to appear immaculate at all times. The interconnectedness of internet-users provides ease of communication, but it also creates a space where users must create a flawless facade in order to avoid ridicule or judgement by fellow users. Social networking sites provide ample opportunities for users to create a semi-alternate world, but stepping a bit further, into the area of online gaming, reveals a more intense desire among users to escape reality and venture into a realm of excitement and idealism. As explained in Lina Eklund's “Doing Gender in Cyber Space: the Performance of Gender by Female World of Warcraft Players,” users are able to create an avatar that acts as a virtual version of the user. “We do not have bodies online but are ‘performances’ and ... it is through these that we come to be. When we create an online persona the meaning is not to create something real but rather hyperreal” (Convergence, 2011). The avatar one creates in an online, social gaming arena acts as an extension of the gamer. For this reason, individuals are granted freedom in deciding several aspects of the avatar's makeup, including the gender. Some users may “gender bend” in order to create an online being that is more similar to themselves spiritually. Some feminists appreciate this aspect of the online gaming scene, seeing it as an opportunity to show that “the girls have the same amount of power as the male characters” (Convergence, 2011).

       Pornography is another example of an online world. The actors seem flawless, carrying out activities that often could only exist in the mental fantasies of the viewer. This type of mental escapism, however, may be less innocent than the world of online gaming. Online pornography is most often created for a straight male audience. Obviously pornography is created for other groups of people and is designed to entertain individuals of various sexual identities, but the majority of the porn industry presents itself to a heterosexual male group. A major feminist critique of pornography is that it objectifies women for men's pleasure and reduces women to nothing more than sexual items, this degrading and disrespecting them. For this reason, many feminists have sought stricter government regulation on pornography (Sexualities, 2004). Another point of view regarding pornography is that women ought to be free to make the decision to engage in sex, and if it is empowering to a women to partake in the creation of pornography, then she ought to be able to do so. While the opposing viewpoints make for a schism among women, the topic of pornography is nevertheless important to the issue of cyberfeminism and feminism in general.

       The internet, with its incredible ability to communicate information, make connections, and create, offers countless opportunities for innovation and forward movement. Boundaries are pushed frequently. Men and women are able to express themselves freely, as in the case of online gaming, and women are able to demonstrate their ability and intelligence on a level playing field with men. Setbacks that occur in daily life are not as much of an issue online, as users are able to create avatars and virtual personas that encapsulate their personalities, without the insecurities brought on by the imperfections and social constructs of the tangible world. These boundaries that are pushed, moved, and eliminated allow women to feel a greater sense of freedom than what they experience in the “real” world. However, just as these boundaries are pushed in a positive way, they can also be pushed in a way that offends, desensitizes, or even harms women. Social networking sites proliferate the idea that we, women especially, must appear flawless at all times. Photos must be updated frequently, but one must never leak a photo in which one looks less than perfect. In the same respect, women are expected to live up to the distorted beauty standards created by the world of pornography, which has so tightly grasped much of the male population. The world-wide web is a realm of possibility, and we must continue to discuss how feminism, sexuality, and gender play their roles in a world with less and less limitations.

WORKS CITED

Ciclitira, Karen. "Pornography, Women and Feminism: Between Pleasure and Politics." Pornography, Women and Feminism: Pleasure and Politics 7.7 (2004): 281-301. Sexualities. Aug. 2004. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://sex.sagepub.com/content/7/3/281>.

Eklund, Lina. "Doing Gender in Cyber Space: The Performance of Gender by Female World of Warcraft Players." Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. Sage Journals, Aug. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://con.sagepub.com/content/17/3/323.refs.html>.

Greenemeier, Laurie. "Remembering the Day the World Wide Web Was Born: Scientific American." Science News, Articles and Information. Scientific American, 12 Mar. 2009. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=day-the-web-was-born>.

Flanagan, Mary. "Navigating the Narrative in Space: Gender and Spatiality in Virtual Worlds." Mendeley 59.3 (2000): 74-85. Mendeley Research Networks. College Art Associated, 2000. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://www.mendeley.com/research/another-world-or-the-world-of-an-other-the-space-of-romance-in-recent-versions-of-beauty-and-the-beast/>.

Steven Shaviro (2005): Supa Dupa Fly: Black Women As Cyborgs in Hiphop Videos, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 22:2, 169-179

BY DRAKE