Tag: gender

Challenging Binaries In The Contemporary World: The Haraway-Monae Manifesto

Rudy W.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

In her Cyborg Manifesto, Donna Haraway explores a world in which the concept of traditional or societal binaries, oppression within technology, feminism, and identity are challenged. In her writings, Haraway uses the half-human half machine- cyberog as a metaphor for liberation. The idea of the cyborg represents fluidity being that it is composed of different elements to make up one whole being. Haraway argues that social constructs that are embedded into our society such as gender, sexuality, and identity are not meant to define us, rather they are fluid and constantly evolving.  

Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae explored the Manifesto that Haraway discussed by highlighting themes of liberation, feminism, and queerness. Throughout the album, Monae uses songs such as “PYNK” to highlight the complexities that exist within ones’ identity; directly correlating to Haraway and her idea of a fluid rather than a fixed identity. Monae also incorporates the intersectionality of queernesss within her identity as a black individual by describing how to break away from heterosexual norms which are opressive.Within her identity, Janelle Monae describes herself as a non-binary individual. While she goes by she/her and they/them pronouns, Monae does not believe in the binaries of gender identiy which is a theme that is consistent within Haraway’s Manifesto. 

The most identical themes that are present within Haraway’s and Monae’s works are the technology cyborg elements. As previously mentioned, Haraway uses the cyborg as a metaphor in her Manifesto to represent liberation through technology. The cyborg does not have a fixed identity due to its robotic and human components; it is a fluid entity. Monae uses technological imagery to centralize the idea of their album. In the visual elements of the album, they often portray themselves living in a world that is enhanced by technology while also incorporating afrocentric elements. This is very important when discussing the theme of cyberpunk; a genre in which diversity in the form of Afrofuturism for example, is not very prominent. Janelle Monae uplifted, liberated, and empowered the various communities of which she belongs to: woman, non-binary, queer, African-American. This is the main idea of the Cyber Manifesto. Haraway conceptualized the idea of a non-binary world that allowed identities to be fluid; Monae gave life to this concept.

How Janelle’s work is inspired by Haraway

Zoe C.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

In the 1980s, Donna Haraway’s cyborg manifesto challenges normal societal ideals about gender identity and the line between a human and a machine. Now, when we get into the year like 2018, Janelle Monáe’s dirty computer helps bring these things to life in the modern day. Her album is a mix of Afrofuturism, being queer, and rebelling against an oppressive system. Both of these works explore the idea of breaking down these super strict categories of identity, and they both use the cyborg as a metaphor to betray this message. Cyborg represents a machine and an organism hybrid, which rejects the usual classifications of gender, sexuality, and humanity. Haraway’s cyborg insists on gender fluidity, where identity can be constructed by yourself, similar to non-binary and today’s age. In Computer, Monet presents a dystopian world where those who don’t conform to the norms of society are labeled as dirty. They are dirty computers and outsiders who are looked down upon because of their queerness and their refusal to fit into what society says is correct. But they can erase their refusal or be cleaned when they reclaim their identity, similar to Haraway’s cyborg, which is the change in our categorization. Monaé’s character, Jane 57821, moves through the futuristic world that is filled with control, surveillance, and punishment her songs, like Pynk and Django Jane, touch on themes of being gender fluid and defying normal gender roles. The album is a celebration of being queer and expressing your freedom while rejecting the norms that society expects you to live by. This is similar to the ideas that Haraway describes in her work. Haraway sees the cyborg as a metaphor for blended identities, while Monet shows how the blending occurs in the real world. There is a mix of race, gender, and sexuality that becomes the forefront of liberation. In both works, technology is a crucial component. Haraway sees technology as a tool for breaking down the oppressive system and blurring the lines of identity in the traditional sense. At the same time, Monet uses literal and symbolic representations of freedom and control. The album is a manifesto that calls for the same kind of post-gender post-race that Haraway envisions. Her album is an anthem for marginalized communities that urges listeners to embrace their differences and rebel against the control society that we live in.  

A Thousand Genders?!

Justice K.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

A common theme of the cyberpunk genre is the disintegration of common cultural or political boundaries. In the past few years, we have seen a monumental shift when it comes to the boundary of gender. Growing up, all I remember being taught is that there are two genders: male and female. Now, things have drastically changed. When doing research for this post, the first question I researched was “how many genders are there?”, and I was shocked when the first result that popped up said 72! As I continued to research, I found an article from Teen Talk that explained the concept of gender identity. From the article I learned that gender identity is purely how someone chooses to view themself, and it is not based on their genitals. I also learned of a new gender term ‘two-spirit’, in which a person is not limited to just one gender and can walk back and forth between genders. This is an example of how our society has collapsed the boundary of gender. Before, gender was based on anatomy, now, it is based upon how the individual chooses to identify. This aligns with some of the views of humanism because people now have the right to choose their gender in order to do whatever makes them happy and give them the best life experience possible. I believe that this shift of the gender boundary is the product of our society’s attempt to become more inclusive. In order to make as much of the population as possible feel respected and safe, we have done away with many established practices. For example, the airport in Kansas City, Missouri now has all-gender bathrooms that will allow travelers more privacy and security. They did this in order to increase both efficiency and inclusivity for all travelers (Kite, 2019). 

From Binary to Spectrum: A Look at how Gen Z Pushed Gender Boundaries

Jayla R.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

The past decade has elicited monumental changes in gender and how it is perceived. Progressive attitudes towards gender and sexuality are more prevalent now than ever before. As the title of this post suggests, it was widely believed that gender was only a binary construct as opposed to the spectrum we use today. In addition to cisgender, there is transgender, nonbinary, agender, genderfluid, and even more ways for nonconforming individuals to identify with. The TIME Magazine article linked below explains how large the gap is between generations regarding views towards gender. In just 2021, Gen Z was the only generation in which a majority believed there are more than two genders and Gen Z is much more likely to identify as nonbinary or trans.

What I feel has prompted this massive shift in ideals is the maturation of the “most progressive generation” – Gen Z. Gen Z has proven that we won’t take everything we’ve been taught at face value, especially Gen Z women. Offensive rhetoric in the media that was formerly accepted is now called out and the people responsible are being held accountable. We have LGBTQ+ peers and family members, so seeing attempts by politicians to make them illegal and outlaw gay marriage leads to a greater drive towards social justice. We also have more access to technology and resources that reveal how much needs to be fixed in our government and we have the means to go out and speak against it.

While people who identify outside of the gender binary have always existed, it has only recently become common to identify as such. Queer kids are now less likely to be forced to conform to one gender or another and can choose to identify as whoever they please. While there is certainly much more progress to be made regarding this matter, the impact Gen Z has had on widespread acceptance of those who are different is something to be marveled at.

TIME Magazine article: https://time.com/6275663/generation-z-gender-identity