Re: [-empyre-] chipping in

[marc <marc.garrett@furtherfield.org>]

Hi Helen,

Thank you for those answers...

I have various articles stored on my computer and discs - regarding 
Cyberfeminism going way back now, and this article immediately sprung to 
mind which was written in 1999, (there is a snippet of it below) in 
respect of what Sadie Plant says, which kind of means something to me 
personally from my own personal perspective as an emergent net.creative 
activist, claiming technology as a way of creating new space for 
potential progress, hopefully expanding beyond less fluid-rigid trappings.

Sadie Plant says “It occurred to me that a long standing relationship 
was evident between information technology and women's liberation. You 
can almost map them onto each other in the whole history of modernity. 
Just as machines get more intelligent, so women get more liberated!”

Do you think that this also applies across the board for other emergent 
groups as well as yourself, if so who?

------------------------>

The rise of women’s liberation can be correlated with the coming spike 
of machine intelligence. Plant researched and discovered that the more 
intelligent machines become the more liberated women are. In her 
interview with 'Geekgirl' 
(http://www.geekgirl.com.au/geekgirl/001stick/sadie/sadie.html) editor 
Susie X, Dr. Sadie Plant explains: “It occurred to me that a long 
standing relationship was evident between information technology and 
women's liberation. You can almost map them onto each other in the whole 
history of modernity. Just as machines get more intelligent, so women 
get more liberated!”

It also occurred to Plant that women have long been seen as the machine 
parts for malestream society. That is that women were seen as the 
reproducers- reproducing the species, reproducing communications- which 
is clearly quite similar to the role machines and tools play in society. 
It is this that makes use and implementation of machines a ‘natural’ 
process for women, as it is merely an unseen extension of their 
constructed gender roles. Although it is the pushing of the boundaries 
of women’s gender roles, which makes Cyberfeminism a theory that holds 
many possibilities.

Whether or not Plants theories prove correct is beside the point. What 
we are seeing now is a direct revolution to the ‘toys for boys’ ideal. 
The fact that women are becoming major players in machine intelligence 
is a subversion of the expectation of ones gender. It is by this 
subversion which can come freedom. A freedom to express oneself without 
the restriction of a previously constructed role. Author: Delanie 
Woodlock Published on: August 1, 1999

marc

http://www.furtherfield.org
http://www.http.uk.net

> hi marc,
> definitely there are maori & pacific island artists working in new 
> media, here in nz & overseas. i have to confess that at the moment my 
> brain is working slowly & not many names are jumping out, but one who 
> does spring to mind is maru nihoniho who is a games developer; she 
> manages her own company now but her background is in 3d modelling, 
> animation etc. http://www.metia.co.nz/ one of her games, the guardian 
> (http://theguardiangame.com/) has a female maori main character.
>
> there are a lot of maori visual artists whose work incorporates 
> digital, also in the music industry & vj ... perhaps someone can help 
> me out with some names here? there are a number of maori art web sites 
> buti haven't found one that deals specifically with maori digital art 
> (there probably is one ... )
>
> if you do a search for maori art & artists you are more likely to find 
> traditional art forms, & i think (correct me if i'm wrong, someone) 
> that the focus of funding for maori & pacific arts has tended to be on 
> the traditional (eg carving, traditional performing arts, language 
> etc). the renaissance in maori art & culture is still fairly recent so 
> still tends to be driven by the desire to preserve arts & crafts that 
> were potentially going to disappear.
>
> there's also a distinction between maori (who are the tangata whenua, 
> indigenous people of aotearoa) & pacific island / polynesian peoples 
> who are not indigenous but who have brought strong artistic practices 
> with them & have had a strong influence on arts & culture, 
> particularly in the north parts of the country.
>
> h : )
>
> > As you say, Polynesian & Asian cultures have a strong influence in 
> > NZ. I was wondering if you know of any indgenious people living in 
> > New Zealand who who are curently practising in New media themselves, 
> > or anything close to it at least?
> >
> > marc
> >
> > http://www.furtherfield.org
> > http://www.http.uk.net