Judy Wajcman is an Associate Fellow of the Industrial Relations Research Unit, University of Warwick Business School and wrote a book titled Technofeminism. The book is described as "fus[ing] the visionary insights of cyberfeminism with a materialist analysis of the sexual politics of technology. Drawing on new perspectives in postmodernism, feminist theory and science and technology studies, Judy Wajcman explores the ways in which technologies are gendered both in their design and use. At the same time, she shows how our very subjectivity is shaped by the technoscientific culture of the world we inhabit." (http://www.uoc.edu/uocpapers/5/dt/eng/wajcman.html)
She discusses that in order for women to enter the world of technology, they have to let go of their femininity in order to be successful in a masculine world. She also states that having role models in science isn't enough to fix the problem of the lack of females entering into the science and technology fields. Now I don't know if I fully agree with either of these statements. I definitely don't believe you have to let go of your feminine side to be successful and I think my blog postings have shown that. As for the second claim, I know it can't be the only thing that is done to get women into the field but it sure helps to have supportive peers and role models to look up to. Obviously an interest must first be in the field and it would help to have those interests fostered at a young age but I believe it is also crucial to be able to see a female make it to the top as well.
Wajcman, J. (2004). Technofeminism. Malden, MA: Polity Press.
It's surprising to think that someone in 2004 could get away with saying women need to let go of their femininity in order to get ahead in the world of technology. That just seems like some 1940s logic to me.
ReplyDeletecheck out our video on technofeminism
ReplyDeletehttp://www.transalchemy.com/2009/07/postgenderism-gender-singularity-video.html