Cyberfeminism

What is a Cyberfeminist manifesto? Defining strictly what this is poses some issues throughout our project; we are still wondering about this ourselves. However, we’ve tried to roughly define it and what we expect a cyberfeminist manifesto to have.

Defining a Cyberfeminist Manifesto!

A cyberfeminist manifesto is a text that discusses the position of women in cyberspace. Such manifestos are often supported by graphic elements and an aesthetic design. There is no singular definition of what a cyberfeminist manifesto can be. As an example the 100 anti-theses, aims to tell what the movement is not, rather than designing what it is, leaving an intentionally fluid definition. They embrace a feminist re-interpretation of technology and of the internet, often giving an optimistic perspective.

What would we expect from a cyberfeminist manifesto?

(These things are often true but, of course, not always true)

• First person plural
• Colorful and creative design (neon pink and green)
• Slur words
• Long sentences
• Intentionally confusing content
• Evocative
• Using multi-media

What would we wish cyberfeminist manifestos to be:

• More present in discourse about the internet
• More clear in demands, wishes, or hopes (even if the movement itself is fluid) to be more intersectional and not essentialist

Mindmap of cyberfeminist manifestos 1985 until today

To understand the history of Cyberfeminist Manifestos and how the ideas develop through time, we decided to read all the Manifestos we could find on this topic; starting from Donna Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto in 1985 until now. Organizing the most relevant ideas that developed through time into a collective mindmap. For this we used the online design tool Figma and collectively edited it. The mindmap traces the texts, events, and authors we found most significant in each period, with comments on their context, writing style, content, and place within the broader timeline. From the founding of VNS Matrix in the early 1990s, through the gap periods where not much was written, to the branching into glitch feminism, xenofeminism, and technofeminism.

Some criticism and hope

From our discussions and criticism, some thoughts stemmed, and two participants of our group wrote essays. The first by Meda is titled "The Futures We Lost, The Futures We Still Imagine: Cyberfeminism After Hope" and discusses Hope, cyberfeminism right now, the possibility of a good AI, and pessimism vs optimism in tech.

The second, "Manifestos and Their Zeitgeist" by Maria Anastasia Scharff, is about the zeitgeist that is needed for people to write manifestos, and the issues with the definition of manifesto.

Last notes and research Diary

Throughout our research, the online version of the Cyberfeminist Index guided us to find most of the cyberfeminist manifestos we read.

Another interesting link: VNS Matrix Manifesto.

Additionally, we’ve included our research diary and list of the manifestos we read with some annotations, documenting our thoughts throughout this project.

View Manifesto Table in Google Drive

Texts for this page have been edited by Maia and Samuel.