The (d)evolution of the cyberwoman?

Abstract

In this text, we examine Donna Haraway’s idea of a liberating potential of cyborgization first in the subsequent versions of Stepford Wives (the novel, the 1975 movie, and the 2004 movie), and second in the evolution of the character of a cyberwoman, from the book, Do androids dream electric sheep? (1977), through its film version, Blade Runner (1983), to William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984) and Idoru (1996), ending with Trinity from Matrix trilogy. We show that cyborgization does not automatically denote liberalization; and suggest that the much greater popularity of Matrix films compared to the intellectual projects of William Gibson show that stereotypes and strong plots survive, finding ever new forms of expression. We end the paper pointing out the relevance of popular culture models for work in contemporary homes and other workplaces.