Introducing a reading: "The Embodied Computer/ User" written by Deborah Lupton
Week 6 Self.info I : Digital Genders
"The Embodied Computer/ User" written by Deborah Lupton
“The dream of cyberculture is to leave the ‘meat’ behind and to become distilled in a clean, pure, uncontaminated relationship with computer technology” (479)
The article explores the computer/ user relationship in the context of internet. According to Deborah Lupton, human body is in multiplicity of relationships with computer technologies. While some people believe there is a utopian exist in cyberspace, she identifies some challenges to the idealistic view by introducing the computer/ user relationship. In the article, there are certain fears and risks when we connect our PCs to the internet. It leads to vulnerable anxiety, for example, hacked by others, or infected by virus. Many cybercrime take place with the existence of cyber space. On the other hand, computers are being humanized for marketing purpose. They become user friendly to assist users do the task. They are part of our lives and extension of our body.
It is true that computer become part of our body in our life. Without the computer technology, we are somehow disabled. However, it does not mean that the computer offers us disembodied ability. In certain extent, both we and our computers are vulnerable in the cyber space. Computers may be infected, and it leads to our emotional response. We will be frustrated if we lose all our data in the hard disk. Moreover, what if a man, sitting next to you, browses a porn site on his PDA, in the MTR? Certainly, it will be embarrassed.
As there are no utopian, what will happen to gender in the cyberspace?
Will the subordinate groups face another kind of oppression?
The article explores the computer/ user relationship in the context of internet. According to Deborah Lupton, human body is in multiplicity of relationships with computer technologies. While some people believe there is a utopian exist in cyberspace, she identifies some challenges to the idealistic view by introducing the computer/ user relationship. In the article, there are certain fears and risks when we connect our PCs to the internet. It leads to vulnerable anxiety, for example, hacked by others, or infected by virus. Many cybercrime take place with the existence of cyber space. On the other hand, computers are being humanized for marketing purpose. They become user friendly to assist users do the task. They are part of our lives and extension of our body.
It is true that computer become part of our body in our life. Without the computer technology, we are somehow disabled. However, it does not mean that the computer offers us disembodied ability. In certain extent, both we and our computers are vulnerable in the cyber space. Computers may be infected, and it leads to our emotional response. We will be frustrated if we lose all our data in the hard disk. Moreover, what if a man, sitting next to you, browses a porn site on his PDA, in the MTR? Certainly, it will be embarrassed.
As there are no utopian, what will happen to gender in the cyberspace?
Will the subordinate groups face another kind of oppression?
posted by ReN @ 6:54 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
With the evidences of increasing cyber crime and sexual harassment, no doubt that cyberspace does not offer us the utopian. However, who knows about the future? Some scholars believe that cyberspace will be another space where dominant ideologies are pulled into different context. On the other hand, some scholars believe a new power relationship might be form within the virtual reality. I believe that the battle between gender, class and race is still going in the cyberspace. Indeed, I do not expect the cyberspace will offer a genderless, classless and raceless world, but I think it offers an opportunity for power struggle and subordinate group can speak out for themselves. Moreover, oppressed groups gain a path to link up with each other.
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