Growing up in my predominately conservative hometown, I heard others refer to feminists using many colorful words and phrases. It was only until I went to a different high school outside of my hometown (a Catholic one no less) and expanded my circle to some of the most forward thinking people I have ever met that I truly understood what a feminist is and how they are best defined. Add to this new appreciation the incredible movements such as the Women’s March and the #MeToo movement and I quickly recognized why they are so necessary for the furthering of our society.

Enter Donna Haraway and her comparison to the cyborg. Now I’ll admit, at first I was a bit insulted and confused. A cyborg? The half machine, monsters that usually terrorize innocent heroes in a whacky sci-fi movie? Was this some attempt in dehumanizing this mentality and vital movement?

But upon further reading, I understood not only the text, but also it’s continued relevance even now. Haraway argues that the cyborg is representative of the duality and irony that is at the heart of the socialist feminist movement. I specifically appreciated her definition of irony as “the tension of holding incompatible things together because both or all are necessary and true.” I applied this definition to her idea of a cyborg as the condensed image of both imagination and material reality. In my understanding of feminist ideals, such duality must exist in order to succeed. Feminists, and any major movement that intends to bring about societal change, must be aware not only of their (at times lofty) ideals, hopes, and intentions, but also the harsh reality of the world that they are operating in. This contrast is at the core of many movements. Those who are working towards their ideals must be able to understand and work within the realities they find themselves in. This bridge then creates this quasi-being, similar to a cyborg.

As a result, the cyborg becomes much more than the cliche character discussed earlier. It instead serves as the monster of Frankenstein for various political and social movements: an assortment of ideologies, actions, and realities that continue to morph and distort to fit the current environment to ensure the movement’s survival. The feminist cyborg, however, differs from Frankenstein’s monster in an explicit way. Haraway states that “unlike the hopes of Frankenstein’s monster, the cyborg does not expect its father to save it through a restoration of the garden.” While in this phrase, Haraway is directly critiquing the monster’s need for a heterosexual mate, this can be applied to the feminist cyborg. The movement does not depend on the restoration and protection of those who caused the first ripple. Instead, it depends on future generations and ideals to allow it to grow and morph into what is needed for that relevant moment.

I was also intrigued by the application of the cyborg to the feminist ideals when considering an earlier module I completed for this course: memes. Just as far right extremists and other less than savory groups can identify their followers and those with similar mindsets by tracking reactions and interactions with “harmless” memes, so too could this digital world be used to mold and shape the feminist movement as well as assist in identifying those who could benefit from inclusion in such a movement.

So in short, yes, Haraway’s ideas are still relevant even in the year 2020. The ironic duality that creates the core contrast and conflict of the movement has only evolved and furthered in today’s society. Especially with a global pandemic, the role and treatment of women is on display more so than just a few short weeks ago (which somehow feels like another era completely). Haraway’s connection to the cyborg simply offers an explanation of the bridges and evolution necessary in such a movement to not only protect it as times change, but also to ensure its continued efforts to achieve its ideals and goals despite the changing and increasingly digital world.

And now, a cyborg cat meme to make you smile in these crazy times!