Technologies of the Gendered Body: Reading Cyborg Women (Paperback)

~ Anne Balsamo (Author) "From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, published in 1818, to Maria, the robot in Metropolis (Lang, 1927), to Frankenhooker (a film released on video in 1989), the..." (more)
Key Phrases: thick perception, new body technologies, technological formations, Visual Mark, New York, The Handmaid's Tale (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Balsamo takes us further into cyborg territory than any intelligent book has done. Her surveys provide a surefooted guide to the survival both of womens' health and feminist politics in many of those new and unfamiliar areas of hi-tech experience that have already, almost unconsciously, become part of our daily lives."--Andrew Ross, New York University "Balsamo's very thorough exploration of technology's impact on and redefinition of the gendered body is at the vanguard of an area of study that is just now coming into its own. Her analyses are clear and masterful."--Cathy Schwichtenberg, University of Georgia "Technologies of the Gendered Body combines a lucid use of theory and an intelligent and entertaining discussion of key cultural practices, it is also a model of generous and engaged feminist theorizing."--Elspeth Probyn, University of Montreal

Product Description

This book takes the process of "reading the body" into the fields at the forefront of culture—the vast spaces mapped by science and technology—to show that the body in high-tech is as gendered as ever. From female body building to virtual reality, from cosmetic surgery to cyberpunk, from reproductive medicine to public health policies to TV science programs, Anne Balsamo articulates the key issues concerning the status of the body for feminist cultural studies in a postmodern world.
Technologies of the Gendered Body combines close readings of popular texts—such as Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, the movie Pumping Iron II: The Women, cyberpunk magazines, and mass media—with analyses of medical literature, public policy documents, and specific technological practices. Balsamo describes the ways in which certain biotechnologies are ideologically shaped by gender considerations and other beliefs about race, physical abilities, and economic and legal status. She presents a view of the conceptual system that structures individuals’ access to and participation in these technologies, as well as an overview of individuals’ rights and responsibilities in this sometimes baffling area. Examining the ways in which the body is gendered in its interactions with new technologies of corporeality, Technologies of the Gendered Body counters the claim that in our scientific culture the material body has become obsolete. With ample evidence that the techno-body is always gendered and marked by race, this book sets the stage for a renewed feminist engagement with contemporary technological narratives.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press; remainder mark edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822316986
• ISBN-13: 978-0822316985
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #797,775 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)