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Aldo Giannattasio
Digital Rhetoric
Professor Ristow
2/15/18
Reading Response to A Cyborg Manifesto

When looking at the cyborg it is the metaphor for how one is very much like a machine in
regards to our social reality. Our interactions are ones that can become very machinelike
in cases and therefore some of what we do may seem inorganic. It also acts as a metaphor
by suggesting that any reality is possible when looking at the creation of it and that then
connects with the idea of how digital media is able to create anything. We see that the
cyborg allows for one to express their gender freely and that then is talking about how
technology allows for us to be more open and understanding of our gender. Also we see
that the cyborg is a metaphor for those trying to dominate also and that then shows how
there is injustice that occurs within the world. This then suggests that there is a system of
hierarchy and that then contradicts the digital realm where everyone can start on the same
playing field. Therefore there is no sort of identity with the digital world unlike society.
Overall when looking at the cyborg it is a kind of disassembled and reassembled
postmodern version of the collective self. Through technology we are able to re-craft our
bodies and that allows for us to create social relations with others.

When looking at the idea of digital technologies and identity within digital
technologies, it is seen that technology allows for one to create their own identity instead
of what society traditionally labels that person. It also allows for a system of equality
where everyone is seen as equal and where injustice doesn’t occur. As stated “I don’t
know of any other time in history when there was greater need for political unity to
confront effectively the dominations of race, gender, sexuality and class.” This is seen
through the wage relation being subordinated. However, with this construction of
technology can also come the threat of interpretation of communication where things can
become misrepresented.

Finally it is seen that boundaries of the body are broken in a few ways in digital
space. Within the digital space the boundaries are subverted in that there doesn’t exist
different tones of the two tendencies, such as the ones rooted in labor and sex. Both in
reality are influenced by domination and ignorance of social and personal reality. Along
with that the boundaries are broken in that technology allows for a fundamental
transformation in the structure of the world for us. Technology therefore is an integral
part of our daily lives and is something that we structure ourselves around. It allows for
others to be able to recognize the inequality within the world and brings more light to the
underlying barriers.