What we talked about on Tuesday was really confusing. It was really interesting the way the text focused on the different issues associated with bodies. I feel like the terms were very complicated and hard to get through. What I thought about when we were discussing the reading was the way the terms apply so much to the political issues that face our government. I did feel like some of the other issues turned away from that though becuase they dealt with issues that faced adult bodies rather than pre-birth bodies. Hm. I was a litte confused about exactly what a cyborg is. Is this one?
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Women's Bodies in Theory and Practice
This blog is created by students from Clemson University's spring 2009 course Women's Studies 459 - "Building Bodies: Women's Bodies in Theory and Practice." This class explores the construction of bodies from various methodological perspectives, focusing on five specific areas: theories of bodies; bodies and genders and sexes; “misbehaving” bodies; politics of bodies; and constructing bodies. We welcome comments and contributions to our posts and discussions.
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from the mouths of others...
"Well-behaved women seldom make history."
-Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
"There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."
-Madeleine K. Albright
"It is not possible to address society's needs at any level while ignoring the perspectives, priorities, and knowledge of more than half of the world's population."
-Rosina Wilshire of UNDP
"Women give life. We have the capacity to give life and light. We can take up our brooms and sweep the earth."
-Isabelle Letelier
"Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender."
-Alice Walker
"Violence against women will end when legal, philanthropic, governmental and non-governmental organizations and impassioned individuals unite and stand up to say it is a priority, to say that the time for ending violence is now."
-Eve Ensler
"And ain't I a woman?"
-Sojourner Truth
"Considering how dangerous everything is nothing is frightening."
-Gertrude Stein
"Also we've found that when we discuss women's problems, we need the men to be present, so that they can contribute by giving their opinions of what to do about the problem. And so that they can learn as well. If they don't learn, they don't progress."
-Rigoberta Menchu (222)
-Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
"There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."
-Madeleine K. Albright
"It is not possible to address society's needs at any level while ignoring the perspectives, priorities, and knowledge of more than half of the world's population."
-Rosina Wilshire of UNDP
"Women give life. We have the capacity to give life and light. We can take up our brooms and sweep the earth."
-Isabelle Letelier
"Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender."
-Alice Walker
"Violence against women will end when legal, philanthropic, governmental and non-governmental organizations and impassioned individuals unite and stand up to say it is a priority, to say that the time for ending violence is now."
-Eve Ensler
"And ain't I a woman?"
-Sojourner Truth
"Considering how dangerous everything is nothing is frightening."
-Gertrude Stein
"Also we've found that when we discuss women's problems, we need the men to be present, so that they can contribute by giving their opinions of what to do about the problem. And so that they can learn as well. If they don't learn, they don't progress."
-Rigoberta Menchu (222)
for reading, watching, and so on...
The Body: A Reader. Mariam Fraser and Monica Greco, eds. (Routledge, 2005).
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. Marjane Satrapi (Knopf, 2004).
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. Marjane Satrapi (Knopf, 2004).
Posts
Okay, when I think about a cyborg, I think of the Star Wars scene where Luke looks down and flexes his artificial hand. It is covered with human tissue and it is a part of his body, but it is robotic underneath. He flexes and unflexes his hand and watches it move before he snaps shut the little cover. I think of a cyborg as the integration of both the mechanical and human. Darth Vader is another example. A living brain, a living face, a living trunk controlling, yet relying on artificial mechanics to regulate his breahting, facilitate his movement. In that regard, now that I think about it, would Stephan Hawking meet this definition of cyborg? Would it be anything living that requires artificial devices integrated in its bodily constitution to maintain life? A person on a respirator? I agree, it's confusing!
ReplyDeleteThat picture is crazy. The ballerina looks so physically strong, you can see the definition in her arms and her legs. The position of her body is so unusual, the way that she is balancing on her toes. Her strength outshines the fact that she is disabled (even though I think that the crutch type things are for an effect, I wonder if this woman is really handicapped?)
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff here, y'all. And you're right on. Cyborg is a mash-up word for "cybernetic organism", which is anything that has both artificial and natural "parts". It was first used in the 1960s. Rebecca, your movement in definition is exactly the question/point. The questions are, how do we define "artificial"? "Natural"? And what are the limits? Am I a cyborg simply because I always have my cell phone? Some would argue "yes", that we are absolutely all cyborgs. But we'll continue teasing these ideas apart through the end of the semester.
ReplyDeleteAnd that pic is pretty amazing! I also wonder if the crutches are used by the dancer? There are many dance troops of/with people with disabilities, but I didn't catch a citation here.