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The (D)evolution of the Cyberwoman?

Barbara Czarniawska

GRI, Göteborg University, Sweden, barbara.czarniawska{at}gri.gu.se

Eva Gustavsson

GRI, Göteborg University, Sweden, eva.gustavsson{at}gri.gu.se

In this paper, we examine Donna Haraway's idea of a liberating potential of cyborgization in the light of popular culture products related to organized work. We consider two different takes on this issue: women as technology and technology as women, and we start with the successive versions of Stepford Wives (the novel, the 1975 movie and the 2004 movie), and continue by tracing the evolution of the character of a cyberwoman, from William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984) and Idoru (1996), to Trinity from the Matrix trilogy. We show that cyborgization does not automatically denote liberalization, and suggest that the much greater popularity of the Matrix films compared to the intellectual projects of William Gibson means that stereotypes and strong plots survive, finding ever new forms of expression. We end the paper by pointing out the relevance of popular culture models for work in contemporary homes and other workplaces.

Key Words: cyborgs • Haraway's manifesto • household technology • organized work • popular culture • science-fiction • women • workplace technology

Organization, Vol. 15, No. 5, 665-683 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1350508408093647
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