Beckwith, Megan 2011, The sexualised body : the cyborg, in Erotic screen and sound : culture, media and desire conference, Griffith Centre for Cultural Research, Griffith University, Brisbane, Qld..
Griffith Centre for Cultural Research, Griffith University
Place of publication
Brisbane, Qld.
Summary
The word cyborg was created through an amalgamation of the terms cybernetics and organism. The expression was coined during a 1960s NASA conference to describe the internal technological modification of the body. This new term resonated within popular culture and was quickly embraced by science fiction, where the cyborg became a popular character. The image of the cyborg is often hyper-physical and hyper-sexual. The super sexualised woman who can shoot bullets from her breasts is a popular comic book cyborg representation. The Replicants from Riddley Scott’s Blade Runner are other examples of hyper human, super sexualised cyborgs. Increasingly, the future of our physicality is one that is intertwined with technology. Although the image of the cyborg is often exaggerated, it holds within it real future possibilities. This paper argues that cultural anxieties, in relation to the impact of technology on our bodies, can be identified through the cyborg image.
Notes
Presented within session 4 'sex and cyberspace' on Wednesday 16th February.
Language
eng
Field of Research
190403 Dance
Socio Economic Objective
950105 The Performing Arts (incl. Theatre and Dance)
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