Post-Humanism and Its Impact on Gender - Essay Example

Post-Humanism and Its Impact on Gender Introduction Post-humanism is a term that is used to describe the application of modern technology to overcome the limitations which are associated with the human form (Winner 385). The attitudes and politics which surround the concept of post-humanism are being popularized through the new media. The concept of post humanism has influenced the social cultural perception on gender as illustrated by images and films in the media such as Avatar which portrays the male fantasy of being a post-humanistic and superior being. Additionally, many debates have surrounded the application of technology to provide superior qualities within the human form. Various theorists in the social and human sciences have given diverse opinions on the implications of post humanism on the issue of gender and culture. Additionally, forms of post-humanism such as creation of cyborgs have created issues which cause heated debates within the society. Both factual scientific information and opinions of various theorists contribute to the current attitudes on the concept of post-humanism. Theorists such as Donna Haraway, Katherine Hayles and Michel Foucault have contributed significantly to the modern developments in science and technology within the post-humanism era and their implication on the perception of the society on gender roles. This paper discusses the issues surrounding post-humanism with illustrations from various theorists on how the use of science and technology in addition to the creation of cyborgs has impacted the social cultural perception on gender. The paper also gives an analytical discussion of the characteristics of the post-human and the social ethical implications of post-humanism to social issues that are related to gender such as race and sexuality. Post-humanism and the Media Post-humanism is described as the use of technology and science to facilitate the improvement of human nature which includes enhancement of physical strength, intelligence, hearing and vision and even speed. The term post-humanism also includes the visual fantasies and illusions that are depicted in the new media through various programs and science-fiction movies (Hird 223). Media communications glorify a super human nature and this has led to the development of attitudes within the society about post-humanism. The media is portraying that the current form of human nature is not special. Moreover, the use of technology and science to improve cultures, social systems and the human form is the common image that is demonstrated by the modern media and social networking. The need for increment of the human lifespan and the improvement of the mental abilities are admirable concepts within the post-humanism concept that are examples of fantasies within the media (Rosi 212). Science-fiction has been presented via the media through illustration of cyborgs with super human abilities. Some of these cyborgs have been gendered and sexualized which has led to debates between feminists and their opponents. For example, cyborgs have been presented through media communication which illustrates superior physical and mental abilities which are linked to the male form. As a result gender issues have been raised because feminist ideas reflect that the society is still linking the female gender to the old attitudes that women are weaker than their male counterparts both in the mental and physical dimensions and thus are associated with domestic roles (Lewis 49). The connection of cybernetics to the feminist ideologies is presented in the form of the use of technology in executing tasks such as cooking which were traditionally considered to be feminine roles. Negative implications of cybernetics have also been observed especially in the violation of the integrity of human being through the bodily transformations. Cyborg is described as a hybrid figure which is a product of combining the features of an organism with that of a machine. The social reality of cyborgs and the presentations of science fiction through new media emphasize the role technology in the changing the attitudes of the society on social perception on gender. The experiences of women within the society in late years of the 20th century is described as being influenced by the social illusions which the media depicted within various online and broadcast programs (Hird 227). In the modern world, ideas which relate to the oppression of the female being have been apprehended by the society through the media such as the illustration of the human and drug trafficking incidences where women are forcefully captured and being used as sex objects. Such violence and oppression against women has also been made in works of fiction art in form of films which show how macho men exploit women within internationalized drug business to become wealthy. However, the fiction that new media presents to the audience about cybernetics has caused a lot of influence on the perception of the society on the role of men in relation to that of women. Even though the presentation of the post-humanistic images such as cyborgs by the media is usually exaggerated fiction, it creates a significant impact on the views of the society (Winner 387). Humans as Cyborgs Through the New Media, images and messages which portray all human beings as cyborgs are increasingly becoming common. Therefore within the psychology of a human being the ideas of acting as a cyborg have been cultivated by media communication. Additionally, the happenings in the modern society within the medical and industrial sectors are attributed to the arguments that humans in the current times are all cyborgs. This is demonstrated by the fact that medical procedures can be used to transform the human nature through plastic surgery. Transgender surgeries are also possible in the modern world which leads to questions related to the contribution of science to gender roles (Barrett 108). Medical procedures such as tooth filling and the possibilities made possible through drugs are examples which demonstrate the impact of science and technology in the social changes of the 21st century. The cyborgs within modern medicine are shown to the abilities of medical experts to couple features of a machine with human characteristics to produce superior qualities in the created organism. The modern era is characterized by application of computers technology in various activities which demonstrate reality artificial intelligence and cyborgs. The struggle to survive within the challenges of life and the limitations of human nature motivates the application of technology and science in an attempt to improve human beings and thus make them to act like cyborgs. Post-humanism ideologies stipulate that the different social and cultural backgrounds of the world population will be integrated and cooperate into a unified line of reasoning (Gillis 7). This perception is linked to the theories in Biology which explain that all human beings originated from a common human ancestor. This has influenced the attempts of various scientists in the field of biotechnology to alter the human gene with an aim of producing enhanced qualities in the offspring (Evelyn 313). As a result, the social and cultural implications of human genetic engineering in the post-humanism era have led to many debates and disagreements even among the world constitutions and ethical frameworks. The Implication of post-humanism and cybernetics on gender The implication of post-humanism on gender has significantly caused various theorists to come up with argumentative discussions on the matter. Donna Haraway for example is a theorist who discusses the concept of cyborgs in relation to its social impact on gender. Haraway portrays the ideologies which surround socialism, feminism and materialism, the politics of which she claims to be an ironic political myth. The inspirational assertions of Haraway on feminism aim at analyzing the views on gender in both the socialist and the post-humanistic worlds. The Cyborg Manifesto specifically discusses the struggles which the issue of gender has received with the aim of recommending some lessons for the modern technologically advanced and scientifically oriented era of the 21st century (Gill 196). Cybernetics and cultural studies have been linked to feminist theories such as those of Donna Haraway who have explained the situation facing women in the post-humanist era where technological and scientific conditions are so advanced to an extent of creating gendered cyborgs that cause feminist perceptions within the society (Donna 149). Moreover, the issue of class and race are portrayed by modern scientific creations. The general opinions of socialist-feminist theorists and analysts is that the view of the society on issues of gender, race and class are changing with gradual transformation into a unified perception of the roles that men and women play in the society and their ability to play these roles. Technology and science has enabled human beings to achieve many possibilities such as education. In the modern era women have been given equal opportunities in education which has enabled them to acquire knowledge and skills of performing roles that were traditionally considered to be meant for men. However, the participation of women in some in occupations such as civil engineering and construction work has received negative arguments especially from feminists. The theory of Donna Haraway on the role of cybernetics in the post-humanism era and their impact on gender shows a promising future where the attitudes of the society and social beliefs will be integrated into a unified point of view. The contribution of the cyborg to the changes of the society on the perceptions about gender is demonstrated by the fact that the scientific creation of cyborgs is not connected to organic reproduction Evelyn. This means that the traditional family model and the contribution of women in the creation of families and thus the community is no longer a notion in the post-humanism era. Thus the creation of cyborgs is significant on the gender issue because they symbolize a world where there no demarcations on the roles that men should play in society in relation to the activities women are traditionally expected to play within the family and the community in general. Such theoretical notions can be illustrated by the changes in the family and community structure which are being experienced in the modern world especially in the developed countries. For example, the rate or divorce is increasing within the society with men playing the responsibilities of raising children without the help of women. Women are also being liberated from the responsibilities of being obliged to be married as seen in the many number of single mothers and unmarried women around the world. The traditional role of women in childbearing has been evaded by the cyborg which has also violated many other concepts of gender and the related roles. The cultural values of gender roles in relation to raising children within a nuclear family and heterosexual marriage are slowly fading in the post-humanism era and the creation of cyborgs which violate such traditional roles Evelyn. The characteristics of the post-humanism period include women being involved with more than one man, homosexual and lesbian marriages which are completely against the traditional values and perceptions of gender roles. Social rights of both genders have been included in the constitution of most of the developed world where the influence of post-humanism on culture has been significantly felt (Donna 150). The values of women and men of being complete through marriage and the fear of death before reproduction of offspring are fading within the contemporary society. Women and men are now able to adopt children which do not bind them to heterosexual marriages. However in the developing world, most of the traditional values on the role of women in the society are being practiced and women are facing challenge in advocating for their social rights. With the spread of post-humanism, social feminists such as Donna Haraway belief that the whole world is growing into a unified social culture on gender which will lead to freedom of women from social binding roles such as marriage and childbearing (Sarah 188). The concept of cyborgs is presented both by modern scientific reality and the fantasies within the fiction of the new media. The Philosophical argument of Haraway shows that there is no distinction between the impact of reality and fiction on the perception of the society on social issues such as gender roles (Rosi 217). The media is a strong force in the post-humanism era which has caused the exchange of cultural values and westernization of many cultures from the developing world. Through the images and massages within the media, the societies have adopted foreign lifestyles such as dressing code and clothes which were traditionally regarded to be meant for men by some indigenous communities are now worn by women without major social concerns. The social cultural changes on the community perceptions on gender roles are attributed to the media communication. Practices such as gay marriages are slowly being accepted in societies where they were traditionally considered to be evil. Activists of gender rights are also being influenced by the media in their fight for equality in the social, political and economic privileges. The arguments of Katherine Hayles on cybernetics illustrate that the pos-humanism era is characterized by technological and scientific abilities of downloading human nature and conscious into a machine which operates like a person with gendered form, abilities and roles. This is exhibited by robotic computers which are created by scientist to perform roles which would only be performed by human beings (Hayles 229). For example, cyborgs and robots which are programmed to provide services in restaurants and hotels have been created by scientists and technology experts. These cyborgs are designed to have a gendered human form in relation to the roles which they play which are usually parallel to the traditional notion of male and female roles. Hayles explains the post-humanism era as a period when science and technology is being used to manipulate the human form and replacing the organs of the body with extensions that were absent at birth (Hayles 232). This is shown by the scientific attempts to enhance human abilities such as strength, vision and speed. The experiments of various scientists have led to the creation of cyborgs to demonstrate the abilities that a human being is capable to exhibiting. The presentation of these abilities in opposite extremes such as strength and weaknesses in the scientific creation create notions in the society on the perceived abilities either gender in surviving the hardships of life. According to the assertions of Hayles, cybernetics has caused the distinction between human beings and cyborgs to be seamless (Hayles 7). The created machines are programmed to execute reasoning that is parallel to that of human beings. In many cases though, the cyborgs are portrayed as being more intelligent than human beings through performance of genius functions such as arithmetic calculations within no time. The theoretical explanation of Katherine Hayles on the concept of post-humanism and cybernetics illustrates that new media is passing messages and images which have influenced women to act as fashion accessories (Hayles 236). In the post-humanism times, western cultures have spread to the rest of the world through the glorification of conspicuous consumption of fashion and modeling which involves both young men and women being used as objects of fashion. The images on fashion are available within online media and broadcast programs which can now be transmitted across the world by the use of modern communication technology. The post-humanism consumption of fashion and the role of women in demonstrating new trends in fashion is however similar with the ancient consciousness about fashion during the Renaissance and antiquity periods (Hayles 31). The cultural shifts in the world culture on fashion has been facilitated by modern technology which has improved the quality and speed of cloth and jewelry production and the application of computing software in the enhancement of fashion designs. The post-humanism period is thus experiencing an increased conspicuous consumption of fashion with the media acting as the facilitator of the developments in fashion. The philosophical works of Michel Foucault also emphasize how modernity has changed the cultural values in society especially those that are related to gender (Evelyn 305). According to Foucault, the training of people creates an organized order of functioning. For example, solders are trained in a way that causes their actions to be far from natural and they perform tasks that would be naturally impossible without the training. This illustrates how a human being can function as a cyborg with specific rules and order of actions being predetermined. The moral and ethical basis of sexuality is depicted by the works of Foucault as being transformed by the modern influences from the western world. The changes in culture and the view of various societies on the role played by the gender groups is described by Foucault as being a product of western madness. Foucault also describes the transformation in society as an ordered change of events from the Renaissance period to the modern era (Donna 149). The transformations in society which occur due to the influences of the developments in science and technology, justifies the changes that are evident in the post-humanism period as opposed to the ancient times. Therefore it is predictable that the role of cybernetics in the near future is likely to create a situation where human nature will violate the traditional cultural norms. The happenings in the post-humanism era especially in the fields of genetics are motivated by the need to improve the human nature and thus create supernatural abilities such as flying and living for ever. Even though some people argue that such attempts show that man is attempting to play God, many scientists are engaged in medical and technological experiments with an aim of pioneering inventions that will overcome the limitations of the human nature (Sarah 189). It can be argued that with the rate at which technology and medicine are advancing, breakthroughs that would enhance mental and physical abilities of the human form are likely to occur in the near future. However scientific experiments such as genetic engineering have faced opposition from both the social and political atmospheres due to the unethical practices that are associated with such experiments. Philosophers argue that the technology which characterize the post-human period is transforming human beings into superior technological creations. The use of tools such as nanotechnology, genetic manipulation, computer simulation, cybernetics and enhancement of pharmacological products illustrates clearly how the developments in the post-humanism era are likely to cause major enhancements of the human nature to an extent of creating cyborgs that are exactly human like physically and superior mentally (Lewis 49). Characteristics of post-human Katherine Hayles characterizes post-humanism as changing patterns in the transformation of information. This shows that new ideas are emerging from old ones in transforming the human nature into a machine like being (McNeil 429). Additionally, information is being transformed through innovative technology and science which is leading into new discoveries and enhancements which are improving the living standards of the human life and enhancement of the way life is experienced. The transformation of information in the modern era leads human beings into a state where the future happening is very unpredictable. The future is thus described as accidental because of the high unpredictability associated with turns in science and technology. The dedication of scientists and technology experts especially in the field of medicine may surprise the human race with invention of ways of prolonging life and healing the currently incurable conditions such as cancer and HIV/AIDS. Therefore the patterns of information play a leading role in determining where the world is headed. For example the patterns in the use of information in enhancing warfare could lead to creation of cyborg soldiers. However the depicting of masculine cyborg soldiers in the developed nation has raised social cultural debate which has influenced the perception of the society on the roles of men in warfare as compared to women (Rosi 224). The post-human is also characterized by consciousness of the human nature. The creation of cyborgs for example concentrates at ensuring that the technological and scientific innovations have the ability of knowing what is happening in the surrounding environment (Donna 149). The creation of artificial beings by scientific experts in cybernetics tries to create human features such as a gender identity and sensitivity to the surrounding. The issue of consciousness is associated with human nature because the sensory system of human beings is designed to determine the happenings within the environment as a tool of surviving potential threats. This illustrates that despite the increased opposition to the reengineering of the human genome to create superior beings, scientists basically focus on ensuring that the consciousness is featured within their technological creations. The difficult in generating a fully conscious cyborg shows that human nature is very complex and special in many ways and thus assertions of some analysts that the attempt of scientist to play God is unlikely to succeed is justifiable. The human body which acts as a prosthesis from where scientific manipulations are based characterize the post-human (Sarah 188). In all cybernetics and attempts of creating a superior being, the human body acts as the reference point from where improvements can be made. Cyborgs are designed to take the human form in terms of either a male or female gender. Depending on the functions that the cyborgs are created, they are created to symbolize either a masculine of feminine form. As a result, they have had an influence on how the society views the changing roles of both men and women within the society. The post-human is a human being with changes in the physical and mental performance that is initiated by scientific improvements. The innovations which enhance human senses such as visual aids are based on the lens systems which are similar to the anatomical structure of the human eye. All changes in the post-human are grounded on the natural form whether within works of fiction in the new media or actual scientific and technological creations. The main characteristic of the post-human though is that human beings and intelligent computerized machines are seamlessly similar and articulated with the parallel functioning. Computer simulations for example are created to demonstrate actions that a human being would do except that they enhance efficiency and the effectiveness of illustrating a concept (Evelyn 305). This shows that the post-human and human nature are considered articulations of the same manner of physical and mental performance. The cybernetic scientific mechanisms are usually designed to operate in the same manner as a human figure because the post-human is characterized by seamless direction of functioning with the human nature despite the different levels of performance. The goals that scientists aim at attaining through robot technology are also seamless with the actions of human nature except that the approach or the level of operation varies (Badmington 123). Other social ethical issues related to post-humanism Apart from the influence of the perceptions of the society on gender issues by post-humanism, this concept has raised other social ethical issues such on matters such as race and sexuality. The use of technology and science to augment the sexuality of the human being into artificial production of offspring with superior qualities has caused endless debates within the modern society (McNeil 427). The human nature procreates through the combination of genetic material from both the male and female gender in order to produce a natural offspring. However developments in genetic engineering are attempting to produce human clones from desirable genetic material that is obtained from parts of the body as opposed to the natural combination of reproductive cells. Human genetic engineering and cloning has caused both political and social debates which have led to the enactment of various registrations which are aimed at preserving the human generation. The justification of augmentative scientific innovations is usually justified by the fact that it has been used for improving of human life such as though the augmentation of vision through contact lens. The issue of race has also been a social ethical issue in the post-humanism especially in the field of medicine with claims that some medical experimentation aims at innovation of therapeutic enhancement that is selective to a specific race and discriminatory to the minority (Rosi 217). Conclusion The application of science and technology to enhance the human nature is one of the features that describe the happenings and developments within the post-humanism era. The media has played a significant role in the communication of both political and social attitudes on post-humanism and the influence of scientific and technological creations on the perception of gender by the society. Theorists such as Katherine Hayles, Donna Haraway and Michel Foucault have contributed a lot on post-humanism and the related modern developments through their philosophical arguments. Despite the social cultural implications of technology, it is not necessarily true that it is inherently evil. This is demonstrated by the use of technology in fields such as medicine to promote human life and enhance the manner in which life is experienced. Works Cited Badmington, Neil, “Posthumanism: Readers in Cultural Criticism”, Palgrave Macmillan, 2000. Print. Barrett, Michele, “Women’s Oppression Today: Problems in Marxist Feminist Analysis”, New Left Books, London, 1980. Print. Donna, Haraway, "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century”, Routledge, New York, 1991. Print. Evelyn, Hammonds, “New Technologies of Race”, Routledge, New York, 2000, pp. 305-318. Gill, Rosalind, “Gender and Media”, Polity Press, Cambridge, 2007. Print. Gillis, Stacy, "The (Post) Feminist Politics of Cyberpunk", Gothic Studies, 2007. Print. Hird, Myra, ‘Feminist Matters: New Materialist Considerations of Sexual Difference’, Feminist Theory, 2004. Print. 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