Behind the Poetics of the Female Asian Cyborg: A Techno-Orientalist Other
Abstract
In 1985, Donna Haraway conceived a political myth of the cyborg, a cybernetic organism, hybrid of machine and organism, that refuses to be attributed to existing definitions used to explain the human body. Over the years, Haraway’s cyborg has continued to find itself in the center of academic and creative discourse. Given the prominence of Haraway’s model, in this paper, I will examine the cyborg poetics of two contemporary female Asian poets, Franny Choi and Sally Wen Mao, under the framework of Haraway’s cyborg. Both liken their self to cyborgs. Both take the perspective of cyborgs. Both are equally drawn to Haraway’s cybernetic dream. I will explain how Haraway’s cyborg is a fitting metaphor for the female identity and a relevant conduit for its expression, and how it facilitates the reckoning and rejection of the historically constituted female body. Finally, I will interrogate applicability of Haraway’s cyborg to the female Asian body by cross-referencing the cyborg with orientalism and techno-orientalism. I will argue for the exclusive nature of Haraway’s cyborg and its inadequacy in constituting a liberating space for the female Asian body.
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