Donna Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto”

Quite possibly one of the most interesting accounts of social-feminism I’ve ever read (which sounds like an oxymoron). It’s difficult, but worth the work. Most intriguing are her claims that feminists must stop seeking totality of ‘lived experience’ and embrace the fracturing nature of identities found within the women’s movement. I also appreciate her call for more inventive fiction narratives that don’t presuppose women’s return to innocence or an organic state and to experiment with narratives that propose the merging of boundaries between science and fiction/organism and machine. Plus, it’s got ‘Cyborg’ in the title–which, apparently, is all it takes to grab my attention.

Here’s a link to full text.

And a succinct outline for clarity by Theresa M. Senft.

Self-less-ness

Is impossible. Even in death. I can’t think of one instance in which a person is entirely ‘selfless.’ Going to feed the homeless in Africa, donating all of your money to charity–while these things are charitable and, well, nice, they aren’t exactly selfless. The term selfless requires one to actually remove the self. How can one act without the self? Which of course leads to the question, what is the self? But that’s a whole seperate (but connected) discussion. It’s just curious how people wish to be called selfless–which is selfish, because what is actually happening is that the person being deemed selfless is basking in the recognition of his humility. And if you are basking in the compliments of others, then that is exactly the opposite of being selfless.

Even if one were to jump in front of an oncoming car in order to prevent someone else from dying–it would seem that there is that one split moment of recognition in which you should save them because you’re noble, or courageous, or some other virtue ascribed to these situations by centuries of folklore and tradition. So even in death there is the self. Especially in suicide, because there is a very willful point being made. ‘I’m tired of this life,’ ‘I will end this myself,’ In order to be truly selfless then, one must entirely remove herself from herself. Which is impossible at this time (I think). So selfless = nothingness (if there is such a thing.) So, in actuality, to call someone selfless can be seen as a term of degredation. You are saying one is nothing or one is without him or herself; nothing.

I’ve been thinking about this recently because it seems to be the goal of many; to be selfless. I’ve even contemplated the Peace Corps, traveling the world feeding the poor (ok, maybe an exagerration) but those things are completely self-indulgent.  Especially seeing as though I am a Westerner going to ‘give of my time’ in a very missionary/noble/stoic/virtuous/[societal-bullshit-term-entered-here] way. I wish I could reach a level of selflessness that doesn’t seem to exist. Maybe because it doesn’t?