E
lementa
Intersections between Philosophy, Epistemology
and Empirical Perspectives
1
(2021)
1-2
Pierpaolo Limone
Editorial 7
F S
Slavoj Žižek
The Vagaries of the Superego 13
Ricardo Espinoza Lolas
Nature and Pandemic 33
Paolo Ponzio
Mask and Otherness between Recognition and Concealment: 47
Notes on the Self and the You
Daniela Savino
“Liquid” Identity and Otherness in the Phenomenon 61
of Religious Alienation: The Loss of Critical Thinking
and the “Barter” of the Self in the System of Communion
Francesca R. Recchia Luciani
The Sexistential Vulnerability of Bodies in Contact 85
in the Philosophy of Jean-Luc Nancy
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Elementa. Intersections between Philosophy, Epistemology and Empirical Perspectives
S S
Martina Rossi
Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Teaching: 103
Future Perspectives
Marco Ceccarelli
A Historical Account on Italian Mechanism Models 115
Giusi Antonia Toto - Alessia Scarinci
Cyberfeminism: A Relationship between Cyberspace, 135
Technology, and the Internet
Luigi Traetta - Federica Doronzo
Super-Ego after Freud: A Lesson not to Be Forgotten 153
Federica Doronzo - Gianvito Calabrese
Functioning of Declarative Memory: Intersection 163
between Neuropsychology and Mathematics
Giuliana Nardacchione - Guendalina Peconio
Peer Tutoring and Scaffolding Principle for Inclusive Teaching 181
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Cyberfeminism: A Relationship
between Cyberspace, Technology,
and the Internet
Giusi Antonia Toto 1 - Alessia Scarinci 2
1 Learning Science hub, Università degli Studi di Foggia (Italy)
2 Università degli Studi di Bari (Italy)
: https://dx.doi.org/10.7358/elem-2021-0102-tosc
giusi.toto@unifg.it
alessia.scarinci@uniba.it
A
The current of cyberfeminism has been active for 30 years now, also referred to as the
“third wave” of feminism. Despite being an ambiguous and multifaceted movement
involving multiple instances, cyberfeminism is represented in the imagination by women
with strong knowledge of media and digital technologies. The purpose of this article is
to analyze the socially and culturally constructed value that the media assume in this
movement. The very concept of identity is undergoing a phenomenon of control whereby
it is redefined by “control grids” (D. Haraway) that prevent free access to participation
in life on the web. The utopian theories of feminists actually alternate with fundamental
gender analyses within cyberspace that determine the amount of access to resources. The
last phase of this phenomenon is instead characterized by the intent to break down gender
inequalities through a series of digital products that produce changes in common percep-
tions: online magazines, YouTube channels, webinars, and entrepreneurship actions
on the web. New media and, more generally, access to information are fundamental to
social and political participation, in which the phenomenon of exclusion or production
of inequalities is more visible. Gender divisions on the web also reinforce sociocultural
barriers and sometimes create regressive and destructive forms of social bonds. Globaliza-
tion also affects these dynamics and accentuates exaggerated forms of individualism and
cognitive stiffening, which further accentuate the distinctive traits of gender inequalities
in cyberspace.
Keywords: cyberfeminism; digital technologies; new media.
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I
In 1994 in Britain, the director of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit,
Sadie Plant, invented the term Cyberfeminism Unit at the University of
Warwick to define the work done by feminists with interest in exploiting,
critiquing, and theorizing the cyberspace, the Internet, and in general,
new-media technologies (Tazi & Oumlil, 2020). Thus, “third-wave” femi-
nism grew from cyberfeminism, followed by the “second-wave” feminist
movement, which is the contemporary feminist movement we see today.
According to Tazi and Oumlil (2020), the “second-wave” feminist move-
ment started in 1970. It concentrated on women’s equal rights, but as an
antecedent of the, 20th century’s “first-wave” feminism focused on women’s
suffrage. Cyberfeminism was motivated mainly by helping younger tech-
nologically savvy women and those from middle-class, western, and white
backgrounds. Today, the ranks of cyber feminists are growing, but and
along with the increase is the growth of divergent ideas about what includes
cyber feminists’ thoughts and actions (Tazi & Oumlil, 2020).
Before the invention of cyberfeminism, the study of technology
among feminists tended to develop technology as constructed culturally
and socially. During this period, the main argument was that technology
belongs to the masculine culture because it perceived men as good at, inter-
ested in technology, and engaged in it more than women (Moghaddam,
2019). Even today, feminists still argue that technology is looked at as a
masculine invention, yet, throughout history, women have been actively
involved in developing new technologies. For instance, Moghaddam (2019)
highlights that, though women were involved in creating and developing
the computer, their contributions were greatly marginalized. Their involve-
ment was often written off or ignored in history. Hence, feminists like Judy
Wacjman, an Australian professor in sociology at the Canberra national
university, and Cynthia Cockburn, London’s activist, and independent
scholar, argue that technology should be re-conceptualized interrogated
continuously. Women need to become more involved in technology fields
as well (Moghaddam, 2019).
However, Richard and Gray (2018) say that Donna Haraway, the
History of Consciousness program professor at the University of Cali-
fornia, Santa Cruz, paves the way for cyberfeminism for women through
her groundbreaking essay “A Manifesto for Cyborgs”. In her essay, Haraway
defends feminist and socialist cyborgs facing challenges of single “grids of
control” and identity that prevent them and other marginalized groups
from fully participating in things technology. Haraway establishes that
women need to become more proficient technologically to challenge these
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systems and engage with the “informatics of domination”. Most impor-
tantly, Haraway argues that women need to be users who are and savvy of
the technological systems because only using them was not simply enough
(Richard & Gray, 2018). As such, this paper examines the background
of cyberfeminism, its development, theories, its technical analysis based
on Gender, and its criticism. The article also discusses how women have
become savvy users and how gender inequality can be changed through
Information Technology.
1. B
Richard and Gray (2018) continue to build on the work of Donna Haraway
of 1997 by writing that, in 1990, cyberfeminism started and acquired an
international impact. During this time, Donna Haraway started “cyborg
feminism”, a specific feminist branch that helped women use new tech-
nologies to profit themselves and fight against patriarchy (Richard & Gray,
2018). Haraway established A Cyborg Manifesto that involved technology,
Socialist-Feminism, and science but echoed Karl Marx’s 1847 “Commu-
nist Manifesto”. Haraway disapproved the second-wave feminism and
echoed feminism that substituted identity from affinity. Haraway deployed
the cyborg metaphor to challenge feminists to participate in politics that is
beyond essentialism and naturalism. Within which she called the “Infor-
matics of Domination”, Haraway’s manifesto aimed at justifying feminists’
hesitance to acknowledge their situation (Richard & Gray, 2018). Haraway
noted that people lived in a period where circuits and wire were gaining
ground instead of flesh. It was time they appreciated the cyborgization that
was holding ground in different fields of advancing technology. According
to Haraway, a cyborg represented a postmodern utopia of a world without
Gender that has no beginning (Richard & Gray, 2018).
Following the prelude to cyberfeminism, cyberspace was coined by
William Gibson in 1982 and became a descriptor of the prevalent virtually
constructed mental environment from where computer network activities
take place (Puente, 2018). Cyberspace can be used as a symbol to define
computers’ non-physical crafted environment. Relatively, cyberspace and
the Internet are becoming doors through which women will have the
opportunity for liberation (Colley & Maltby, 2018). Cyberfeminism is
concerned with opposing the accepted and recognized men dominance in
the advancement and employment of online technology.
Cyberspace, on the other hand in is involved in allowing women
to use the Internet technology to share, interact, swap information, and
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take part in recreation while taking part in social forums and carrying out
loads and businesses for other enterprises, as stated by (Puente, 2018).
Therefore, the Internet, cyberspace, and other information galaxies are no
longer viewed as masculine tools or spaces because women can not only
reframe and negotiate themselves within the social structure using cyber-
space, they have also embraced it. Hence, women are considered producers
and consumers of the Internet and cyberspace. In contrast, cyberspace acts
as a social capital that enables women to embrace the cyber-social commu-
nities and networks to expedite their requirements and ventures (Puente,
2018).
2. T
From the above beginnings, cyberfeminism began to develop. Richard and
Gray (2018) resonate with the writings of Sadie Plant, an early proponent
who coined cyberfeminism who says that women are naturally suitable to
use the Internet because, in nature, women and the Internet are similar.
Both women and the Internet are self-replicating and are non-linear
systems aimed at making connections. Richard and Gray (2018) continue
to report that Plant argues that even though earlier feminists believed that
computers essentially belonged to men, intellectuals should instead see the
Internet and computers as an avenue for women to play and engage in
new forms of work. It is a place where women are set free from traditional
constraints and can gain and experiment with new avenues for demanding
authority and power. Plant’s view for cyberspace is a familiar and welcoming
space where women can and must grab opportunities to challenge male
supremacy and advance themselves (Richard & Gray, 2018).
Richard and Gray (2018) think that, as younger feminists begin
to work on the Internet, they begin not to identify with the masculinity
theoretical arguments or the similarities between computers and women.
They begin to see the Internet as the main space for women to use tech-
nology to claim their territory, gain power and authority in the current
society. Today, some women in the feminist group can reject the name
‘‘feminist’’ altogether but still view the Internet as a key tool for women to
engage with and learn about (Richard & Gray, 2018). That is why groups
and individuals have coined discussion groups, websites, and other online
means to advance technological ends for women concerned with learning
more about technology and those already employed in areas of informa-
tion technology. Moreover, these groups believe that women can achieve
superior knowledge in emerging technologies through empowerment and
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exceptional understanding of emerging technologies and creating extra
opportunities to advance their working areas (Richard & Gray, 2018).
Ramsey and McCorduck (2005) note that, Anna Munster a professor
from the University of New South Wales, and Susan Luckman, an Australian
feminist from the University of Queensland, comprise another branch of
cyber feminists that are of the idea that it is reductive and simplistic for
women to merely gain power and authority through the use of new media
technology. Munster and Luckman believe that technology is permanently
ingrained in the power structures that are not positive (Ramsey & McCor-
duck, 2005). Therefore, in their opinion, demands on girls and women to
uphold and advance the use of new technologies uncritically do not criti-
cally evaluate the role of technology in cultures and whether culture wishes
to see technology develop or not. Munster and Luckman agree that women
must and should be part of the future of technology. However, they argue
that women’s involvement must advocate for engagement in technology
use and advocate for more awareness of the promises and perils that new
technologies propose (Ramsey & McCorduck, 2005).
More critiques of the earlier work of cyber feminists suggest that
calling on more women to involve themselves with new technologies is
founded on wrong assumptions about actual living environments. Simply
said, not all women have access to the Internet or the computer and will
not likely access it in the probable future (Ramsey & McCorduck, 2005).
So, cyber feminists who simply make declarations that all girls and women
need laptops or modems are ignorant of the living conditions for those
who are not yet privileged like those of the Western (mostly white) and
middle-class background that are often referenced according to Ramsey
and McCorduck (2005). Hence, when considering how best to advance
online feminist ideas or otherwise, it is best to take account of women’s
material conditions. Additionally, though cyberfeminism is a growing
area of thought and study, its set of ideas concerning new technology and
women are not unified beyond the main idea that gender equality, mostly
on new technology, is a wanted goal (Ramsey & McCorduck, 2005).
3. C
According to Milford (2015), cyber feminists explore theories expansively:
they say women are naturally suited to use the Internet as they equally
share significant commonalities. Secondly, women are best at empow-
ering themselves to acquire expertise in technology and become fluent in
online communication. Lastly, women are best positioned to study how
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knowledge and power are built in the systems of technology and how femi-
nists can change and disrupt such practices for the progression of all society
members (Milford, 2015).
Critiques of these theories say that, despite their utopian look,
it is apparent that online spaces are places where the manifestation of
feminists’ issues occurs. Kieswetter (2020) notes that frameworks of
early cyber feminists reduce the inequality problem to a problem of
access to training on wiring and other technicalities and other equip-
ment. Matters of online inequality extend to broader contexts of socio-
politics that influence the betterment of cyberspatial environments on
cultural grounds where narrative dissertations of capitalist, colonial, and
patriarchal routines are advanced within these constructs. Therefore,
these dissertations have the power to limit the agency of women online,
possibly discouraging them from participating equally in digital societies
(Milford, 2015).
Milford (2015) further accentuates that political and policy discourses
that handle issues of online inequality, plus many other current cyberfemi-
nist discourses, also portray tendencies to embrace these narratives of linear
progress. While adopting these narratives of linear progress, simplistic
secondary notions related to virtual space and Gender get accepted regu-
larly instead of being critiqued.
Rather than complicating the connection of cyberspatial and Gender
environments, according to McAdam et al. (2020), critiques of cyber
feminists and lawful responses to web-based gender issues have stagnated
more often, investing in yet another artificial contrast. They say online
spaces are either dystopian (fantasy lands) or utopian (ideal spaces), but
nothing amidst them. The foreseen “brave new world” by earlier cyber
feminists is becoming a troubled anti-utopia (anti-ideal) with risks of
Gender used to justify the contemporary tendencies in lawful reactions
that comprise of surveillance, criminalization, and taking responsibility
of women online (McAdam, Crowley, & Harrison, 2020). Still, the same
critiques that equalized views of early cyber feminists of cyberspaces as
innately utopian can likewise be equalized as enclosing virtual spaces is
the framing of innately dystopian; it is not that simple, says (Kieswetter,
2020).
4. A G
Presently, online platforms have become the key ways women are
connecting worldwide. The Internet has thoroughly revolved to be consid-
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ered an outstanding balance; nonetheless, accessing it is not uniformly
shared. In connection with women, disputes related to gender rights to
use the Internet are found in several studies and investigations; concerning
access to technology, there are gender distinctions as technology is often
regarded as masculine (Rossetti & Frade, 2018). Thus, there are more
Internet-savvy men as compared to women because of masculinization.
Additionally, there is gender division based on who participates in the
production and design of technology.
Men are known to have higher Internet skills and spend more time
online than women. But many critics believe that the reasons women
in India are gradually falling out of Internet users are less secure due to
cyber harassment, cyberbullying, and cyber teasing (Kieswetter, 2020).
Studies also indicate that to study online pages and acquire informa-
tion, literacy skills among women are important. Still, many women
fear using computers because of technophobia and should be taught
ICT skills. The gender divide in the use of the Internet is particularly
salient in developing countries and sets women at the threat of lagging.
In India, the uneven gender ratio is reflected in its access to the Internet.
As many citizens are active online, the Indian government plans to
provide Internet connections to 1.30 billion residents as research shows
that women still lag behind men in accessing the Internet (Figs. 1-2)
(Consalvo, 2002). In India and the world at large, there is an observation
that women using the Internet in different parts of society is consistently
declining.
Figure 1. – Use of Internet in India (men vs women).
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Figure 2. – Use of Internet globally (men vs women).
Notably, the existing difference between men and women with their socioeco-
nomic statuses is one probable clarification of the gender gap. Consequently,
in the ranks of Internet users, men outnumber women since job status, educa-
tion, and income are connected with Internet use (Consalvo, 2002). On the
subject of Gender and technology, most of the information has been derived
from identity studies and culture. A better part of this work agrees that
Internet characteristics of gender inequality have greatly favored men despite
the growth of other online resources apart from chat rooms and websites
that function in favor of women. The phenomenon that is Gender explicit
can contribute to online gender gaps, given that these claims are founded
(Bimber, 2000). Research indicates that India is the second-largest country
with a huge online market, given that it has over 462 million Internet users,
followed by China. Better still, it was estimated that by 2017, the statistics of
those using the Internet by June would rise to 465 million and 635.8 million
by the end of 2021 in India, where men are said to be dominant Internet
users by 71% to women’s 29% (www. statista. com). Recent reports also esti-
mate that this gender gap will reduce in the coming years, where the Internet
usage share by women may get to 40% (Fig. 3). A. T. Kearney, a consultancy
and tech Google giant, conducted research that reported that one in every
five online business customers is a woman in India. Google further predicts
that this pattern will increase from the present, 20% to 40% in four years to
come. The Google report also remarks that the online market will witness a
5x+ progress in the statistics of those women shopping online by 2023, as the
significant non-adoption barriers are mitigated (Consalvo, 2002).
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Figure 3. – The percentage of female and male Internet users in India.
Regarding the participation of women on Twitter, an analysis of 23,350
tweets by the Observer Research Foundation showed that, in microblog-
ging sites and conversations about politics, women are underrepresented.
These statistics reflect marginalization in the whole country’s political
processes (Bellman, 2017). Additionally, men’s tweets were at 46%, with
8% less of tweets coming from women, as reflected by the report. The
remaining tweets were from accounts and organizations where it was diffi-
cult to ascertain or access gender identity. Of the 23,250 sampled tweets
under the trending topics about politics, 7.72% of the tweets were from
women, 46.15% tweets were from men, 34.83 tweets from news outlets,
organizations, and other groups, while 11.30% tweets were from users
without gender specifications (Bellman, 2017). This means that, while
the gender Internet use ratio was improving slightly in India’s urban part,
40% of women are utilizing the Internet against 60% of men. In rural
areas, there are 75% of men Internet users compared to 25% of women.
Globally, women seem to lead in Internet handling in dominant
social network sites, although the trend is different in India. Recent reports
from UK’s consultancy firm “We Are Social” on social network sites like
Facebook that consider India its extensive market, the ratio of women to
men Internet users is 1:3. India’s Facebook population comprises 24%
of women than 76% of men (Fig. 4); these figures are more skewed by
Gender for Bhutan and Nepal’s bordering countries (www. statista. com).
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Figure 4. – Use of social networking sites globally (men vs women).
The nation of South Asia demonstrates uneven technology use. Cell phones
are the primary tools that make women’s lives more beautiful in middle-
income countries and low-income countries. Unfortunately, in countries
with middle-and low-income, the number of women without cell phones
amounts to more than 1.7 billion; 72% or 440 million Indian females do
not own cell phones as per GSMA, an association of mobile service compa-
nies worldwide (Moghaddam, 2019). Also, over 100 million more men
than women have mobile phones in India, which is an enormous gender
gap globally. Half of the worldwide gap of 200 million women accounts
for those lacking phones in India. Hence, about 28% of women and 43%
of men have cell phones, indicating that 36% of women are likely to have
phones than men. But even those women owning phones in India can only
use them for communication in most cases (Moghaddam, 2019). An esti-
mated 55% of women with mobile phones in India by GSMA never have
or cannot send a text message which relates with men in Indian who have
never sent a text message though they have a cell phone at 33%. Likewise,
80% of women in India with cell phones are yet to connect to the Internet
using their cell phones (Bellman, 2017).
According to Cater-Steel and Cater (2017), technology is considered
an excellent equalizer and mode of communicating with individuals who it
could not have been easy to connect with before. Most importantly, tech-
nology condones people’s age, looks, color, Gender, and even economics.
Even though cyberfeminism specified that women were not technophobic
in the past, today, despite being ranked behind in decision-making in
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society and fewer numbers of women in higher education, India indicates
a relatively higher number of women in managerial and administrative
positions at 28%. Additionally, in the IT field, 28% of the workforce are
females, a higher ratio than other fields in the country and others (Cater-
Steel & Cater, 2017). A 2016 report on industries ruled by companies
such as Wipro Ltd and Infosys gave about 51% of IT jobs or entry-level
tech sectors were given to women. Such actions show that cyber feminists
are tasked with the need to employ insights that are theoretically female
bound along with strategic resources that connect them with techniques
in the cyber to combat disparity, militarism, and racism automated in the
hardware and software of the Internet. Thus politicking the environment
in the end (Lestari, Fadilah, & Wuryanta, 2020).
5. T
G
Online trolling usually targets women. On politically charged matters,
women occupying online space are considered intruders of the male space.
Regarding Gender-based exploitation, many female activists and bloggers
who are well known have preferred to bring down their accounts (McAdam,
Crowley, & Harrison, 2020). Critiques believe that men are believed to
be the first to benefit from innovations, whereas women follow them and
take over their vacated positions. Colley and Maltby (2018) state that jobs
such as ICT that are technological are often regarded as masculine, and
their control and proficiency usually belong to men. Further, Kieswetter
(2020) indicates that women are deterred from accessing information on
technology by such assessments. Nevertheless, in ICT empowerment areas,
women also play a role that exceeds stereotypes, but prejudice hampers
their significance and ability to learn and apply innovative technology.
However, Channa (2004), while riding on the work of Sadie plant, a
cultural theorist and British philosopher, is enthusiastic about her Zeroes+
One’s work which acknowledges the ability of Internet technologies to
transform women’s lives. Channa (2004) considers cyberspace as a liberating
platform for women and female technology is advanced by the Internet.
Moreover, the Internet worth is derived from the nurturing aspects of virtual
communities, decreasing hierarchies, and the free exchange of information,
which are women’s values. Also, the final proof of networking technology is
when the Internet epitomizes nothing but the death of patriarchy.
Moreover, Channa (2004) accentuates that the fundamental belief of
Zeroes + Ones is that technology has liberated women, and the ongoing
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gender tremor is only a part of the historical process. While discussing
cyberfeminism (Melanie Stewart Millar) an advocate for women’s rights,
develops on the writings of Channa (2004) by stating that cyberfeminism
facilitates a female-centered outlook that advocates for utilization of the
latest communications and information technologies aimed for liberation.
Miller adds that different cyber feminists view technology as liberating and
are convinced that its growth can end superiority among men leaving room
for women to live exceptionally in the era of technology.
6. H
Mohanty and Samantaray (2017) says that the struggle for feminine iden-
tity is a phenomenon of social post-independence. The example of Kapi-
laben Vanka, an Executive Committee of Self Employed Women’s Associa-
tion (SEWA) member who shares how a mobile device has changed her
life, will help understand the phenomenon of social post-independence.
Vanka is a farmer who cultivates lily flowers. To sell the flowers, Vanka
must wake up early to pick the flowers and later take them to the market.
Before buying her cell phone, she moved from market to market and from
one trader to the other, spending the whole day finding the best market.
Today, Vanka uses her cell phone to call up different traders in different
markets when still at the garden. The flowers are already in the market
for sale by nine in the morning. The cell phone has saved Vanka tremen-
dous time and money. She earned about 1500 to 2000 Rupees as an added
income since she started using a cell phone to communicate (Mohanty &
Samantaray, 2017).
Thus, although Vanka’s example gives hope that women are still
involved and benefiting from technology, gender inequality is vast in the
way technology is used worldwide. The sizable forces or the socio-cultural
factors within societies and cultures repeatedly impinge on the demeanor,
judgment, mindset of individuals (Mohanty & Samantaray, 2017). Girls’
rights are restricted in the public space when involved in domestic chores,
beliefs, and masculine attitudes, prohibiting them from accessing Internet
centers. For example, the Google educative initiative that offers the Internet
Saathi program in India is trying to change the lives of girls and women
with an aim to the divide in gender technology. Unfortunately, this initia-
tive puts women at more risk of being marginalized in society (Mohanty &
Samantaray, 2017).
Across the continent, as Asia witnesses the growth in Internet access,
determining global conversations are emerging on electrical networks,
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influencing ideologies, and creating fresh knowledge. Electronic journals,
magazines, and e-books are being circulated on the global web where
women share ideas; presently, online libraries are a reality for social honesty
to quicken the activism process (Consalvo, 2002). Women clients get access
to e-mail and the Internet, perform word processing through the computer
and get entertained with instant communications digitally. Women also
get help from computers when accessing their money from banks and
when conducting banking activities. They are becoming the best tools for
teachers and learning women. Through social networking sites like Twitter,
Facebook, blogs, e-mails, and Myspace, the Internet provides diverse ways
for women to connect with others according to Consalvo (2002). Women
often spend their time online to distract themselves by updating themselves
with the news, watching online videos through YouTube, reading e-books,
playing online games, and shopping (Mohanty & Samantaray, 2017).
According to Consalvo (2002), for those women who admire or
want to work as freelancers, the Internet has created opportunities for
them on online platforms. Technology has helped women balance hobbies,
family, and work in several ways; naturally, women can now incorporate
technology into their everyday activities. Women now utilize the telecom-
munication and work-from-home options. Consalvo (2002) further high-
lights that access to information through technology is an essential tool for
development and transformation in a social way; it may be taken as the
basic need for women. In conjunction with web entrepreneurship, there is
a need for education and requisite skills for the digital world to empower
women in the tech sector.
7. C G
As full societal access to information technology gets more widespread,
and technology gets more advanced, women are liberated from traditional
patriarchal power structures surrounding and consuming them (Luckman,
2017). Luckman (2017) further illustrates that, in places where societal
norms of being masculine, human, and feminine are transitioning, gender
identity and roles are breaking down. Technology empowers women to
express their ideas and develop new business models that have to be prac-
tical, visionary, and rational to get things in motion.
Additionally, communication and information technology let women
escape categories and boundaries that have constrained their identities
and activities in the past. E-media, which can be redesigned, recorded,
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and reprogramed to exceed conditions, is a new technology that provides
women chances to start a new, develop new programs, images, languages,
platforms, multi-subject identities, and fluid identities (Wilding, 1998).
Feminism is the starting point of cyberfeminism in its quest to concentrate
on contemporary technologies while exploring the connection between
technology, culture, and gender identity (McAdam, Crowley, & Harrison,
2020). Cyberfeminism struggles to increasingly be aware of the effects of
new technologies on women’s lives and gender fluidity in their daily lives.
Fortunately, international cyberfeminism pursues to bring together women
from several different fields of visibility and involvement in developing
economies and policies of electronic communication networks and tech-
nologies. Finally, cyberfeminism must expand the critique about the media
publicity concerning the world of technology as they offer important criti-
cism of the medium, according to (McAdam, Crowley, & Harrison, 2020).
C
Communication and information technologies are meant for every person,
and women must have equal beneficiaries of the benefits provided by
technology and the processes and products that materialize from their use.
Women need information on career advancement, research, matrimony,
health, infant care facilities, sexual harassment, legal provisions, entertain-
ment, social injustice, and domestic violence. Cyberfeminism emphasizes
the impacts of technology on the subtle gendering of cultural technology
and the lives of women in their everyday life. Internet is an online device
linking women worldwide, and feminists utilize the web to defeat racial
and Gender opportunities. Notably, a country that wishes for development
and advancement must not ignore empowerment and capacity building
among women. Likewise, since the Internet and cyberspace provide both
men and women with access to the same information, women must also be
associated with the lifecycle of technology advancement, as they are benefi-
ciaries and negotiators of change. Cyberspace’s gender division is enforced
by socio-cultural barriers, which are very multifaceted and adversely affect
women. It is improbable for gender differences that arise when using the
Internet to naturally end on its own without targeting to involve stake-
holders and policymakers. The government should provide financial
support for women to easily access the immense information found on
the web and support their ideas. Although overcoming these difficulties
and obstacles has no ‘silver bullet, ICT stakeholders have many actions
they can take to possibly augment the access and usage of the Internet by
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women; the image of technology must change to involve female views.
In certain markets, increasing the use of the Internet for women might
be the change needed among stable and increasing revenues and stagnant
or shrinking income progression. Cyber feminists understand the new
technologies as necessary for the economic and social restructuring that
productively affects the state of women.
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La corrente del cyberfemminismo è attiva da ormai un trentennio, e viene definita anche
come “terza ondata” del femminismo. Pur essendo un movimento ambivalente e polie-
drico e coinvolgendo molteplici istanze, il cyberfemminismo è rappresentato nell’imma-
ginario collettivo da donne con forti conoscenze dei media e delle tecnologie digitali. Lo
scopo del presente articolo è quello di analizzare il valore socialmente e culturalmente
costruito, assunto dai media in questo movimento. Il concetto stesso di identità subisce
un fenomeno di controllo che viene ridefinito da “griglie di controllo” (D. Haraway), che
impediscono il libero accesso alla partecipazione alla vita nel web. In realtà, le teorizza-
zioni utopiche delle femministe si alternano a fondamentali analisi di genere all’interno
del cyberspazio, che ne determinano la cifra stessa dell’accesso alle risorse. L’ultima fase
di questo fenomeno è connotata invece dall’intento di abbattere disuguaglianze di genere
attraverso una serie di prodotti digitali che producano cambiamenti nelle percezioni co-
muni: riviste online, canali Youtube, webinar, azioni di imprenditoria nel web.
Copyright (©) 2021 Giusi Antonia Toto, Alessia Scarinci
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How to cite this paper:
Toto, G. A., & Scarinci, A. (2021). Cyberfeminism: A relationship between cyberspace,
technology, and the Internet. Elementa. Intersections between Philosophy, Epistemology and
Empirical Perspectives, 1(1-2), 135-151. : https://dx.doi.org/10.7358/elem-2021- 0102-
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