Author Archives: Tess Chapin

Music-Activated Vibrator

For this week’s class we are discussing Xenofeminism.org which is a website led by an anonymous group of people. The post-modern movement of xenofeminsim focuses on the advancements of technology, on gender abolition, on feminist emancipation, on societal alienation and on anti-naturalism. When you go to the website, the first thing that you see is a post:

“I Wore a Music-Activated Vibrator to the Club Instead of Doing Drugs”

– I had more orgasms than you had last weekend.

Interestingly, the concept of doing drugs while going to a dance club is replaced by the concept of having orgasms. What does this say about the ‘feminist movement’? When comparing drugs to orgasms, does this obscure or highlight the relationship a femaled body could have over their pleasure autonomy? What are some of the liberal OR progressive qualities of having sexual pleasure in a public environment by way of a technological apparatus (a vibrator)? 

Plastic Surgery, Medical Tourism, and the Cyborg

A Cyborg Manifesto was first published in 1985. While plastic/cosmetic surgery (herein referred to as cosmetic physical intervention) was an option to consumers in the 80s (liposuction was developed in that era, in fact), it was not as widespread and technologically advanced of a practice as it is today. Currently a multi-billion-dollar industry, various manners of cosmetic physical intervention is now commonplace in certain social/cultural spheres. The marketing target for this industry has gotten lower and lower over the years; I am currently in my 20s, and I am aware of peers my age (and younger) that have integrated all manners of cosmetic technology into their lives (preventative Botox comes to mind).

I selected a video as my piece of media, one that was shown to me as a recommended video when I was on YouTube. The video discusses the cosmetic physical intervention industry in  South Korea, showcasing some of the technologies available and outlining why the country is an international destination for cosmetic work (for a taste of cosmetic surgery in South Korea see : https://gawker.com/plastic-surgery-blamed-for-making-all-miss-korea-contes-480907455 ). There is a ton of machinery in this video, all used on bodies. Does plastic surgery contribute to someone being a cyborg?