From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Wed Aug 15 2001 - 10:38:11 MDT
Helen Fowle wrote:
>
> Boundaries and institutions do tend to shift I agree, but
> there are some traditional institutions that do seem to be
> quite steadfast, such as patriarchy. Feminist criticism of the
> cyborg, transhuman and posthuman look to a time when gender
> will no longer be relevent or distinguishable, they see the
> cyborg as some kind of revolutionary icon. But it seems to me
> many on the list see becoming transhuman as a purely
> individual transformation - not thinking of it it in any
> revolutionary terms. Is this true? I supppose I'm looking at
> the question of individulaism versus communism, in the respect
> of the idea that changing one's body may not have immediate
> effects on society - but in the long run if everyone's doing
> it, then society will obviously change too.
>
There is no reason gender as such should disappear completely
that I am aware of. It will become less bi-gendered and rigid.
But I don't see where it disappearing completely is inevitable
or even desirable. If it occurred it would simply be different,
not necessarily better.
I am not sure "revolution" is a word I really understand as so
many people many so many different things by it. What is coming
will be utterly revolutionary in that the possibilities are wide
open. We have many more degrees of freedom than ever before.
It is important that we choose/create a viable future from those
possibilities rather than fragmenting totally into our own trips
I believe. But we are talking the possibility of total
transformation of almost everything we are and do as real
possibility. That is about as revolutionary as it gets.
Society will change utterly when we move to basic and
fundamental abundance rather than basic and fundamental
scarcity. The old economic models and much of our sociological
and psychological models are geared to scarcity. Individualism
vs. communism and the notion there is a "vs" to it are also
quite mired in and dependent on the old scarcity model. A large
part of the challenge is going to be seeing with fresh eyes
instead of imposing old patterns and prejudices on the
fundamentally different.
- samantha
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