Cyberfeminism Digitizing Race and Internet Media

Cyber Feminism, Gender and Technology

Cyberfeminism, Gender and Technology

Feminist movement found on the internet is known as Cyberfeminism. In recent times, the term has gained controversial status. Cyberfeminism, a fundamental issue from the feminist perspective, is mostly ignored by researchers and academics. It concentrates on empowerment of women through the cyberspace. Furthermore, it deals with female enlightenment and concentrates on creating awareness on how the digital technologies can influence the rights and social status of women. The digital technologies act as a medium of re-embodying the issue of racism and gender. Internet is the new medium used to erase the identity of women; that is; women are the erased race. However, the internet has played a significant role in promoting Cyberfeminism by pointing out that several feminist studies and internet activities are done by the online media. It cannot be denied that technology plays an important role in promoting feminism in the cyber world. The terms technology, feminism and racism are interconnected and cannot be separated. This indicates that technology is important in today's time and thus, the consequences are not alone dependent on technology but also depend on the social, political and institutional structure together with user perception. The aim of this research paper is to discuss Cyberfeminism, racism and technology in the lights of broad and diverse academic resources.

Literature Review

Overview

During the nineties, a new form of media emerged, which completely changed the face of technology. The last decade has witnessed significant developments in the information technology domain[footnoteRef:1]. The commercial interest in the development of the Internet technology is comparable to the commercial interest in development of Guttenberg Press, which aimed at producing massive printed text during the age of industrialization[footnoteRef:2]. From feminist critique, it has been observed that although scientists and academics claim that science and technology are objective and unbiased in nature. The statement that technology is objective in nature is false and in reality, it maintains and sustains inequalities and disparities. The pursuit of "sought to advocate the possibility of a feminist science and politics outside of gender binarisms" can be observed in works of Cynthia Cockburn.[footnoteRef:3] Following the steps of Cockburn, several feminists have "enabled new substantive knowledge and critiques in order to deconstruct and re-construct science"[footnoteRef:4]. However, it should be noted that majority of these accounts are searching for impartiality and neutrality and "a reworked vision of the Enlightenment project of progress through scientific knowledge"[footnoteRef:5]. [1: Chon, Margaret. Erasing Race?: A Critical Race Ferminist View of Internet Identity Shifting, 1999.

] [2: Chon, Margaret. Erasing Race?: A Critical Race Ferminist View of Internet Identity Shifting, 1999.

] [3: Cockburn, Cynthia. The Line: Women, Partition and the Gender Order in Cyprus. London;New York: Zed Books, 2004.] [4: Nakamura, Lisa. Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008] [5: Nakamura, Lisa. Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008]

The global impact of Internet and its supporting technologies cannot be denied, yet they are controlled and managed by Western multinational organizations and corporations. In this regard, ownership, gender, knowledge and technology are still under the hands of a particular group and thus are part of an exclusive category. The claim that the internet and its online world have given ultimate freedom "for all different bodies of knowledge do not and are not readily manifested in cyberspace practices"[footnoteRef:6]. In the era of digitization, information technologies have been utilized in order to have a positive impact on society and its ends. Yet this is only seen in theory and not in practice. Cyberfeminism has been developed and coined by feminists in order to respond to the "technologically mediated structures of power" and to deal with the discrimination made against women in terms of information technology[footnoteRef:7]. The cyberworld is known to be the hub of misogyny and sexism, which is far more than in the physical world. From research, it is evident that internet is considered to be an important social organization, which is controlled by males. As mentioned earlier, the internet is controlled by an exclusive class of multinational organizations; it has been created by gendered individuals and thus managed by them and therefore, suppression and subjugation of women has been reinforced in the online world[footnoteRef:8]. In this regard, Cyberfeminism has emerged in order to combat the male dominated online world[footnoteRef:9]. [6: Nakamura, Lisa. Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008] [7: Nakamura, Lisa. Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008] [8: Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. London: Routledge, 2002] [9: Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. London: Routledge, 2002]

Definition of Cyberfeminism

The term Cyberfeminism is defined as "diverse range of practices and discourses all generically identifiable by their commitment to exploring non-oppressive alternatives to existing relations of power through the manipulation of information technologies"[footnoteRef:10]. In simple terms, the goal of cyberfeminism is to retain and promote the quality of gender. It deals with the philosophy, principle and practices defined by feminism within the online world. Cyberfeminism in practice seeks to offer females an alternate way of dealing with male dominance in technological domain. Cyberfeminism has emerged as a product of misogyny and sexism that prevails in the online world[footnoteRef:11]. Although claims have been made that technology and science are objective in nature, yet it is believed that the online media is used by males in order to subjugate women. The cyber world has been developed in order to share information and knowledge. However, the sharing of information has been divided among users and non-users and the entire online world has been divided in to categories; "information poor and information rich"; together with repression and subjugation including racism, sexism, etc.[footnoteRef:12]. "Cyberfeminism positions itself as an uneasy but productive political project in the midst of this highly contradictor ydigital landscape of threats and promises for women and their allies"[footnoteRef:13]. To understand how the term cyberfeminism emerged, is difficult. The appearance of the term was first made in the early nineties by VNS Matrix, an Australia-based group of artists. During the nineties, the term was significantly found in the online world but lacked formal definition and objective. Irrespective of the vagueness found in its definition and goals, cyberfeminism has significant attention and importance[footnoteRef:14]. [10: Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. London: Routledge, 2002] [11: Wilding, Faith. Where is Feminism in Cyberfeminism?. 28 March 2006. Cyberfeminist International. 4 June 2011] [12: Wilding, Faith. Where is Feminism in Cyberfeminism?. 28 March 2006. Cyberfeminist International. 4 June 2011] [13: Wilding, Faith. Where is Feminism in Cyberfeminism?. 28 March 2006. Cyberfeminist International. 4 June 2011] [14: Wilding, Faith. Where is Feminism in Cyberfeminism?. 28 March 2006. Cyberfeminist International. 4 June 2011]

Theoretical Background of Cyberfeminism

There is no doubt that third wave feminism had a massive influence on cyberfeminism. Frequently researchers assert that cyberfeminism is the product of third wave feminism. The third wave feminism is considered to be an important and significant movement in terms of development of feminist ideology and promotion of gender equality[footnoteRef:15]. It started during the nineties as a response "a critical response to the political exclusions and biases of the second wave, revealed as merely having included white Western middleclass straight women under the seemingly unifying category "women." The third wave, interlaced with poststructuralism, postmodernism, queer theory, black feminism, and postcolonial theory, is a multi-facetted acknowledgement of the many differences and power hierarchies that position women in relation to men, and in relation to one another"[footnoteRef:16]. The difference and disparity among women during the nineties were based on race, class, ethic background, sexuality, etc. Cyberfeminism based on theory concentrates primarily on the studies related to third wave feminism and science and technology. [15: Bohman, James. "Expanding Dialogue: The Internet, the Public Sphere and Prospects for Transnational Democracy." In After Habermas: New Perspectives on the Public Sphere, eds. Nick Crossley and John Michael Roberts, 131-55. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004] [16: Wilding, Faith. Where is Feminism in Cyberfeminism?. 28 March 2006. Cyberfeminist International. 4 June 2011]

Donna Haraway's Cyborg Image

When talking about cyberfeminism, the metaphor used by Donna Haraway comes into appearance. She had used cyborg in order to demonstrate the gender equality that exists in all domains. "Haraway's cyborg interpretation has no commitment to an absolute base for knowledge, but emphasizes "situated" and "partial" knowledge, uncertain and sometimes contradictory subjectivities and identities. She regards the subject as an ongoing, open-ended process in the intersections of gender, race, and class, with a sensibility for local, material conditions that form female subjectivity"[footnoteRef:17]. From Haraway's perspective, cyberfeminism has been derived from the philosophy of postmodern feminism along with socialist feminism. [17: Bohman, James. "Expanding Dialogue: The Internet, the Public Sphere and Prospects forTransnational Democracy." In After Habermas: New Perspectives on the Public Sphere, eds.Nick Crossley and John Michael Roberts, 131-55. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004]

Sadie Plant and Cyberfeminism

A different perspective of cyberfeminism can be witnessed in works of Sadie Plant and Sandy Stone. From their perspective, technology such as the internet can be used as a medium to promote feminist philosophy and principles in order to liberate women from subjugation they experience at the hands of males. Sadie Plant wrote Zeroes+Ones in the year 1997 and asserted that cyberfeminism is a philosophy used to describe the seditious bond between females and technology[footnoteRef:18]. Furthermore she asserts that women have always been kept in shadows in the male dominated culture and society and "have been the ones who did the groundbreaking work: from the very first computer program to the latest incarnation of virtual reality"[footnoteRef:19]. Furthermore, Plant concentrates on translating computer codes and asserts that one represents male dominance and authority and zero represents the subjugation of females. Furthermore, she asserts that in the field of telecommunications, women have been sidelined and that males were the actual works. [18: Wajcman, Judy. Feminism Confronts Technology. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991; Reprint,2000] [19: Plant, Sadie. "On the Matrix: Cyberfeminist Simulations." In The Gendered Cyborg: AReader, eds. Gill Kirkup, Linda Janes, Kath Woodward and Fiona Hovenden, 265-75.London; New York: Routledge, 2000]

Her cyberfeminism illustrates the point that women are the machines and that "women have always been the "machine parts" in a male culture by reproducing both the species and the communication. Through this notion of the female capability of translation, she fills the previous absence in the history of the machinery by inscribing women's activities, bodies and emotions in a very close, or even symbiotic, relationship to machines. When machines get more autonomous, women go the same way, and between them a highly charged, sexual alliance is developed, "naturally" linking women's qualities to the new electronic world"[footnoteRef:20]. [20: Plant, Sadie. "On the Matrix: Cyberfeminist Simulations." In The Gendered Cyborg: AReader, eds. Gill Kirkup, Linda Janes, Kath Woodward and Fiona Hovenden, 265-75.London; New York: Routledge, 2000]

The theoretical framework used by Sadie Plant to define cyberfeminism has been appreciated by several authors but also has been subjected to severe criticism as the relationship between women and technology; particularly, in terms of internet, making it a female technology[footnoteRef:21]. [21: Wajcman, Judy. Feminism Confronts Technology. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991; Reprint,2000]

Sandy Stone

From the works of Sandy Stone, transsexual body image has been used in order to understand the concept of cyberfeminism, gender inequality and internet[footnoteRef:22]. According to Stone, the position of a transsexual is not determined. But this does not that the transsexual body does not have the power to speak and thus, "the violence inscribed in the transsexual body can be turned into a deconstructive force even though this process may be severely painful. Stone reads the transsexual body in its internal dissonance to unveil elements of gender in new and unexpected compositions"[footnoteRef:23]. In terms of cyberspace, Stone asserts that "the nets are spaces of transformation, identity factories in which bodies are meaning machines, and transgender -- identity as performance, as play, as wrench into the smooth gears of social apparatus of vision -- is the ground state."[footnoteRef:24] [22: Cockburn, Cynthia. The Line: Women, Partition and the Gender Order in Cyprus. London;New York: Zed Books, 2004] [23: Cockburn, Cynthia. The Line: Women, Partition and the Gender Order in Cyprus. London;New York: Zed Books, 2004] [24: Cockburn, Cynthia. The Line: Women, Partition and the Gender Order in Cyprus. London;New York: Zed Books, 2004]

Cyberfeminism and Internet

The internet is considered to be a medium for bringing social change. The main issue is that how the internet views genders? The main issue in the in terms of gender and internet is that what is the impact of internet on gender and how its content and construct perceptions of gender in the cyberworld? The internet technology was first developed in the sixties where the Pentagon and American Universities worked collaboratively[footnoteRef:25]. Thus, it has been designed by military and industries, which according to the feminists, is controlled and managed by male with their own male values and codes. In the last decade, feminists have associated that internet is a female technology and thus has the qualities of femininity[footnoteRef:26]. On the other hand, some feminists assert that the technology has no gender. This section of the paper concentrates on discussing cyberfeminism and gender in context to internet technology. [25: Faludi, Susan. Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man. New York: W. Morrow and Co,1999.] [26: Faludi, Susan. Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man. New York: W. Morrow and Co,1999.]

Background

Telephone was the device that was invented in the year nineteenth century. The technology had been developed in order to establish and improve communications systems and networks. Slowly and gradually, the developments made in telephone and communications led to he development of telephone companies. During that time, majority of the companies objected the use of telephone by women. This was because it was widely believed that women only discussed trivial matters rather than using the telephone medium in a constructive way.

The telephone had indeed been propagated by the burgeoning industry as a medium for practical management and household purposes; businessmen were the first target groups. Exhibits, telephone vendors and advertisements in trade journals all claimed that the telephone would 'increase efficiency, save time, and impress customers [footnoteRef:27]. [27: Wajcman, Judy. Feminism Confronts Technology. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991; Reprint,2000]

During those times, the phone had primarily been used by women for meeting their social needs and requirements. Majority of the industry's leaders disproved the female usage of telephone labeling it as "female foolishness"[footnoteRef:28]. "In trade journals and advertisements'talkative women and their frivolous electrical conversations about inconsequential personal subjects were contrasted with the efficient taskoriented, worldly talk of business and professional men'"[footnoteRef:29]. Furthermore, newspapers filed complaints against women usage on phones for catering their social needs. In pop culture, humorous jokes were made on female usage of phone. This indicates that from technological perspective, the gender bias had always been present since the inception of telephone. In this context, it can be understood the need for changing the behavior of females in terms of phone usage. Furthermore, the objections were also made because of financial reasons. For instance, the total cost of the phone was not dependent on the length of the call. "It appeared at the hearing, however, that ordinary telephone subscribers had no objection to the way women used the telephone, 'so the commission ruled it could do nothing'"[footnoteRef:30]. During the twenties, the phone became an important part of marketing and thus, "It is therefore not a far-fetched conclusion to say that 'women subscribers were largely responsible for the development of a culture of the telephone' as we know it today"[footnoteRef:31]. In the same manner, the invention of the computer is joint efforts of Charles Babbage and Ada, a gifted mathematician. 'Ada understood the potential power of a computing machine such as envisioned by Babbage -- one that had internal memory, could mathematical computation, artificial intelligence and even computer music'"[footnoteRef:32]. Babbage's and Ada's work emerged in the late thirties and Ada's "contribution to computer history has been acknowledged by various sources, most notably the American Defence Department which named its primary programming language, ADA, after her"[footnoteRef:33]. The internet technology was first developed in the sixties where the Pentagon and American Universities worked collaboratively. Thus, it has been designed by military and industries, which according to the feminists, is controlled and managed by male with their own male values and codes. Irrespective of the nature of the internet, it is widely believed that the internet is controlled by males and their male values and principles. [28: Wajcman, Judy. Feminism Confronts Technology. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991; Reprint,200] [29: Wajcman, Judy. Feminism Confronts Technology. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991; Reprint,2000] [30: Wajcman, Judy. Feminism Confronts Technology. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991; Reprint,2000] [31: Wajcman, Judy. Feminism Confronts Technology. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991; Reprint,2000] [32: Wajcman, Judy. Feminism Confronts Technology. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991; Reprint,2000] [33: Wajcman, Judy. Feminism Confronts Technology. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991; Reprint,2000]

The last decade has witnessed significant developments in the information technology domain. The commercial interest in the development of the Internet technology is comparable to the commercial interest in development of Guttenberg Press, which aimed at producing massive printed text during the age of industrialization. From feminist critique, it has been observed that although scientists and academics claim that science and technology are objective and unbiased in nature. The statement that technology is objective in nature is false and in reality, it maintains and sustains inequalities and disparities. The global impact of Internet and its supporting technologies cannot be denied, yet they are controlled and managed by Western multinational organizations and corporations. In this regard, ownership, gender, knowledge and technology are still under the hands of a particular group and thus are part of an exclusive category. In the era of digitization, information technologies have been utilized in order to have a positive impact on society and its ends. Yet this is only seen in theory and not in practice. The cyberworld is known to be the hub of misogyny and sexism, which is far more than in the physical world. From research, it is evident that internet is considered to be an important social organization, which is controlled by males. The goal of cyberfeminism is to retain and promote the quality of gender. It deals with the philosophy, principle and practices defined by feminism within the online world. Cyberfeminism in practice seeks to offer females an alternate way of dealing with male dominance in technological domain[footnoteRef:34]. [34: Sherman, A. (2008) Cybergrrl: A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web. New York:Ballantine Books]

Cyberfeminism has emerged as a product of misogyny and sexism that prevails in the online world. Although claims have been made that technology and science are objective in nature, yet it is believed that the online media is used by males in order to subjugate women. The cyber world has been developed in order to share information and knowledge. There is no doubt that third wave feminism had a massive influence on cyberfeminism. Frequently researchers assert that cyberfeminism is the product of third wave feminism[footnoteRef:35]. The third wave feminism is considered to be an important and significant movement in terms of development of feminist ideology and promotion of gender equality. When talking about cyberfeminism, the metaphor used by Donna Haraway comes into appearance. She had used cyborg in order to demonstrate the gender equality that exists in all domains. A different perspective of cyberfeminism can be witnessed in works of Sadie Plant and Sandy Stone. From their perspective, technology such as the internet can be used as a medium to promote feminist philosophy and principles in order to liberate women from subjugation they experience at the hands of males[footnoteRef:36]. [35: Sherman, A. (2008) Cybergrrl: A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web. New York:Ballantine Books] [36: Sherman, A. (2008) Cybergrrl: A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web. New York:Ballantine Books]

The internet is considered to be a medium for bringing social change. The main issue is that how the internet views genders? The main issue in the in terms of gender and internet is that what is the impact of internet on gender and how its content and construct perceptions of gender in the cyberworld? The internet technology was first developed in the sixties where the Pentagon and American Universities worked collaboratively[footnoteRef:37]. Thus, it has been designed by military and industries, which according to the feminists, is controlled and managed by male with their own male values and codes. In the last decade, feminists have associated that internet is a female technology and thus has the qualities of femininity. On the other hand, some feminists assert that the technology has no gender. [37: Sherman, A. (2008) Cybergrrl: A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web. New York:Ballantine Books]

The Positive Impact of Internet on Cyberfeminism

Cyberfeminism has been defined as a modern and new approach towards feminist philosophy and practice. The stepping in the cyberworld including social media sites, news groups, websites, forums, etc. have allowed the feminist to use the internet technology to promote feminist philosophy and to promote gender inequality and enlighten women on their rights and to free them from the subjugation they experience at the hands of males misogynist and chauvinists. Although the internet has given the voice to feminists and Maximum freedom for diverse manifestations, experiments, and the beginnings of various written and artistic genres, yet networks and organizations seem somewhat lacking, and the theoretical issues of gender regarding the techno-social are immature relative to their development in spaces of greater gender equity won through struggle[footnoteRef:38]. [38: Sherman, A. (2008) Cybergrrl: A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web. New York:Ballantine Books]

In such circumstances, feminists would continue to make efforts in order to fortify their hold in the territory, which had not been given to them by men on basis of gender discrimination. There is no doubt that the internet has been used as prime medium to promote gender inequality and discrimination, yet at the same time, it has equipped cyberfeminists with equipments, which the prior feminist waves did not have[footnoteRef:39]. From history, it is evident that prior feminist movements were based on physical association; that is, meeting up in groups and making campaigns for their political and legal status. Cyberfeminism is the product of third wave feminism as it "represents a new set of explorers ready to move the struggle into this new territory. As yet, the movement is still too young to face struggles inherent in the economy of difference. As on most frontiers, there still *seems* to be room for everyone. At the same time, there are lessons to be learned from history. Radical movements in their infancy tend to return to past patterns. Cyberfeminism is no different, and key feminist issues such as feminine subjectivity, separatism and boundary maintenance, and territorial identification are bound to arise again, even if they seem dead in other feminist territories"[footnoteRef:40]. [39: Sherman, A. (2008) Cybergrrl: A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web. New York:Ballantine Books] [40: Silverstone, R. And E. Hirsch (eds) (2002) Consuming Technologies: Media andInformation in Domestic Spaces. London: Routledge.]

Case Study

The internet is considered to be a powerful medium, which "represents a potentially powerful platform for women's subversion of gender stereotypes and for development of a virtual public sphere that more strongly reflects the values, priorities, desires, and aspirations of women"[footnoteRef:41]. The slogan of the website ChickTrick.com is that "We find a chick then play a trick"[footnoteRef:42]. The sample demonstrates a video of two American males, who are in search of a female they can fool in order to have a sexual encounter with her." The narrator is known to sleep with the woman and [41: Impulse Media Group. c2001. ChickTrick. Retrieved June 2011 from ChickTrick.com website:=www.chicktrick.com.] [42: Impulse Media Group. c2001. ChickTrick. Retrieved June 2011 from ChickTrick.com website:=www.chicktrick.com.]

"In this way the male viewer is invited to identify as co-conspirator or, perhaps to imagine himself as the filmmaker. Thus, the male consumer of ChickTrick is 'in on' the joke. For instance, in the 'Sharon' video the male protagonist shares a note with cameraman stating, "I'm gonna bang her," followed by sniggering. This example is particularly revealing, and highlights the orientation of ChickTrick to the American male consumer"[footnoteRef:43]. [43: Sherman, A. (2008) Cybergrrl: A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web. New York:Ballantine Books]

In such presentations, women are seen as objects, who do not have brains.[footnoteRef:44] Furthermore, the representation of females in such movies influences the viewer in a negative way. In this way, the viewer believes that the women can easily be tricked into having sexual encounter. The cyberspace is known to be the house of more than thousands of pornographic websites, which degrade women and their existence. With pornographic websites that degrades women, the internet has also been used by cyberfeminists in order to cater the needs and requirements of women[footnoteRef:45]. [44: Sherman, A. (2008) Cybergrrl: A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web. New York:Ballantine Books] [45: Sherman, A. (2008) Cybergrrl: A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web. New York:Ballantine Books]

More importantly, wide ranging websites are also present that concentrate on promoting the health and welfare of women. For instance VaginaPagina.com is a website that seeks to give wide ranging information related to women and their health. Furthermore, it has created a friendly and open atmosphere, where women can easily discuss and share information. The internet has been successful in promoting and preserving feminism and the need of expressing it[footnoteRef:46]. "Cynthia Cockburn has indicated the advantages (and pit falls) of e-networks and email communication in the work of the Hands Across the Divide, a bi-communal women's organisation working for peace in Cyprus"[footnoteRef:47]. At the same time, woman programmers and website designers have used the internet in order to promote cyberfeminism. [46: VaginaPagina. 28 Nov 2004. VaginaPagina. Retrieved June 2011 from VaginaPagina.com website: http://www.vaginapagina.com.] [47: Squires, J. (2006) 'Fabulous Feminist Futures and the Lure of Cyberculture' in J. Dovey (Ed.) Fractal Dreams: New Media in Social Context, London: Lawrence and Wishart]

Analysis

Feminist movement found on the internet is known as Cyberfeminism. In recent times, the term has gained controversial status. Cyberfeminism, a fundamental issue from the feminist perspective, is mostly ignored by researchers and academics. It concentrates on empowerment of women through the cyberspace. Furthermore, it deals with female enlightenment and concentrates on creating awareness on how the digital technologies can influence the rights and social status of women.. It cannot be denied that technology plays an important role in promoting feminism in the cyber world. The terms technology, feminism and racism are interconnected and cannot be separated. This indicates that technology is important in today's time and thus, the consequences are not alone dependent on technology but also depend on the social, political and institutional structure together with user perception. The last decade has witnessed significant developments in the information technology domain. The commercial interest in the development of the Internet technology is comparable to the commercial interest in development of Guttenberg Press, which aimed at producing massive printed text during the age of industrialization. From feminist critique, it has been observed that although scientists and academics claim that science and technology are objective and unbiased in nature. The statement that technology is objective in nature is false and in reality, it maintains and sustains inequalities and disparities. From research, it is evident that internet is considered to be an important social organization, which is controlled by males[footnoteRef:48]. As mentioned earlier, the internet is controlled by an exclusive class of multinational organizations; it has been created by gendered individuals and thus managed by them and therefore, suppression and subjugation of women has been reinforced in the online world. In this regard, Cyberfeminism has emerged in order to combat the male dominated online world. The goal of cyberfeminism is to retain and promote the quality of gender[footnoteRef:49]. It deals with the philosophy, principle and practices defined by feminism within the online world. Cyberfeminism in practice seeks to offer females an alternate way of dealing with male dominance in technological domain. Cyberfeminism has emerged as a product of misogyny and sexism that prevails in the online world. There is no doubt that third wave feminism had a massive influence on cyberfeminism. Frequently researchers assert that cyberfeminism is the product of third wave feminism. The third wave feminism is considered to be an important and significant movement in terms of development of feminist ideology and promotion of gender equality. [48: Squires, J. (2006) 'Fabulous Feminist Futures and the Lure of Cyberculture' in J. Dovey (Ed.) Fractal Dreams: New Media in Social Context, London: Lawrence and Wishart] [49: Silverstone, R. And E. Hirsch (eds) (2002) Consuming Technologies: Media andInformation in Domestic Spaces. London: Routledge.]