Cyberfeminism and ICT Access in Women's Centers

Introduction: Cyberfeminism and the Internet

"The cyborg is a condensed image of both imagination and material reality, the two joined centres structuring any possibility of historical transformation. In the traditions of 'Western' science and politics — the tradition of racist, male-dominant capitalism; the tradition of progress; the tradition of the appropriation of nature as resource for the productions of culture; the tradition of reproduction of the self from the reflections of the other — the relation between organism and machine has been a border war. The stakes in the border war have been the territories of production, reproduction, and imagination."

— Donna Haraway (1991, p. 151)

Cyberfeminism is not founded in the idea that feminists must band together as a group to fight the inequalities, disembodiment, and disenfranchisement of women. It is, alternatively, the development of a personal and global view that redresses inequalities through embodiment and enfranchisement into action. As a cyberfeminist, fighting the system means making it better — not simply complaining about how it is wrong. Though most would argue that creating a better system must include addressing existing inequalities and shortcomings, the cyberfeminist position holds that most people are already aware of those inequalities, and that continuing to analyze them rather than seeking ways to change them is counterproductive.

The general argument of cyberfeminism also demonstrates a strong desire to reject traditional, flawed, patriarchal structures and replace them with systems that meet women's needs. One particularly difficult question within this framework concerns information and communication technology (ICT): the system of ICT is largely structured by masculine ideals — both in its infrastructure and in its dominant ideas. Examples include the proliferation of disembodied images on the web and the anonymity that permits people to act and speak in ways that are not protective or respectful of women and their value. For these reasons, some argue the internet should not be seen as a viable avenue for change in the cyberfeminist, posthuman world (Rosser, 2005; Shade, 2002, p. 80).

Yet it should also be argued — as this paper does — that the internet is a fluid tool, more fluid than perhaps any other technology previously available to the world. It is also a relatively new development still shaping its patterns and processes of use. If the internet is rejected outright by feminist culture, the near-certain result will be that it develops solely to meet the needs of a patriarchal society. Benston (1988) points out in "Women's Voices/Men's Voices" that access to information and technology for men is often provided through existing structures — particularly in the workplace and education system — while women are frequently challenged to access the same information and technology by virtue of their gender and their social position.

Feminists and cyberfeminists have an opportunity to help the internet evolve into a resource that meets the needs of women — as consumers who shape how search engines travel through cyberspace, as developers of ideas through blogging or website design, and as providers of services addressing women's needs. This change can begin today. It is therefore essential that the best ICTs are available to women's center staff and patrons if meaningful change is to take place. Recent efforts to expand public connectivity — such as computer labs in public libraries or student-accessed computer centers on university campuses — are helpful but not always convenient to everyone. A resource center such as a women's center, especially a publicly offered one, must function as a hub for accessing this potential for change.

The Case for ICT Access in Women's Centers

This paper proposes that women's centers — one of the traditional resources available to women — must be fully capable of offering all parties who use them every opportunity that new technology brings: constructive communication on issues in need of change, personal development for enfranchisement and embodiment, and the practical ability to utilize the internet to build life changes, just as it has for so many other disenfranchised individuals and groups.

As a nontraditional student, my personal experiences have been extensive. I have also recently become aware of a critical shortfall in the system: many women's centers are disenfranchised by the limited resources that allow access to the internet. In my experience as a worker in a women's center, the technology was archaic and in serious need of upgrade. My work was constantly stifled by the fact that I had, essentially, the technology of the turn of the century to work with — a telephone and a notepad. I could inform individuals seeking assistance that resources were available to them on the web, but the web itself was unreachable: there were no computers and no means for either myself, other workers, or the guests of the women's center to access those resources online.

Project Proposal and Implementation Plan

This proposal aims to help women's centers obtain the best information and communication technologies currently available, and then to train those who use women's centers to effectively utilize such technology — first by training staff, and second by offering workshops to train patrons in technology use.

As a first step, a review must be conducted of the available resources in women's centers, including local, regional, and educationally sponsored centers. The project will begin with the local women's center and potentially spread to other locations. This will involve contacting local women's centers, reviewing their existing technology, identifying what they have and what they need, and examining infrastructure issues — for example, whether the location is internet-ready, or whether logistical issues such as networking cables or a local hub for wireless or wired access need to be addressed. This assessment will determine which technologies are best suited to each situation, such as laptops, desktop PCs, broadband, wireless, or DSL networks.

The next step is to identify resources within the community directed toward creating free access to information — such as companies that provide grants for ICT hardware and software, those that offer high-speed internet access to public locations through donation or minimal fees, and those that provide free wireless access to publicly utilized spaces, of which there are many.

Once resources have been identified and the necessary technology has been determined, a fundraising campaign will be launched. As much as possible, in-kind donations of technologies and services will be solicited. As a last resort, a grant will be written to equip the center with funding to purchase the required equipment and services, drawing on existing granting infrastructure already in place at the local women's center.

Perceived Benefits of Connectivity

On a personal level, digital connectivity is essential to personal and professional development in contemporary culture. Individuals are constantly expected to utilize the internet yet are not always offered a user-friendly or appropriate means of accessing it. This gap will only grow exponentially unless action is taken. Without intervention, individuals may become unable to navigate technology, and even when it becomes available, they may be too intimidated to use it.

As Jodi Dean has pointed out, it is necessary to avoid the stance of victim feminism: "Scary misconceptions of the Net... [can] prevent women from finding and using the already vast resources of the Net. Regulation is manifested on the Internet as the fear that networked spaces are necessarily hostile to women. It appears as the border that keeps out women, as well as racial and economic minorities" (1999, p. 1071; cited in Shade, 2002, p. 80).

This is especially true of the largest demographic group that is often treated as a disenfranchised minority — women. Without the understanding and ability to navigate the internet, the individual woman will become even more disenfranchised from the broader system.

On a more global note, women and cyberfeminists as a group stand to lose a critically current resource. The loss will be felt across the board, and the internet will continue to develop in ways that are not conducive to women's needs, becoming one more obstacle to navigate rather than a tool for empowerment. Even in purportedly technology-rich regions such as parts of Asia, women remain in need of targeted attention regarding technology access and organization. Without such attention, Liu (2004) argues, the feminist agenda will falter, and real change will not be achieved until access is equal.

As an aside, women are often socially associated with strong multitasking skills, and the internet — as a vast, interconnected web of resources more multifaceted than any one person can fully comprehend — might in fact align naturally with those skills. Internet competency could become a point of common ground between men and women, as men increasingly rely on technology to perform the kinds of cognitive and social navigation that women have developed through socialization (Kendall, 2002, p. 7).

Conclusion

There are countless ways in which life has become nearly insurmountably full of obstacles and complications caused by lack of access to internet resources. Some examples in the women's center context include those seeking assistance from agencies and services that have limited walk-up availability and are more easily navigated online — such as employment opportunities, family services, and bill payment. Women's centers have traditionally served as hubs linking services to women who need them, but without the most fundamental tool of access — ICTs — a women's center risks becoming an ineffectual, underutilized, and ultimately archaic back office.

Though it is true that the gender gap in internet use is narrowing — "Now, 46% of users are women" (Lipschultz, 2000, p. 182) — the process of active engagement remains important. Internet users today and in the future will be the ones who shape it into a system and set of subsystems that best meet their needs. What better way to shape a system, nearly from the ground up, than to ensure that it is gender representative from the outset?

References

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