Cyberfeminism 2.0: (74 Digital Formations)

More than a decade after feminists burst forth onto the Internet demanding material access and social intervention, this collection sets out to explore what it means to be a cyberfeminist today. The contributors examine a wide range of topics, from Health 2.0, the blogosphere, and video games, to female artists and diasporic youth, in order to re-envision how feminists can intervene in the mutual shaping of online and offline relationships. These authors contend that women’s bodies and actions online are influenced by the politics of offline spaces, which buttress power hierarchies at both material and symbolic levels. They do not, however, simply make pessimistic assessments of online spaces as an extension of the existing power relations. Rather, Cyberfeminism 2.0 attends to contested aspects of new digital technologies that simultaneously enable political retreat and feminist resistance.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Radhika Gajjala/Yeon Ju Oh: Cyberfeminism 2.0: Where Have All the Cyberfeminists Gone? – Marina Levina: Our Data, Ourselves: Feminist Narratives of Empowerment in Health 2.0 Discourse – Jessie Daniels: BlogHer and Blogalicious: Gender, Race, and the Political Economy of Women’s Blogging Conferences – Lauren Angelone: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Representations of Female Doctoral Student Bloggers and Implications for Education – Rosalind Sibielski: Beyond Democratization and Subversion: Rethinking Feminist Analytical Approaches to Girls’ Cultural Production on the Internet – Holly Kruse: Fandom, Technology, and Practice - and the Relevance of Cyberfeminism – Debbie James: What It Takes to Screen Her Film: A Feminist Study of UNESCO’s Audiovisual E-Platform Submission Process – Erica Kubik: Masters of Technology: Defining and Theorizing the Hardcore/Casual Dichotomy in Video Game Culture – Jessica L. Beyer: Women’s (Dis)embodied Engagement with Male-Dominated Online Communities – Genesis Downey: Guilding, Gaming, and Girls – Jennifer Way: Back to the Future: Women Art Technology – Dara Persis Murray: Structuring EDNOS as Cyberpostfeminist Rule – Becky Walker: Debating Intimate Partner Violence in Lesbian Fan Communities – Yeon Ju Oh: Is Your Space Safe? Cyberfeminist Movement for Space Online at Unnine – Natalia Rybas: Where Is My Profile Picture? Multiple Politics of Technological Mothering and Gendered Technology – Koen Leurs: Migrant Youth Invading Digital Spaces: Intersectional Performativity of Self in Socio-Technological Networks.

About the Author :
Radhika Gajjala is Professor of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University. She is author of Cyberselves: Feminist Ethnographies of South Asian Women (2004) and Weavings of the Real and Virtual: Cyberculture and the Subaltern (forthcoming). She is co-editor of South Asian Technospaces (2008), Webbing Cyberfeminist Practice (2008), and Global Media Culture and Identity (2011). Yeon Ju Oh is a PhD candidate in the School of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University. Her research interests encompass women in technology, the relationship between gender and new media technologies, gender/racial/ethnic identities in online space, and feminist knowledge production.

Review :
"Cyberfeminism emerged in the 1990s focusing on the liberatory and repressive potential of 'the Net' for women. Now, more than a decade later, 'Cyberfeminism 2.0' looks afresh at the issues and debates first engendered by cyberfeminists such as Haraway, Plant, Wilding, and Fernandez, asking the important question 'where have all the cyberfeminists gone?' An impressive array of international contributors offer a range of exciting and innovative responses to this question, through an exploration of what it means to be a cyberfeminist today. This is an invaluable contribution to the field of feminist media studies." (Cynthia Carter, Senior Lecturer in the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University) "More than a decade after feminists began to explore the power and potential of what was then known as 'the Net,' this book revisits feminist debates about online empowerment, agency, and feminist praxis. Showcasing a wide range of feminist scholarship - from health to fandom to videogames - this volume not only makes a vital contribution to feminist research and thought, but will also be an invaluable resource for teaching about feminism, gender, and technology." (Carol Stabile, Professor in the School of Journalism and Communication and the Department of Women's and Gender Studies, and Director of the Center for the Study of Women in Society, University of Oregon) "'Cyberfeminism 2.0' provides a timely and illuminating snapshot of how gender matters to the study of ICTS and digital technology. This is a must-read for feminist activists and theorists. Bringing together theory and activism, this collection foregrounds the centrality of debate." (Kimberly Sawchuk, Professor, Communication Studies, Concordia University, Montreal)