Internet in the feminine: Using feminine strategies in hacker culture (DOI: 10.2436/20.3000.02.15)

Authors

  • Aina Fernàndez i Aragonès Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)

Keywords:

Internet, technology, hackers, gender, digital divide, free culture

Abstract

A number of feminist movements have historically accused technology of being part of the patriarchal structure. Indeed, different studies demonstrate that access to the design and development of technology has an uneven gender distribution. However, Internet is a cultural production and, according to Castells, hacker culture is an essential component of the cultural underpinning of the Internet. This new culture comprises several characteristics that are closely tied to the values which are historically considered to be "typically feminine", such as creativity, cooperation and informality. Castells argues that technology is a fundamental dimension of social change and that the type of technology a society develops and disseminates is, to a great extent, a model of its material structure. Therefore, cyberfeminists see this new technology as the possibility for women to access the technology itself, to use it and be part of its design. Is the Internet an opportunity to eradicate the gender digital divide?

Key words: Internet, technology, hackers, gender, digital divide, free culture

Original source: Comunicació. Revista de Recerca i d'Anàlisi, 29(1): 45-66 (2012)

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Issue

No. 3 (2013)

Section

Communication

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