Cybernetic bodies are artificial human-like beings that perform tasks for the benefit or gain of humans. N. Katherine Hayles explores the idea of cybernetic bodies in her book “How We Became Posthuman.” She argued humans and cybernetic bodies are identical because anything that can hold information and consciousness whether it is organic or inorganic is alive. Cyborgs have existed in literature and media for decades and are now making their way into the real world. As time has passed, the representation of cybernetic bodies varies in literature and media. This is exemplified by how virtual bodies are depicted in the 1975 movie Stepford Wives, the play Rossum’s Universal Robots by Karel Capek, and in the contemporary television show Black Mirror. These various portrayals of cybernetic bodies show how differently the beings can be used, their limitations based on gender roles, and whether or not they can achieve human consciousness.
In Stepford Wives, husbands are using cybernetic bodies to replace and improve their wives. Their human wives were independent-thinkers and empowered women. When this became an inconvenience for the husbands, they decided to create new and improved wives who would not challenge them and ultimately seek to change their ideal life. This depiction of cybernetic bodies plays into gender roles and stereotypes because “the perfect wife” they were seeking to create only uses were to cook and clean, to care for the children, and to please her husband emotionally and sexually. For example, in the movie when the human women were addressing concerns for their love lives and marriages one cyborg wife’s only concern was “I didn’t bake anything at all yesterday. It took so long for me to get the upstairs floor to shine.” (Stepford Wives 1975) And all the other cyborg wives began to talk about cleaning methods. These virtual beings also do not truly represent Hayles’ idea of a cybernetic body because they were not truly conscious they were just programmed to behave a certain way which is very different than the beings depicted in Rossum’s Universal Robots.
In the play R.U.R., the robots were created to replace human laborers and eventually improve the quality of life for humans. The robots replaced human factory workers, secretaries, and soldiers. But in R.U.R. gender stereotypes are still placed on the cyborgs even though they are technically built without a gender. In the text, Harry Domin, the manager of R.U.R said “There’s a certain demand, you see? Waitresses, shop-girls, secretaries—it’s what people are used to.” (R.U.R 1.1) This quote shows that gender was only included to play into expectations for certain types of labor. Women were expected to hold secretarial or waitressing positions so seeing a man in these roles would make the general public uncomfortable. Eventually, the robots surpassed their programming unlike the beings in Stepford Wives. They truly represent Hayles’ idea of a cybernetic bodies because even though their physical beings were artificial, they were able to hold information and achieve consciousness and eventually become more powerful than humans.
In Black Mirror’s season two premiere episode “Be Right Back”, cybernetic bodies are again being used to replace humans like in Stepford Wives. But unlike Stepford Wives, these virtual beings are not supposed to be improvements. In this episode, the main character Martha is seeking to reunite with her dead boyfriend. Black Mirror also plays into gender roles because men are expected to be sexual beings and be able to please a woman sexually. In the episode, the cyborg was able to please Martha sexually but was not able to connect with her emotionally. The virtual being illustrated in Black Mirror could not gain conscious of human like the robots in Rossum’s Universal Robots. But he was able to learn information and store information similarly to humans so it is debatable whether or not they fulfil Hayles’ idea of a cybernetic body.
The idea of socially constructing gender roles and how to deconstruct them has been discussed in the work of both Donna Haraway in “The Cyborg Manifesto” and Lennard Davis in “Constructing Normalcy.” Haraway argues that in a world where we are all cyborgs there will be no gender expectations. She argues that we would all be fluid like the beings in R.U.R. and that from their we can all reconstruct our own identities. Davis argues that gender roles are not innate rather they are a result of societal expectations that came to be over time. And if gender roles are not natural we can change what the idea of normal is. This is proven because in today’s society, women can achieve more than the stereotypical professions like the ones in R.U.R. and do not have to be homemakers like the one’s in “Stepford Wives.” Though we have not become gender fluid beings like the ones Haraway described, we are moving towards a world where inorganic and organic life can interact.
In all of these portrayals of cybernetic bodies, we see that the goal of creating them is to make life easier for the humans. That may be to cook and clean for them, to do their jobs, or to make them happy. They all serve purposes to their creators. Some of them fit their roles perfectly like in Stepford Wives. Some of them completely miss that mark and do the opposite of their purpose like in Rossum’s Universal Robots. And some of them are almost there but need more like in Black Mirror. The cybernetic bodies depicted in these works are different in usage and limitations but are ultimately all the same in purpose. They are supposed to fulfill a fantasy or create a utopia that was not possible before they were created. Like a world where no one has to work, or dies and everyone has the perfect spouse. All new technology is created to make our lives easier or happier. These cybernetic bodies are just the most extreme examples of how far we can push that technology.
Work Cited
Brooker, Charlie , director. Black Mirror. Black Mirror, Netflix.
Capek, Karel. R.U.R. Rossum’s Universal Robots. Players Press, 20001.
Forbes, Bryan , director. The Stepford wives. Youtube, 29 Jan. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFGkZblCgmY.