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supersoph87's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
2.0
this was my first book related to cyber feminism and i feel like a lot of it went over my head. i felt a little overwhelmed by this book and did not get much out of it.
colouradeaux's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
This was a challenging read due to its accessibility, but raised some really interesting points. It doesn't a lot of time almost justifying it's title, how being a non straight white cis make makes you a glitch in the system, and the empowerment and terrifying nature that brings. I feel like I need a couple reads to fully grasp it's message. I feel better informed having finished it
historyofjess's review
challenging
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
3.25
I'll be honest, I'm not entirely certain I understood this book, but I was still pretty fascinated by it. It's largely a discussion of various artists and their works of art that focus on the body, particularly bodies that break the gender binary (and, thus, "glitch"). I wasn't always clear on the connective tissue that Russell was drawing between items (the words "glitch" and "body" are used and reused A LOT), but it was a fascinating meditation on pushing the boundaries of expected norms.
syirahreadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I know it's more of a manifesto than a theoretical deep-dive into cyberfeminism, but the 3 star rating is mainly because it gathers existing ideas rather than generating new ones.
Discussions of gender and queerness pull from sources like Judith Butler and Essex Hemphill. The book does bring together ideas from queerfeminist canon fairly seamlessly though, and I appreciate Russell giving examples we can "glitch" the existing cyber-system-hierarchy, drawing from art history and online media such as The White Pube.
It's a coherent manifesto, but it isn't daring enough to me. There are brief mentions of feminism being co-opted online by neoliberal profiteers; Russell even gives Lil Miquela as an example of a presence without a body, as one of the core features of this book posits that the cyber world allows us to transcend embodiment. By glitching our bodies, we become unknowable to the tech giants aiming SEO at our faces.
But the discussion on Lil Miquela threw me off exactly because she (it?) is an avatar for the neoliberal corporate world. This is reduced to a short paragraph, instead of a deep critique. The book is written from an idealist lens where cyberspace provides endless possibilities, no longer tying us to bodies or social constructs. And sure enough, a core memory for most queer people is sitting on Tumblr constructing & deconstructing our identities - cyberspace is where many of us found a playground to explore ourselves.
But under a world where our main online forums exist under billionaires, the choice to avoid discussing this causes the book to fall short of expectations. This is not even considering the technological gap between the West and global South, where developing countries or those with censored internet don't have the same opportunities we do. Glitch Feminism is a necessary read, but it also shies away from being brave enough.
Discussions of gender and queerness pull from sources like Judith Butler and Essex Hemphill. The book does bring together ideas from queerfeminist canon fairly seamlessly though, and I appreciate Russell giving examples we can "glitch" the existing cyber-system-hierarchy, drawing from art history and online media such as The White Pube.
It's a coherent manifesto, but it isn't daring enough to me. There are brief mentions of feminism being co-opted online by neoliberal profiteers; Russell even gives Lil Miquela as an example of a presence without a body, as one of the core features of this book posits that the cyber world allows us to transcend embodiment. By glitching our bodies, we become unknowable to the tech giants aiming SEO at our faces.
But the discussion on Lil Miquela threw me off exactly because she (it?) is an avatar for the neoliberal corporate world. This is reduced to a short paragraph, instead of a deep critique. The book is written from an idealist lens where cyberspace provides endless possibilities, no longer tying us to bodies or social constructs. And sure enough, a core memory for most queer people is sitting on Tumblr constructing & deconstructing our identities - cyberspace is where many of us found a playground to explore ourselves.
But under a world where our main online forums exist under billionaires, the choice to avoid discussing this causes the book to fall short of expectations. This is not even considering the technological gap between the West and global South, where developing countries or those with censored internet don't have the same opportunities we do. Glitch Feminism is a necessary read, but it also shies away from being brave enough.
sleepyllamasciencegirl's review against another edition
3.0
peak third wave cyber feminism especially the essay abt lil miquela being a queer gender hacking body lmfao