Type of Document Master's Thesis Author Goolsby, Julie Malinda URN etd-07252006-204355 Title A Manifest Cyborg: Laurie Anderson and Technology Degree Master of Arts Department Women's Studies Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title Mary Hocks Committee Chair Gregory Smith Committee Member Maria Gindhart Committee Member Susan Richmond Committee Member Keywords
- Identity
- Cyborg
- Technology
- Gender performance
- Gender norms
- Gender
- Laurie Anderson
Date of Defense 2006-05-16 Availability unrestricted Abstract A MANIFEST CYBORG: LAURIE ANDERSON AND TECHNOLOGYby
Julie Goolsby
Under the Direction of Mary Hocks
ABSTRACT
This thesis seeks to demonstrate that although Laurie Anderson’s performance works are technologically driven and often involve gender play, seemingly transgressing the gender binary, ultimately she reinscribes traditional gender norms. On the one hand, Anderson has been a pioneer in the use of electronic technology, which is significant considering she is a woman and electronics is a male-dominated arena; on the other hand, her ambiguously- gendered cyborg persona, which does often raise awareness about gender stereotypes, ultimately reinscribes traditional gender norms. Although I consider these issues as they pertain specifically to Anderson, the significance of this project lies in the broader picture. Are there limits to gender performativity? Is it possible to break traditional gender norms? Must gender norms constantly reinscribe themselves regardless of new technology? As gender norms are deeply rooted in society, they are difficult to escape, as Anderson’s work demonstrates.
INDEX WORDS: Laurie Anderson, Gender, Gender norms, Gender performance,
Technology, Cyborg, Identity
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