From Street Samurais to Ghosts: A Feminization of Technology’s Voice in Cyberpunk Literature
by Baryon Tensor Posadas and Christine C. Rivero
An Introduction to Cyberpunk and Women
Women’s roles have often been a source of contention in the Science-Fiction genre although it was Mary Shelley, a woman, who first began its roots. The problem becomes even more complex with Cyberpunk, an SF sub-genre that dominated the 80s, characterized by dark and gritty settings, text that is drowned in technological jargon, marginalized characters, and generally, an anti-system philosophy.[1] As a literary movement, it emerged in 1984 after William Gibson wrote Neuromancer. Although earlier works already carried some of the elements that characterize cyberpunk, it was this book that brought the sub-genre to the awareness of the people.
The cyberpunk movement takes on both a literary and a social aspect. For the purposes of this paper, we shall be confining ourselves to the literary aspect, particularly its treatment of themes, motifs, and gender roles that identify itself.
There are numerous debates on exactly what nuances and implications are involved in cyberpunk, as well as whether Neuromancer itself is cyberpunk or not. For this paper, we would like to introduce a working definition. Brian Aldiss, in 1986, characterized Science Fiction as "a search for a definition of mankind and his status in the universe which will stand in our advanced but confused state of knowledge."[ 2 ] Since cyberpunk themes often run on such abstract constructs as "definitions of humanity" and a blurring of man/machine/body/mind barriers in relation to technology (particularly information technology), a definition derived from this shall be used. Cyberpunk would thus be: "Science Fiction that challenges the conventions of humanity’s definitions through its relationships with encroaching technology within a dark and urban setting."[ 3]
Some have argued that the cyberpunk setting is a metaphor for the feminine condition.[4] There is, however, a greater wealth of research that has been done calling cyberpunk not only "anti-system" but "anti-feminist" as well.[5] There are a number of reasons behind this, the primary one being the narrative’s roots in the detective novels of Raymond Chandler in the 50s.[6] But a more interesting aspect, and perhaps a clearer clue to this white-male element in cyberpunk is the voice of technology. The appearance of artificial intelligences is common in cyberpunk narratives, e.g., Wintermute in Neuromancer and the Puppet Master in Ghost in the Shell. What is interesting about them is that the voices they take are male. It is not surprising, then, that in such a narrative women are not granted a role equal to men, their society being largely technology-bound.
Has there been any evolution from the old themes or has cyberpunk retained its subversive treatment of women? That is the point this paper wishes to pursue. It is our belief that in more than 10 years of growth of the sub-genre, there have been steps taken in the direction of feminizing technology’s voice; a process apparently necessary to give women equal footing in cyberpunk society. To show this, the paper will present and analyze the evolution of the female role using three characters: Molly, from Gibson’s novel Neuromancer (1984), Seria from Bruce Sterling’s short story "Green Days in Brunei" (1986), and Motoko Kusanagi from the animated film Ghost in the Shell, written by Masamune Shirow
A Progression of Subversion: Evolving White-male Elements
The trend in cyberpunk appears to be toward a more masculine, more technologically enhanced female. An analysis of all three characters, however, reveals that the evolution from human female to masculine female cyborg is not chronological. In particular, the progression appears to be from Seria to Motoko with Molly as middle ground. Seria, essays the role of love interest which is essentially decorative beside the main character, Turner Choi. Molly, on the other hand, plays sidekick to Case, thereby signifying that she is at par with the story’s male protagonist. In Ghost, Motoko becomes the protagonist, a development that is in itself noteworthy but made more so when considered that apart from being the only girl in an elite squad, she is invariably its best member.
In being a Bruneian princess, Seria also portrays the most female role as Molly and Motoko are both engaged in male-oriented professions, i.e., a hired gun and a law-enforcement agent respectively. Physically, Seria is described as bony[7] and imaginably lithe while Molly comes across as lithe but muscular. Motoko, for her part, appears on screen with a form that is dominating for a woman. The Puppet Master’s body is, in fact, more feminine than hers.
With regard to sentiments, Seria still emerges as the most conventionally feminine in that she can be gushy and romantic. In contrast, Molly eschews romantic and all other emotional attachments, declaring that they "take the edge out of her game."[8] The fact that she spits rather than weeps (because the tear ducts have been redirected to her mouth) is an image that strongly supports this distancing.
Motoko is similarly unemotional as attested to by her voice which rarely varies in tone. Neither do her eyes blink, they remain fixed in a far-off stare throughout most of the film. Her only concern is the definition of her identity and it is interesting to note that this has been a central conflict in the predominantly male characters of cyberpunk.[9]
The progression from Seria to Motoko is also one of increasing cyborgization. Seria remains entirely human while Molly has received a number of technological alterations. Motoko’s body, in turn, has been almost entirely mechanized. It is only by her "ghost" that she can claim to be human.
Notably, masculinization and machininization need not be separate processes. As earlier noted, the voice of technology is male, and the mere process of cyborgizing the women in effect already masculinizes them.
As opposed to Molly and Motoko’s world, Seria belongs to a society in which technology is marginalized. Yet despite being on the lesser end of the scale thus far, Seria is still a valid cyberpunk character. For one, she is a Net user but, more importantly, she is a renegade Net user. All Net users are renegades for that matter by virtue of the fact that it is outlawed in that society. However, Seria is the princess, a member of the family that is that society’s government. Viewed in this light, her sentiments against the system are much more emphasized and much more significant.
The story reveals that she welcomed her Net-affair with Turner Choi as an escape from her role as a princess.[10] It is in this desire to escape the system that confines her that she edges out Molly as middle-ground and the development of the characters becomes chronological.
Molly is called a "street samurai,"[11] projecting the image of a code-bound individual with a specific role in society. As much as she is depicted as a strong female character, it is a form of strength that functions within the system. When she tells Case some very intimate aspects about her past, that of her meat-puppet (a rather complexified, machinized version of prostitution) experience, she shrugs it off as simply that, a past event. There is no questioning of self-worth or identity. Neither does she question nor even feel inclined to question the society she belongs to. It is apparently a world she is comfortable enough in, so long as she survives and is paid.
By contrast, Motoko not only questions her role in society but her very identity as well. In the scene where she speaks to Pateau after he rails her on her diving (noting that she is a cyborg), she wonders whether her ghost truly belongs to her and then gives a close to textbook reading of existentialist, post-human identity, saying that her ghost is unique only because she makes it so. It is also in this scene that Motoko expresses a desire to leave the system but concedes that it would not be possible since she would be required to surrender her cyborg body. Only when she merges with the Puppet Master does she achieve this escape.
This merging offers a number of implications, the most important being that women can only achieve empowerment through a melding with technology. Seria had the inclination to leave the system but, in being purely human, she was powerless to do so (she eventually does escape but only with the help of the story’s male characters). Motoko, on the other hand, had both the inclination and the cyborg body. Moreover, in merging with the Puppet Master, technology was integrated beyond her physical being into her consciousness.
Cyberspace Versus Cyborgs
It must be pointed out, however, that cyborgization does not imply any movement into cyberspace. Both Seria and Motoko are active in cyberspace while Molly is not. Seemingly, a desire or inclination to question one’s role is a product of cyberspace exposure. This is not altogether an outrageous proposition, considering that nets are, after all, information technology.
It could also be argued that Molly doesn’t question her world because she is already outside the lawful system whereas Seria is a part of it and Motoko, in being a law-enforcer, is tasked to uphold it. Molly chose the underworld system she works for while Seria and Motoko apparently didn’t have or didn’t make that choice. Molly’s decisions, however, do not allow her to rise above either the system she left or the one she currently belongs to. Unlike Seria and Motoko, she never intended to transcend them. This is what makes the conflict of both Seria and Motoko more progressive in terms of the struggle for female empowerment in the cyberpunk world.
Although it appears at this point that, without men or technology, there can be no true female empowerment in this world, a closer analysis of Motoko’s merger would prove otherwise.
The apparent maleness of the Puppet Master is striking. The physical body he takes is that of a blonde android woman, but his voice (both literally and figuratively) is distinctly male. Immediately, it is a violation of the female form and this image of violence is carried further when "he" and Motoko speak, both in half-demolished naked torsos.[12] Interestingly enough, the succeeding scenes an affirmation of the female body is presented, with emphasis on its role in reproduction, through various images including stonework family trees, trilobytes (implying evolution), and childbirth.
The Puppet Master declares that he has achieved all basic functions for qualifying as a sentient life-form, except to reproduce and to die. Although death is a function common to both males and females, reproduction is a more gender based operation. The Puppet Master chooses to reproduce with Motoko, and although a heterosexual melding is not stated, it is the impression that is put forth. This process underscores the maleness of the Puppet Master but more so the inherent femaleness of Motoko despite her masculinized character.
The concept of reproduction culminates in the body of the female child which becomes the new "shell" for the merged consciousness of Motoko and the Puppet Master (their original bodies having been destroyed by criminal elements). Initially the child speaks in a child’s voice but in a matter of a few lines, Motoko’s original voice resurfaces. This indicates that in the aftermath of the melding, Motoko remains more of herself and less of the Puppet Master. She may have become, in fact, more feminine than her original self as the attire and physical attributes of her new body are clearly those of a girl. Thus, Motoko has taken the first step into feminizing technology -- by becoming closer to technology and retaining feminine characteristics as well.
The change of voice is also significant in that it connotes growth, notably in an accelerated state. In addition, the very image of a child’s body implies the potential for even more development. The direction this development will take, however, is uncertain, as echoed by Motoko’s last line, "So where does the new born go from here?" There is, nonetheless, promise that it will be toward even more feminization of technology and, in effect, more significant roles for women in the cyberpunk world.
Feminizing Technology
Within cyberpunk, men are empowered even without technology. They are, in fact, even capable of overcoming it (as evidenced by Case’s escape from Neuromancer’s construct). Furthermore, although even males are subject to cyborgization, this does not muddle their identity because they are already male. Yet the point in this sub-genre seems to be that cyborgization is inevitable, emerging as the next step in the evolution of man.[13] Therefore, if women are to avoid subversion, it has to be in feminizing technology and not avoiding it. Apparently, in this setting, women have to first agree with its terms before they can be capable of overcoming it.
NOTES:
1 Joe Steinbach, "Cyberpunk Fiction," (http://sage.cc.purdue.edu/~stein/cp_lit.htm, 1996)."
2 Brian W. Aldiss with David Wingrove, Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction (Great Britain: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1986).
3 Note that this is not the definition used in many conventional groups (but cyberpunk is an anti-convention theory to start with, anyway). This is done to create a more author-perspective definition by focusing more on intentions and themes rather than the traditional reader/fan based definitions which focus largely on surface realia and imagery.
4 "Cyberpunk is full of individuals who refuse to bow to any system but who instead live their lives the way the want them to be. A feminist might say it describes the female condition." Helen Mccarthy, a noted figure in anime, said this in an article about strong women in anime.
5 Steinbach, "Cyberpunk Fiction" & "Cyberpunk Anime"
Tonya Browning, "A Brief Historical Survey of Women Writers in Science Fiction," (unpublished, 1996)
6 Ibid.
7 Bruce Sterling, "Green Days in Brunei" (Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, October 1986), p. 146
8 William Gibson, Neuromancer (USA: Ace Science Fiction, 1984), p. 267
9 Steinbach, "Cyberpunk Fiction"
10 Sterling, p. 155
11 Gibson
12 Motoko’s body was heavily damaged in a struggle with a powerfully armed machine.
13 Steinbach, "Cyberpunk Fiction"