I found A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, technology, and socialist-feminism in the late twentieth century by Donna Haraway (1985) interesting but challenging to decipher. Haraway uses many metaphors which can be powerful but also serve to obfuscate her point during an initial examination. However, I did find her discussion of affinity versus identity in the section “Fractured Identities” to be especially interesting, particularly as an precursor to Kimberlé Crenshaw’s introduction of intersectionality to feminism in 1989. As Haraway notes, “A Chicana or US black woman…was at the bottom of a cascade of negative identities, left out of even the privileged oppressed authorial categories called ‘women and blacks’, who claimed to make the important revolutions.”
Writing has a special significance for all colonized groups.
A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Harraway
Later, she states, “Literacy is a special mark of women of color…Writing has a special significance for all colonized groups.” This idea of those who are left out of even other oppressed groups seizing power through communication is very powerful, especially as we begin reading feminist science fictions through this course. We are going to read works by authors of various states of privilege; it is certainly worth considering the circumstances and life experiences of our authors when discussing their texts.
Feminist Science Fictions 