feb 7
2009
3 comments
I don't know enough about fembots or cyborgs to reeaaaallly get this, but I sorta feel like if I did I'd be better equipped to address the, er, feminist issues at work here. This reminds me of that Heinekin "Draght Keg" ad where the fembot is a hot, servile beer delivery system. The pictures are really cool and I get that the appropriation of celebrity identity tempers the whole dismembering-of-the-female-body thing, but still, there's a little bit of that whole dismembering-of-the-female-body thing. I know I am missing something here by not being able to speak Battlestar Galactica, but still. Just had to throw that out there.
posted by Rachel Sklar at 2:24 PM on February 7, 2009 
I agree with you Rachel.
It's strange that these are all representations of the unfinished cyborgs - just enough unfinished to separate from being an actual live woman.
I'm not sure if it's a dismembering thing as much as it's a dehumanizing thing. As in, these aren't real women so they're less threatening? Maybe?
I'd be an interesting thing to look at the depiction of robotic/cyborg based women in SF to see what sort of connections could be made.
I am so not qualified to talk about this stuff but it's interesting.
posted by Gavin at 4:30 PM on February 7, 2009
Perhaps, what struck me most was the stark contrast between the feelings of attraction, the beauty of the female celebs invoked; and the turn off produced by the image of the damaged bot mechanisms. The power of celebs seems to come from their elite human qualities, of character, charisma, physical perfection, and achievement.
These Fem Bots, project cold metallic functionality, without any of the star qualities needed for celebrity status.
posted by Dave at 1:43 PM on February 8, 2009
NOTE: The commenting window has expired for this post.
