Razorgirls and Cyberdykes: Tracing Cyberfeminism and Thoughts on Its Use in a Legal Context

Abstract

The present state of cyberstudies poses new questions of embodiment, of (gendered) relationships with technology, and the effects of cyberspace on queer issues such as identity, gender and sexuality. It is notable that in a legal context, whereas there has been much attention paid to technical issues that cyberspace poses, there has been little attention paid to these new issues above, or possible theoretical frameworks within which to contextualize them, or potential feminist perspectives. Put simply, the debates of cyberstudies, and cyberfeminism in particular, have as yet been largely unreflected in mainstream academic and practical legal discourse. The aim of this essay, then, is to begin a process of integration. By looking at the work of some cyberfeminists, the author attempts to give a clearer picture of key debates and strands of thought in cyberfeminism, and to start thinking about how cyberfeminist insights might be used as part of a useful theoretical framework that could inform those academics interested in law, queer issues, and cyberspace.