A Cyborg Manifesto

Haraway begins this section by building on ideas she introduced in the previous one. She reiterates that the division between the public and private spheres is dissolving. Haraway doubts whether this was ever even an accurate way of dividing society. Instead, she argues that a “network ideological image” (45) is a better way of framing society. In a network, all boundaries are permeable.

Haraway makes sure to note that even “boundaries in the personal body” (45) apply. This ties back to the idea in the essay’s previous section that ultrasounds are a way of permeating physical boundaries. Haraway acknowledges that this technology has the potential to infringe on privacy, but here she accepts the permeability of the physical body as a necessary reality of modern society. Of course, these two opinions are not mutually exclusive. Permeable boundaries are a feature that is paramount to cyborg bodies.

Haraway calls her network-based ideology an “integrated circuit,” which is another word for a microchip. She uses a microchip as a metaphor for a society made up of networks. Microchips are made up of circuits composed of minuscule electronic components embedded into a tiny piece of silicon (hence Silicon Valley, which Haraway often references).