A Cyborg Manifesto

Though many people tend to think of society as existing in dualities, like male versus female, or nature versus culture, Donna Haraway argues that this is not an accurate or helpful way of perceiving reality. This is a central theme in A Cyborg Manifesto, with Haraway advocating for the rejection of rigid boundaries and identities.  

“Cyborg,” which gives the essay its title, is a metaphor Haraway uses to illustrate the potential disintegration of these dualities. A cyborg is a science fiction creature, or entity, that is a cross between human or animal and machine. Even though cyborgs typically exist within the realm of books and movies, they are just as relevant to society as they are to fiction. Haraway writes that “the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion” (6), a view which sets the stage for the rest of her manifesto.

The cyborg itself embodies the supposed duality of organism versus machine. Haraway posits that, at the time she is writing in the mid-1980s, the boundary dividing human and machine has already been irreparably knocked down. With advancements in Western medicine like the pacemaker, many people are reliant on machine components to keep them alive.