University of Lincoln, UK, has opened a call for contributions –including papers, workshops and performances– for upcoming Sonic Cyberfeminisms conference, to take place 5-6th May this year.
“In recent years, the relationship between sound, gender and technology has gained increasing attention. There have been a number of artist networks, archives and educational initiatives established in the hope of tackling the gendered exclusions from and disparities within the technocentric fields of electronic music, audio production and sound arts. Many of these projects can be understood to share some of the concerns and ideals of cyberfeminism. Emerging in the early 1990s, cyberfeminism sought to explore the potentials and possibilities of technology, computing and Cyberspace for feminist praxis. However, to talk of cyberfeminism or indeed a cyberfeminist ethos in the singular is something of a misnomer: we consider it more appropriate to speak of plural cyberfeminisms, with various agendas, methods, perspectives and priorities.
Whilst many of these recent initiatives have been aimed at increasing the visibility of women in sound technology and computing-related fields, for many, the debates around improving representation of gender reveals disparities around what feminist agendas are being pursued. Is the lack of women and girls in audio technology a problem only to be fixed by increasing participation? Or is there a danger of “leaning in” to a regime of white supremacist, imperialist, capitalist hetero-patriarchy (to use bell hooks’ augmented phrase)? Revisiting Faith Wilding’s question of the political strategy of cyberfeminism, it is timely to ask – where is the feminism in sonic cyberfeminisms?
Sonic Cyberfeminisms will provide an opportunity to critically reflect upon and, in doing so, contribute to current activism and debates concerning sound, gender and technology. The 2-day event follows on from an online reading group, ‘Decolonizing Sonic Cyberfeminisms’ and a panel discussion ‘Doing Sonic Cyberfeminisims’ that took place in 2016.”
