:: netwoman's blog ::

Unintended Consequences of Technology

Here are a couple of interesting articles reflecting perhaps the unintended consequences of technology:

1. We are cyborg - using technology to track women's fertility

You've Got Mail, and Your Period
By Jenn Shreve
Dec, 20, 2006

Women hoping to become pregnant are transforming themselves into busy data machines, tracking everything from waking temperature to moods and various bodily fluids. A cottage industry of websites feeds the obsession by offering online charts and e-mail services to alert women on their fertile days.

2. Women aren't not good enough to be cyborgs - women worry about their 'flaws' with HD p o r n. As if women don't have enough to worry about, and aren't concerned about their bodies enough...

In Raw World of Sex Movies, High Definition Could Be a View Too Real
New York Times
By MATT RICHTEL
January 22, 2007

...They have discovered that the technology is sometimes not so sexy. The high-definition format is accentuating imperfections in the actors — from a little extra cellulite on a leg to wrinkles around the eyes....
Producers are taking steps to hide the imperfections. Some shots are lit differently, while some actors simply are not shot at certain angles, or are getting cosmetic surgery, or seeking expert grooming....

Why is any of this perceived as 'imperfections'? What are women being compared to? Who doesn't have wrinkles and cellulite? I imagine p o r n will increasingly use digital or animated women rather than 'real' women - or perhaps cyborgs. Think of the economic implications; women will be out of jobs and companies won't have to pay women...sigh.

posted by Netwoman @ 10:42 AM