Evidence for Selfe’s Claims

Our group worked with "The Un-Gendered Utopia and the same old gendered stuff" in Selfe’s Article, “Lest We Think the Revolution is a Revolution Images of Technology and the Nature of Change”. One of the main claims in this section is the following: "computers are complexly socially determined artifacts that interact with existing social formations and tendencies-including sexism, classism, and racism-to contribute to the shaping of a gendered society" (Page 306). Evidence to support this claim is provided through an advertisement which can be found on page 314 in the article. This advertisement targets women by implying that Nokia’s Monitors are of class and beauty. Another claim Selfe states in her article is that "men use technology to accomplish things; women benefit from technology to enhance the ease of their lives to benefit their families," (308). I believe that this statement is highly controversial and is a sensitive issue touching on the gender roles in society at the time. Selfe uses yet another advertisement to support her claims. This time she uses an advertisement for Netbooks. The advertisement states “We’re mapping a whole new whole world.” But the image above the writing doesn’t seem to match. The image portrays the power men had over women during the 50’s. The man holds the computer keyboard while his family, child and wife, gather around to watch. This is strong evidence to support Selfe’s claim about gender roles in a family household.