This week in class we discussed Donna Haraway's
Cyborg Manifesto. According to Haraway, "A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction." In her piece of work, Haraway discusses many boundaries relating to the formation of the cyborg. Some of the most prominent ones were human/animal, organic/inorganic, organism/machine, physical/non-physical, etc. This whole idea of a cyborg led to an interesting
class discussion. Wexler asked us if we would knowingly date a cyborg. Surprisingly, a lot of the class said yes. Considering how much we rely on technology in our everyday lives though, this sort of response should not necessarily come as a surprise. A concern was whether or not the cyborg had freedom of choice. Many in our class said that if the cyborg was programmed to fall in love with them, as opposed to having the freedom to choose their lover, they would not date the cyborg. The discussion then led to a questioning of what truly defines whether something is human or not. People have all sorts of views on this matter. Many will say that in order for anything to be considered "human," they must be able to reproduce. This is a tricky topic to tackle, considering all the options that fertility clinics have to offer. Ultimately, Donna Haraway's cyborg is a representation of "lived social and bodily realities in which people are not afraid of their joint kinship with animals and machines, not afraid of permanently partial identities and contradictory standpoints."
This week in class we had a group presenting on Facebook. It's astounding to me how much Facebook has and continues to effect our daily lives, even if we do not realize it. Facebook has allowed us to have relationships with people solely online in the comfort of our own homes. I deleted my Facebook two years ago. I chose to do this for a number of reasons, but the main reason was because I realized how unhappy it was making me. I would frequently be checking my Facebook and comparing my life to the lives of my friends who I saw online. As happy as I was for them, I would honestly feel down about myself if I saw people frequently doing adventurous things or posting perfect photos. I realized though that ultimately, a lot of the stuff that people post on Facebook is just so they can maintain their online image or persona. I would see a photo of my cousin with her boyfriend, only to find out a day later that she was utterly unhappy in the relationship. This all made me view Facebook as being a sort of "false reality." People will tell you their interests and post statuses and pictures, but only those that make them look good or seem like they are living the perfect life. I didn't want to partake in something like that anymore, especially since it was negatively affecting my attitude. I deleted my account and I don't regret it. Sometimes I do feel a little out of the loop when my friends ask me if I saw what so and so posted on Facebook last night. The other annoying thing about not having a Facebook is how it is frequently used everywhere. There are many contests or campaigns that require you to have a Facebook account in order to partake in the particular event. For example, I recently bought tickets for my sister to go see the popular boy band One Direction. In order to get good seats, I had to try to buy tickets during the "Facebook pre-sale." Since I didn't have a Facebook, I couldn't see what the code was to buy the tickets. Luckily my brother was able to look up the code through his Facebook account, but it just shows how society already assumes that we view Facebook as a necessity. 
