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Feminist Technology

Linda Layne editor Sharra Vostral editor Kate Boyer editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of Illinois Press

Published:5th May '10

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Feminist Technology cover

A multi-voiced debate on technologies designed to improve women's lives

Is there such a thing as a 'feminist technology'? If so, what makes a technology feminist? Is it in the design process, in the thing itself, in the way it is marketed, or in the way it is used by women? This title considers these questions by examining a range of products, tools, and technologies that were specifically designed for women.

Is there such a thing as a "feminist technology"? If so, what makes a technology feminist? Is it in the design process, in the thing itself, in the way it is marketed, or in the way it is used by women (or by men)?

In this collection, feminist scholars trained in diverse fields consider these questions by examining a range of products, tools, and technologies that were specifically designed for and marketed to women. Evaluating the claims that such products are liberating for women, the contributors focus on case studies of menstrual-suppressing birth control pills, home pregnancy tests, tampons, breast pumps, Norplant, anti-fertility vaccines, and microbicides. In examining these various products, this volume explores ways of actively intervening to develop better tools for designing, promoting, and evaluating feminist technologies. Recognizing the different needs and desires of women and acknowledging the multiplicity of feminist approaches, Feminist Technology offers a sustained debate on existing and emergent technologies that share the goal of improving women's lives.

Contributors are Jennifer Aengst, Maia Boswell-Penc, Kate Boyer, Frances Bronet, Shirley Gorenstein, Anita Hardon, Deborah G. Johnson, Linda L. Layne, Deana McDonagh, and Sharra L. Vostral.

"This coherent and integrated collection lays out the issues and questions of feminist technology, crossing a true range of disciplinary boundaries including science and technology studies, architecture, biology, and the social sciences."--Barbara Katz Rothman, author of Recreating Motherhood: Ideology and Technology in a Patriarchal Society

ISBN: 9780252077203

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 23mm

Weight: 399g

256 pages