The Constructions of Sexual Identity and Women at the Intersection of Science, Technology and Cultural Curriculum Studeis: A Feminist Inquiry

Ways in which science, technology, and popular culture have in the past and continue to contribute to the commodification, identification and imaging of the female body is well documented (Freedman, 2002; Brunsdon, D’Acci, & Speigel, 1997; McRobbie, 1999; Featherstone, 2000; Grosz, 2003; Stevenson, 2001; Wolf, 1991; Bordo,1997, Stabile, 1997; Fiske, 1987; Wood, 2002; Weiss, 2003; Plant, 1997; Posavac, et al, 1998; Markyla, 1995; Laws, 1979). At the intersection of science, technology and popular culture the private sphere has merged with the public sphere; consequentially, society has witnessed a widespread reorganization of its space resulting in a myriad of cultural changes, significantly impacting women’s sexual identity. My feminist research has sought to illuminate some of these noteworthy changes which not only challenge conventional societal boundaries within the realms of science and technology but also serve as powerful shapers of both popular culture and women’s sexual identity. The purpose of this inquiry is to investigate the perceptions of women’s identities fostered by science and technology, the ways in which the body is conceptualized and the impact of the “body as text” on identity and sexuality while also considering ways in which technoscience is reconfiguring notions of the construction of women’s identities through an exploration and analysis of the medium of television.