What distinguishes humanity from artificial beings? What do constructed creatures tell us about ourselves? From sex dolls to Siri, talking Barbies to robotic mothers, Artificial Women explores the ways in which today's simulated females—both real and fictional—reflect and expose our own ideas about gender and female identity. Join Julie Wosk as she probes the realm of compliant sex workers, nurturing caretakers, genial servants, and rebellious creations in film, television, literature, art, photography, and current developments in robotics. These modern-day Galateas must embrace their own synthetic nature while also striving for authenticity and autonomy, all the while foregrounding gender stereotypes and changing perceptions of women and their roles. They embody the paradoxes and tensions that continue to arise in our increasingly simulated world, where the lines between the real and the virtual only continue to blur. As these "artificial women" become ever more lifelike, so too do the questions they raise become more provocative, and more illuminating of our own conceptions and conventions. Artificial Women pushes the boundaries of gender, sexuality, and culture studies to consider new digital technologies, artificial intelligences, and burgeoning simulations.

lgrsnf/Artificial Women.pdf

Wosk, Julie

Quarry Books

Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2024

United States, United States of America

Enhanced by artificial intelligence, today's simulated females are becoming ever more lifelike as the virtual vies with the real. They have already had a dramatic impact on personal relationships, on our views of women, and our ideas about what it means to be human. From sex dolls to Siri, talking Barbies to robotic mothers, Artificial Women explores the ways in which today's simulated females, both real and fictional, reflect and expose our own ideas about sexuality, gender, and the impact of simulations on social relationships. Join Julie Wosk as she probes the realm of compliant robot sex workers, nurturing genial caregivers and companions, virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, and rebellious creations in film, television, literature, art, photography, and current developments in robotics. These simulated women often reflect old stereotypes, but also highlight a new breed of female robots, cyborgs, and dolls that possess agency, self-awareness, and autonomy.Artificial Women pushes the boundaries of culture studies to consider how new digital technologies, artificial intelligences, and burgeoning simulations affect our own understandings of ourselves.

Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. A New Breed of Sex Robots and Sex Dolls
2. Under the Skin: The Fabricated Femme Fatale
3. Female Robot Caregivers, Doubles, and Companions
4. Paradoxes of Perfection: A Servant No More
5. Virtual Voices: Talking Barbie Dolls, Alexa, Bitchin’ Betty, and More
Coda
Bibliography
Index

2024-01-29