Location of Selves and Reorganization of Reality :: Identity Reality Self Essays

Location of Selves and Reorganization of Reality We perceive limits in our culture of information—our postmodern world. Limits in defining a simple, modernist self are the same limits that govern the ownership of land and of ideas (hence, the copyright). Defining a person in strict terms of a single identity allows self the capacity for ownership. People feel that they have a handle over things if they know themselves in terms of a concise identity. Even more, people can be assured that they are normal or, further, powerful and significant, if they have certain â€Å"desirable† traits that make up their true selves. This sense of self causes the identity crisis, insecurities, and self-hate just as much if not more so than it gives people an assurance of knowing who â€Å"they† are. The cyborg enacts the anticipated demolition of such reducing mirages. Cyborgs defy traditional classification, thus controllability. This threatens those in power, and it threatens those that enjoy the limits once in place. While this idea must seem to crush the strength of groups that have been defined by a unifying trait such as â€Å"male†, it really allows for far more possible groups to unify—groups that may have experienced turmoil and were unable to be classified by one word, like â€Å"woman†. Simple classifications that have discounted other portions of one’s unique experience will no longer limit or detract from one’s multiple selfhood. Then, cyborgs/selves can explore the self of choice to maximize their experience in accordance with their environment. Finally, the quests for self as authentic will no longer persist. The authenticity of human interaction could just be a falsity. Behaviors are, after all, only as genuine or definitive as you imagine them to be. One can shape their experiences, or at least their perceptions of them, uniquely. [See Chapter 5, Speaking into the Air] Thus, the need for human contact could be viewed as another myth. People can fall in love over the Internet. The orgasm that one has in a simulated situation, like phone sex or cyber sex, is just as â€Å"real† as the one he/she would have had if the big fat hairy woman on the other end of the wire (and the orgasm) really was the skinny sexy blond thought to be communicating.