Essay Example on Cyborgia: Susan Slaviero's Whimsical Sci-Fi Poetry

Cyborgia is a collection of fiction poems by Susan Slaviero, who explores science through humor. The poems are written in a non-political manner that makes them appear humorous, funny, and full of glee. Among her works include Briar Rose in Cryostasis, Tank Girl, Aeon Flux, and Our Lady of X-Ray Vision. Most of Slaviero's work consists of females who are legendary characters in real-life and what they could be if they were robots or cyborgs. The author often uses the word "gynoid" to represent robots with feminine features, while android implies the male robots that program the females. The purpose of this paper is to explore the works of Susan Slaviero regarding "Our Lady of X-Ray Vision as an example of her literal works.

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Slaviero explores the feminists' theories of creating gender through construction. She offers more enthusiasm in the construction process, deeming it as eventful. In her view, Slaviero shows gynoids and cyborgs as sexy and lustrous beings that attract the attention of males. Nonetheless, her opinion is arguable as she states the process of gender construction is painful and technically dirty. For instance, in "Our Lady of X-Ray Vision," the first line describes a woman as "a scattering of puncture wounds beneath titanium shells." The poet does not attach feelings of sadness, politics, or anger. The issue of gender is not entirely central. The poet seeks to attract the reader's attention through imagination and fun. Everything that Slaviero speaks is on a light-note of creativity, and it is never solemn. Therefore, exploring her works implies the theme of deviation from human to science through fiction.

In the first line of the poem, Slaviero describes a woman as a mollusk or a painted lady. Such a description deters the original meaning of a woman in flesh and blood. It is fictional enough to realize the robotic nature of a human being. One is described by colors and objects since they have no blood running through their veins. Through imagery and humor, the poet takes fans through a description of what science could do if given a chance. Despite the robotic woman that is programmed by a man, the poet describes women by stating, 'dollies are legless &inert in their lipstick and pink dresses (Slaviero, 59)." The created creatures look beautiful and sexy yet cannot move their limbs. They lack the human abilities of locomotion and movement, thus require a push or pull, whether electronic or physical, to move.

The poet dominates the poem's language with sci-fi language that can be well understood by the lovers of this genre. Following the poem requires knowledge in sci-fi traditions, fairy tales, and technology. The vocabulary employed in the poem is quite complex yet widens the reader's understanding of science and language. The uniqueness of the author's work brings sensuality to the reader as fairy tale characters are combined with cyborgs for a robotic female character. Importantly, Slaviero molds her imagery into a religious aspect that displays operas, cowgirls, pop variety, and cultural artifacts.

In "Our Lady of X-Ray Vision, Slaviero creates a deeper understanding of the pros and cons of the modernity that entails heavy reliance on technology. In as much as her message is not intended to be serious, readers ought to develop a deeper meaning of the poem's revelation. In an era where technology is the talk of the day, many people are blinded by the positives such that they overlook the negatives. For instance, extreme dependence on technology transforms human skills into those of robots. If humans can create a programmed female, the ideal roles of a human female are taken away. It displays that humans can act like robots, and they do not need physical participation to get tasks done. The created cyborgs show superficiality in their teledildonics and robosexuality, depriving the human female of their feminism. In Slaviero's imagination, she explores the fairy tales of old womanly tropes, mermaids, heroines, and brides.

Despite the poem being mere imagination, it scales the possible heights that technology could explore. Suppose the imagined woman is literary created, the sense of humanness would soon lose its value. There will be little that a woman can do. Most of the roles of a woman in society will be computer-programmed, making them somehow useless. It is a dream that no one would wish it comes true. For instance, women are described as "...angels with iron claws dream of cannibals gnawing rusted thighs..."(Slaviero, 59). Such a description deprives the real woman of humanity. The cyborg woman is selfish and inhumane, which is the converse of the real woman. Society views women as selfless and with a pure heart. They always have a merciful spot in their hearts despite everything revolving around them. Therefore, programming a woman as one with the desire to kill or deprive another of life deviates from the true identity of a woman.

The poet further describes the cyborg woman as "an exponent...a bitten witch." The portrayal shows that the created woman is a promoter of something good yet contrasts by showing the female character as a bitten. In both cases, the positive and negative side of a woman is correctly described. The author uses the full range of scientific vocabulary to add flavor to the intended message. Whereas the female character can be constructed, the male characters act as programmers. For instance, men are described as "...of men playing the xylophone with bare fingers..."(Slaviero, 59). The description shows that the males remain human and can program, a female to be used for their satisfaction without necessarily luring a real one to their cage.

Notably, females cannot create themselves. Society has always given masculinity and superiority to men, while women are left as inferior beings. Therefore, if cyborgs could exist, then it is men that will construct them. The male dominance in technology shows that whatever they create must be useful to them in some way. Therefore, if the existence of cyborg women could be real, it will give men the satisfaction of their intelligence and feed their ego. It is only an image of what technology could do. However, real-life cyborgs do not exist.

The dominating theme in the poem is the extremes of technology. Despite simplifying work and making socialization more straightforward for the world, technology also has its negative impacts. For instance, the construction of gender means alienation of human abilities. Business today requires technology to shorten the time used to make deliveries to clients. It simplifies work and kills chances for fatigue at the workplace. However, the humans operating the computers at the workplace will suffer from boredom, and at times will become like robots. They can only do normal activities if they have access to technology. During times when technology fails, work automatically stops, and this is a demerit to business progress. Conclusively, this paper analyses poetry by understanding the underlying theme. The sensual and scientific language used in "Our Lady of X-Ray Vision" draws the attention of fans of this genre. It allows readers to explore the dimensions of technology in enthusiastic ways. Slaviero explores science through the imagination of what could happen if gender could be constructed. The poet gives several descriptions of the cyborg women portraying them as legless and inert yet with attractive features. Finally, the poem draws several coins that could arise from further diversities of technology.

Works Cited

Slaviero, Susan. Cyborgia: Poems. Bay City, MI: Mayapple Press, 2010. Print.