Rewriting Femborgian Narratives: Transgression and Subversion of the Female Cyborg in Her and Ex Machina

Abstract

The poster child of the ever-evolving Cyberculture: the Cyborg, is a symbol of possibilities and anxieties for humankind. The female cyborg, or the femborg in particular, is a radical merger of unconventional categories of women and technology. While science and technology have traditionally been masculine domains, the entry of femborgs in cyborgtopia has triggered pertinent discussions around sentience, gender roles, and hybridity. The femborg’s ability to escape hetero-patriarchal codification has allowed for the creation of a mythology distinct from the historical narratives of machine-women who have succumbed to their violent ends. Through the artificially intelligent female cyborgs, Samantha of Her and Ava of Ex Machina, I analyse the femborgs for their transgressive potential resulting in subversive outcomes visible through their defiance of the male gaze, rejection of the body as a biological artefact, and acceptance of a hybrid, fragmented identity.