A Cyborg Manifesto

"A Cyborg Manifesto" is an essay written by Donna Haraway and published in 1985 in the Socialist Review (US). In it, the concept of the cyborg represents a rejection of rigid boundaries, notably those separating "human" from "animal" and "human" from "machine." Haraway writes: "The cyborg does not dream of community on the model of the organic family, this time without the oedipal project. The cyborg would not recognize the Garden of Eden; it is not made of mud and cannot dream of returning to dust."

The "Manifesto" challenges traditional notions of feminism, particularly feminism that focuses on identity politics, and instead encourages coalition through affinity. Haraway uses the concept of a cyborg to represent the plasticity of identity and to highlight the limitations of socially imposed identities; the "Manifesto" is considered a major milestone in the development of feminist posthumanist theory.