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Graduate Seminar 2

Identity Vs. Affinity

In the closing paragraph of her manifesto Donna Haraway writes:"...a cyborg world might be about lived social and bodily realities in which people are not afraid of their joint kinship with animals and machines, not afraid of permanently partial identities and contradictory standpoints". This has been identified as a call for a social shift from Identity to Affinity. How do you understand this idea? Do you think that by focusing on Identity we lose sight of aspects of society that could create a feeling of solidarity with other people as well as with animals and even machines?

(Sammy Cucher)


The emphasis in a call for a social shift from Identity to Affinity correlates simply to and idea of, “out with the old; in with the new” mentality. It’s a new way of thinking based on new technology and new circumstances. Identity, on one hand is hyper individualistic while solidifying the status of a group collective, social standard or society. To be that single one calls for the attention of the examination of others in co-existence. Affinity, appears to represent a mutual point of view that we all are “one”. It elimniates the individual and “individuality” because at the core there is a unified belief system that all the parts are interchangeable. The emphasis here is unified or unity. My thoughts are yours, a shared vision or perspective in knowing that we, the human race will continue to exist even when one or a group of us dissolve.


Yes, I tend to agree mostly with the statement that, “focusing on Identity we lose sight of aspects of society that could create a feeling of solidarity with other people as well as with animals and even machines”. I’m a little on the fence with my agreement about the addition of “machines”. In the context of Donna Haraway’s manifesto, I feel the more appropriate word choice would be to replace the word “machines” to “cyborgs”. Speaking of replacement, a dear female friend of mine had “biological heart valve replacement from a cow.” Her identity in my eyes never changed at the time but I now realized she has reached affinity.


In our modern world, especially in the academic field there is a “woke culture”. For better or worse, it has sparked dialogue and created a new way of thinking of identity. We are perhaps becoming or reaching the apex of our “cyborganism” with genderless identities. Although there is a new call to identify one’s identity through pronouns there are almost infinite choices to choose from in this process of reaching “affinity”. In this current Western culture we are no longer seen as just binary, we have the non-binary option. I like Haraway’s take that, “political struggle is to see from both perspectives at once because each reveals both dominations and possibilities unimaginable from the other vantage point." I feel it is safe to say, that most people prior to the 19th century could never imagine that one could transform their identity literally and physically. The futuristic utopian society will have a feeling of solidarity of all creatures even technical ones that technically are not creatures. (jude Lives)


Two articles I found of interest:

Article on Biological Heart Valve replacements:

Article on The Life of Dolly



Artwork by jude Lives

 
 
 

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