Cyberbabes: Self-Representation of Women and the Virtual Male Gaze

In the 1997 paper, Laura L. Sullivan explored the objectification of women on the internet and the concept of the virtual male gaze, using her own experiences with a hypertext project on beauty culture that attracted male attention from The Long Hair Site. She received emails from men focusing on her beauty, prompting her to critique the sexism of male media theorists and the internalized oppression of women, suggesting the need for structural and psychological changes to combat cybersexism. Sullivan's analysis included personal reflections, email interactions, and a theoretical examination of the virtual male gaze. She concluded that to eliminate cybersexism, both men and women must recognize and change their participation in sexist behaviors. The document also discusses the gendered nature of posing for photographs, the co-optation of women's bodies for male pleasure, and the potential for women to resist and create their own spaces online. Sullivan calls for a materialist view of technology in electronic pedagogy to understand the social and political context of cyberspace, and the implications of students' work on the web.