Collective Illusion: Feminism, the Internet, and the Impossibility of Liberation Open Access

Abstract

At the core of this thesis is the stories we are told: stories of feminism and stories of technology. The stories we are told are meant to be a progress narrative. It is my intention to trouble the linearity of these stories. This thesis examines two feminist commitments: the commitment to understanding and defining misogyny and the commitment to rehabilitating sex. These commitments are examined alongside what I perceive to be feminism’s biggest obstacle at the moment: the internet, and more specifically, the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its use to create pornographic “deepfake” content. Beginning with a survey of feminist thoughts on misogyny, I examine an interaction between two TikTok creators surrounding the problem of deepfakes, and I analyze the gendered dynamics at play, concluding that femaleness, as defined by Andrea Long Chu, is at the center of these interactions. I then turn to Baudrillard’s theory of image to think through the ways in which reality changes in the age of generative AI, arguing that the deepfake actually aids in the feminist commitment to returning to an uncorrupted sex. Finally, I turn to a story of my own to revisit the goals of cyberfeminism, which emerged in the 1990s. I think through the limits of hoping for liberation – another story we are told. In the end, I conclude that feminists need to get offline to inhibit a space outside of the illusions of theory. 

Table of Contents

Table of Contents 

Preface: Feminist Stories … 1 Vignette #1 … 5 Female Hatred: Misogyny, Deepfakes, and Feminism … 6 Vignette #2 … 26 Deepfake Disneyland: Feminism, Pornography, and “Real” Sex  …27 Vignette #3…43 Towards Getting Offline …44 Conclusion: Difficult and Fine…67

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Artificial Intelligence Gender Studies Women's Studies
Keyword	Internet Studies Western Feminism Brooke Monk Andrea Long Chu
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Elizabeth Wilson, Emory University
Committee Members	Lynne Huffer, Emory University Samantha Pinson Wrisley, Emory University

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