ḛ̴̤̭̩̲͙͕͉̜̘̺̎̈͒̽͊̐͝ṁ̶̢̨̯͇̻̜͚̗̦̝̬̭͛͘̚͜͝ͅb̴̰̩͔̠́̓̄̅͆̾̿͆͋̒̍ȏ̸̧̮͂͒̎́̈́̚̚̕ḋ̷̛͚̳͑̃̑̑́̀̽͊͝ͅÿ̸̧̨̛̱̺̦̗̱̟́̈̅͝ͅį̷͓̱͓̝̍͌ͅņ̷̥̼̗͍͐̅͑̆́̇̆̀̊̾̑̇ǧ̷̖̀̿̃͋̅̏́͌͂͆ ̸̩̭̫̭̙͚̞̞̖̻͖̂̄͜g̷̨̛̻̘͍͚͔̙̱̝̭̯̍̓̀͂͂͗̀̎͒l̸͙͉̜̗̬̓͐́̽̀̾͋̀͜ͅi̵̛̹̱̣̗̺͂̋̔̉̇̐̈́͐̌̏̄̒͘̚̚͜ẗ̶̨̞̝̪̪̻̥́͑̀̐͂̐͐͘͘͜͜͝ͅç̶̯̦͍̙̱̮̀̚ͅĥ̸̡̧̟͚̭͇̟̰̪̦̥̮̓ ̷̻̩̌́̿́́̅̏̓͗̍̃̅̚͝
An attempt at breaking away from the fear of failure.
I̵̥͉͑̓̄̈́̑Ń̸̙͇̭̬̘̗̤̎͋Ṫ̴̩̖͖̫̫̘̙̩̗̜̝̔̄̂͗̽͛̊̍͝͝R̸̢̡̞̮̤̪̯̯̰̥̂̌͊̍̈́́͝Ǫ̷͓̜̻̩̩̦̲̻̳̦̔͌̇̈́̐̒́͆̑̅͗̔͐̋̀̚̕͜D̸̨̡͉̩̯͎͈̟͙͙̄̀̊̔͗͆̋̂͑̈́̈́̒͑̋̏̀̚
Ū̶͎̞͎̘͉̩͕̑̍C̶̙͇̳̏͐̋̊͊̂̚̕̚Ṭ̴̢̛̹͔͎͙̟͓̼͐͐͐̓̈́̄̕͝͝Ï̷̧͍̼̯͇̳͈̹̬͋̂̈́͝O̷̢̢̨͖̳̙̱͎͇̣̙̰̳̳̙͒̍͊͑̀͛̽̈̂̓̀͘N̴̛͇̹͕̣̬͚̱̞̜̺͎̭̯͎̳̯̎̑̀̇̏͛̆͋̾͗͆͘̚̚͘͜
always succeed.
My investigation is inspired and sourced by Glitch theories in technology and feminist discourses with an analysis of texts such as “Glitch Manifesto” from Rosa Menkman and “Glitch Feminism” by Legacy Russel.
Through this paper, I try to reach an understanding of what glitch is, as a biopolitical instrument and as a lifestyle, how to think with glitch, and how to become glitch and what are the implications of such practices.
I had a first romantization of glitches as a positive input, as a liberating momentum,but then I eventually started to question the privilege that you must hold in order to be able to fail.
Glitch has long been theorized as a form of resistance, a disruption of systems that exposes underlying structures of power. Whether in cyberfeminist theory (Haraway, 1985), glitch aesthetics (Menkman, 2011), or hacker culture, the concept of glitch is a tool to break free from rigid control, and to resist categorization, and to reveal hidden biases within systems. However, this perspective tends to romanticize glitch as inherently liberatory while overlooking the conditions that make glitch a privilege rather than a universal tool of resistance.
Not everyone can afford to glitch.
Not everyone has the safety to break a system.
I wanted to emancipate myself through the glitch but I ended up getting eaten from the system.
I feel at the end that I even failed to fail.
Ó̵̗̉̀̍̋̈́̋̔̌̚͠
D̶̼̼̬̤̄̽͌̅̅̀̐͆̽͑̈́̊͘͜Ÿ̶̘̝̜̗́͑̑͗͌̈́̆͛͐̚͜
”I was not yet privileged enough to be fully formed as cyborg but, in reaching, surely on my way.”
This act of becoming expressed in Legacy Russell’s “Glitch Feminism” represents the intersection of organic and technological rupture, where body and machine blur, twist, and disrupt one another.
In her words, this act of reaching this fluid identity is praised and it is set as a goal to reach.
The cyborg, as Donna Haraway intends it in “A Cyborg Manifesto”, is a figure that transcends boundaries: human and machine, life and death, nature and culture. The cyborg,in other words is a hybrid creature, and is the central figure of her political myth because it is the embodiment of the breakdown between the constructed and opressive categories of human and machine.
Because cyborgs complicate and subvert the boundary between machines and humans, they have the potential to destabilize other diametrically opposed categories, like male and female, technology and nature, and ‘East’ and ‘West’.
They, in other words, subvert dychotomies by hybridizing identities.
I believe, though, that the hybridization of flesh and circuitry does not necessarily imply a utopic salvation from binary and capitalistic structure.Technology per se is based on a series of algorithms and binary codes and language models that don’t leave any space for ambiguity and openness and these technological systems also are laid at the basis of almost any structure today.
As Franco Berardi describes it in “Breathing:chaos and poetry”, rhythm represents the unique shaping of time as it represents the pulse of living organisms trying to connect with the unpredictable flow of their surroundings.
Organisms are made of (also) vibrant, lively matter, and their pulses naturally align and interact with everything that surrounds them.
He proceeds by introducing the concept of the algorithm and its ethymology.
Algorithm derives from the greek world algos meaning pain and therefore explains that algorithmic pain arises when an organism is constrained and the vibrational force of expression becomes so rigid, and the fluidity of experience is compressed into the very discrete structure of computation.
When algorithms infiltrate social interactions, they reconfigure human connections, imposing a rigid logic that stifles organic rhythms.
This process suppresses natural oscillations and reduces the boundless spectrum of variation to the strict binary of 0 and 1.
The algorithmic rigidness can be a cause of anxiety of course, and it can lead to a very pessimistic view of the world considering how embedded it is in every aspect of life.
In the documentary “all watched over by machines of loving grace” from Adam Curtis it is proposed an interesting analysis and later on a critique on the faith in computers and algorithms that has shaped society and on the techno utopia that was arising from socio-political debate and strongly shaped the last 80 years or so.
Curtis explores especially how cybernetic thinking—rooted in the belief that machines can create self-regulating, stable systems —has influenced economic,political, social and ecological structures.
In this techno utopic mindset,systems have the ability to self regulate and through a series of feedback loops create an harmonious environment where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent actions.
Cybernetics is in fact a multidisciplinary study that connects the idea of systems based on circular feedback loops to various discourses such as enginnering,political,economic, cognitive behaviour, biological etc etc…
The ethymology of cybernetics comes from the ancient greek kybernḗtēs which refers to an example of feedback loop.
It precisely referers to a person stirring a ship because the position of the rudder is adjusted in continual response to the effect it is observed as having, forming a feedback loop through which a steady course can be maintained in a changing environment, responding to disturbances from cross winds and tide.
In fact Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to feed back into itself leading to a circular argumentation.
When brought into the realm of natural science, the feedback model creates a mechanized view of human nature by applying systems models,thus blocking the natural oscillation expressed by Franco Berardi into a rigid and over simplified schematization of the world that results in alack of freedom.
To put it an another way, this oversimplified and algorithmic viewpoint fosters for a reduction of human life into predictable patterns of control.
A pertinent case study that started to debunk theories on the belief of the stability of natural systems and the application of cybernetic principles to ecological systems is the work conducted by George Van Dyne, pioneer in systems ecology.
Systems ecology is an approach to ecosystem study based on formal procedures of systems thinking, synthesis, and modeling. Its goals are those of formulating ecological systems,and more generally, of detecting and managing emergent properties and predicting responses to disturbance in ecological problems.
His experiment, precisely, laid its basis on the desire to create a mathematical scheme of the health of grassland all over the United States and predict patterns on the wellbeing of the grass given the sets of datas provided in the server.
The model developed included over 180 internal state variables. For example, the number of herbivores or amount of organic minerals found in the sample sites. The model also included abiotic driving variables like rainfall or processes stemming from photosynthesis like radiation.
Their work culminated in 4400 lines of computer code that included 500 parameters. It took seven minutes to compile and run the program that simulated two years of effects of grassland which could even be run on our laptops today.
The failure of the program to detect future patterns is due to the fact that the computational schematization relies on a set of complex datasets based on most of the elements that affect grassland health and that it reduces the nuanced possibilities given the extreme complexity of all the factors provided in the server.
Its failure, in a way, echoes the sentiment expressed by Berardi that nature cannot be schematized in algoritmic terms and there will always be problems with the attempt to mathematically encapsulate the complexities of natural systems.
The failure of the feedback loop and the algorithm is pivotal for the understanding of the complexity that is of human nature,and it allows for more inclusive interpretations of social concatenations, whithouth relying on oversimplified computerizations.
Over-reliance on feedback loops and algorithmic structures cultivtates a mechanistic worldview that overlooks the fluidity and unpredictability of life.
The failure of such models is the point where ruptures in the expected function of the code, a break from its rigid logic starts to manifest.
The phenomena of failure of the algorithm can be inscribed in the phenomena of the glitch.
The glitch, as Rosa Menkman defines it in “Glitch manifesto” has no solid form or state through time and it is often perceived as an unexpected and abnormal mode of operandi, a break from (one of) the many flows (of expectations) within a (technological) system.
Within technoculture, the glitch is an embodiment of anxiety, as it represents the failure of the machine. Machines are expected to work fast and be functional at all times to favor commodification and capitalism and the unexpected and sudden break of this purpose is often seen as something that has to be fixed and overcome.The glitch exposes the deceitful presupposition that machines are infallible, it totally debunks the technofascist ideology.
In this sense, glitch is not just an aesthetic or technological disturbance but, an ideological one; it exposes the constructed illusion of infallibility that sustains and cultivates digital capitalism.
The urgency with which glitches are first perceived and consequently after fixed reflects a cultural impulse to suppress failure, to uphold the uninterrupted circulation of data, labor, and value.
But the glitch is not only inscribed in technological discourses as it can be applied to many more realms, as technology is contaminating every aspect of our lives.
In cyberfeminist debate, the glitch functions as a metaphor for disruption from algorithmic, or binary structures. It is then reframed than more of just a failure, but even as an opportunity and an active practice to refuse to be part of predetermined and limiting categorizations.
As Legacy Russell writes in Glitch Feminism,“the glitch creates a fissure within which new possibilities of being can emerge. It is the space where bodies that refuse categorization, commodification and normativity take form. It is a dance between the organic and inorganic, the seen and unseen, the functional and the broken.”
Russel proposes not to run away from the glitch, but to haunt the very first system that tried to opress us, make it break. She makes a very interesting analysis on the ghost in the machine and the haunting potential of the glitch.
It is clear that nowadays the machine is the material through which we process our bodily functions as almost all aspects of life are mediated through it.
To go back to the quote of Russel on becoming cyborg I realized that the she is trying to reach further Haraway’s idea of cyborg.
As Haraway defines it:
“Cyborg politics is the struggle for language and the struggle against perfect communication, against the one code that translates all meaning perfectly, the central dogma of phallogocentrism.”
So Haraway’s cyborgs,as I understand them to be, are political identities that contaminate systems from whitin,through impure semiotics.
Yet where her cyborg writes itself into existence through impure semiotic coalitions, Russell's glitch ghosts the system entirely—not through imperfect translation but through deliberate corruption.. Russell’s glitch moves towards a radical illegibility, where the body glitches into uncategorizable excess sabotaging the algorithmic gaze. The cyborg presented by Haraway trascends boundaries but the glitch sabotages the very logic of boundaries.
The radical assertiveness of glitch feminism is to weaponize the illegibility of bodies.
The glitch therefore is neither error nor accident—it is the specter of all that rigid systems cannot process.
Just like In the case of George Van Dyne’s algorithm that failed at the complexity and unpredictability of grassland,technocapitalist machinery fails to render the vibrant excess of queer, black, neurodivergent rythms.
The systems demand docility and submission, but the glitch-bodies actively haunt the systems that try to contain them and categorize them, not as passive beings but as active saboteurs.
d̷̛͉̅̈́̅̑̾͑̍̾̃̚d̵̫̬̻̹̄̓͐̇̌̆̔̇̈́̇̐͘͘̕͝͠c̶͓̳͍̰̮̰͈̣͊̊͗̑̆͆̀̊̄͋́́͑̄̀̆͜p̷̧̛͕͖̮̪̭̻̱͛̈̐͑͜͠ͅd̵̛̘̖͇̟̳͓̬̞͎͙̟̦͜ͅc̵̡̡̜̖̱̬̲̰̟̣͍͉͙̱͚̳͈̒́̏͛͛̅̆k̶̢̢̧̛̰̜̱̬̼̥͎̺̝͗̑̾̍̍̂̄͒͘͠ď̸̢̡̧͚̬͖̞͚̟̰̰̹̻̖͒̅̉̔̋̅̈́̍͌̇͆͋͊̀͘̕s̷̗͆̀̓͗͗̀͂̇̎̽̈́̑̋̚ơ̴͖͇͎͌̊̀̓ ̵͔̘͍́͑̊̈́̀͂̿̀̂̀͂̿̋͛̕͘͝j̸̧̳͓̙͉̟̫̒͑̏ͅm̵͈̖̹̝̯̥̐͊̽̿͘f̴̳̭̲̬͈̪̘͇͚͙͗̒̈́̃̈́̑̋ḑ̴̛͓͔̈́̇̒́̽̉̃̋́̈́́̐͘͠i̶̧̮̪̪̰̜̫̦͕͎̲̎̀͑̔͛̈͌̈͗͘̕̕̕͜͜͝ ̶̨̡͍͖̫͉̯͖̫̦̱̼̙̥̩̭̠̄͛̈́̓̽͂̽̇̅̾̀͝ņ̵̡̠̪͍͚̪̖͕̜͉̳͖̾̐̿̽̓̓͆͌͝f̶̯͇̥̫̙̗̔̊̓̀́͛̒͑̇̐͘̕̚ ̴̛̝̤̪͎̣̳̭̞̺̻͓̲̠̖̠̪̐̀̓͑͒̿́͂̃͋̕̕͝͠ͅù̷̺͚̮̜̲̤͇̭͋̂̈͗̈́̾̓͝j̶̹͑͆̈́̉̊̾f̶̧͖̥̉̊̆̿͆̏̈͑ͅͅ ̷̦̝͕̣̗̺̥̪̻͗͆̊͋̏̐͒̎̏̽̓͜͝ǫ̴̢̥̹̬̙̞͔͚̲̟̣̤̒͊̆͆́̈͆̑͒͘̚͜d̶̹̪̥̫̘̣͎̝̼̺̤̹̼͙̲̗̊̏̀̀̎͆̚̚p̷̢͔̩̙̬̮̺̟̭̙̖͇̤͙̤͊̔̇̿́s̶͉̩͚͎͔̙̓̔͗̍̅͒̏̇̓͂̆́͊j̵̛̰͚̤͖̞͗̒̎̍͐͂̈́̉̚f̷̡̨̛̮͓͉̖͉̹͔̘͙̱̦̎͑͌͋͒̂͘̚͠͝ͅi̷̢̮͓̮̮̖̼̫̻̼͎̮̔͐̋̄̿̒͝c̶̨̢̨̥̣̙̖̟̈́̃̊̓̌́̐͊̄͝n̶̡̘͓͉̞̮̻̹̦͍͉̝̲̺̩̗͆̈̉̉̅̑c̶̛͍͑͑̔̏̈́̔̊̐̒́̍̋̐͒̚ǫ̶̢̱̖̰̳̀͗̉̿͑͝͠n̴̳̲̗̬̜̮̩̱̉̏̚c̸̗͖̤̖͎̮͚̮̾̽̈́̓l̸̛͎̤̝͙̱̰̖̳͎̦̻̳͔̟̟̀͛͊̔̀́̄́̔̀̒̚ͅu̶̯̓̂̇̉̄̅̊̿̿̈́̈͆̈́̽̈́͝ś̸̨̡̹̘̙̜̰̉̾͋́́̓̕į̶͍̪̜̪̣͇̳͚͋̇̽̉̏̆̇̄̃̕͠ͅó̷͕͍̻̰͕̯̦̩̫͋̏̓̾̉̈́̚ņ̸̡̬̪̙̩͔͎̏͑́̆͌̐͘͜͝
d̷̛͉̅̈́̅̑̾͑̍̾̃̚d̵̫̬̻̹̄̓͐̇̌̆̔̇̈́̇̐͘͘̕͝͠c̶͓̳͍̰̮̰͈̣͊̊͗̑̆͆̀̊̄͋́́͑̄̀̆͜p̷̧̛͕͖̮̪̭̻̱͛̈̐͑͜͠ͅd̵̛̘̖͇̟̳͓̬̞͎͙̟̦͜ͅc̵̡̡̜̖̱̬̲̰̟̣͍͉͙̱͚̳͈̒́̏͛͛̅̆k̶̢̢̧̛̰̜̱̬̼̥͎̺̝͗̑̾̍̍̂̄͒͘͠ď̸̢̡̧͚̬͖̞͚̟̰̰̹̻̖͒̅̉̔̋̅̈́̍͌̇͆͋͊̀͘̕s̷̗͆̀̓͗͗̀͂̇̎̽̈́̑̋̚ơ̴͖͇͎͌̊̀̓ ̵͔̘͍́͑̊̈́̀͂̿̀̂̀͂̿̋͛̕͘͝j̸̧̳͓̙͉̟̫̒͑̏ͅm̵͈̖̹̝̯̥̐͊̽̿͘f̴̳̭̲̬͈̪̘͇͚͙͗̒̈́̃̈́̑̋ḑ̴̛͓͔̈́̇̒́̽̉̃̋́̈́́̐͘͠i̶̧̮̪̪̰̜̫̦͕͎̲̎̀͑̔͛̈͌̈͗͘̕̕̕͜͜͝ ̶̨̡͍͖̫͉̯͖̫̦̱̼̙̥̩̭̠̄͛̈́̓̽͂̽̇̅̾̀͝ņ̵̡̠̪͍͚̪̖͕̜͉̳͖̾̐̿̽̓̓͆͌͝f̶̯͇̥̫̙̗̔̊̓̀́͛̒͑̇̐͘̕̚ ̴̛̝̤̪͎̣̳̭̞̺̻͓̲̠̖̠̪̐̀̓͑͒̿́͂̃͋̕̕͝͠ͅù̷̺͚̮̜̲̤͇̭͋̂̈͗̈́̾̓͝j̶̹͑͆̈́̉̊̾f̶̧͖̥̉̊̆̿͆̏̈͑ͅͅ ̷̦̝͕̣̗̺̥̪̻͗͆̊͋̏̐͒̎̏̽̓͜͝ǫ̴̢̥̹̬̙̞͔͚̲̟̣̤̒͊̆͆́̈͆̑͒͘̚͜d̶̹̪̥̫̘̣͎̝̼̺̤̹̼͙̲̗̊̏̀̀̎͆̚̚p̷̢͔̩̙̬̮̺̟̭̙̖͇̤͙̤͊̔̇̿́s̶͉̩͚͎͔̙̓̔͗̍̅͒̏̇̓͂̆́͊j̵̛̰͚̤͖̞͗̒̎̍͐͂̈́̉̚f̷̡̨̛̮͓͉̖͉̹͔̘͙̱̦̎͑͌͋͒̂͘̚͠͝ͅi̷̢̮͓̮̮̖̼̫̻̼͎̮̔͐̋̄̿̒͝c̶̨̢̨̥̣̙̖̟̈́̃̊̓̌́̐͊̄͝n̶̡̘͓͉̞̮̻̹̦͍͉̝̲̺̩̗͆̈̉̉̅̑c̶̛͍͑͑̔̏̈́̔̊̐̒́̍̋̐͒̚ǫ̶̢̱̖̰̳̀͗̉̿͑͝͠n̴̳̲̗̬̜̮̩̱̉̏̚c̸̗͖̤̖͎̮͚̮̾̽̈́̓l̸̛͎̤̝͙̱̰̖̳͎̦̻̳͔̟̟̀͛͊̔̀́̄́̔̀̒̚ͅu̶̯̓̂̇̉̄̅̊̿̿̈́̈͆̈́̽̈́͝ś̸̨̡̹̘̙̜̰̉̾͋́́̓̕į̶͍̪̜̪̣͇̳͚͋̇̽̉̏̆̇̄̃̕͠ͅó̷͕͍̻̰͕̯̦̩̫͋̏̓̾̉̈́̚ņ̸̡̬̪̙̩͔͎̥̦̏͑́̆͌̐͘͜͝d̷̛͉̅̈́̅̑̾͑̍̾̃̚d̵̫̬̻̹̄̓͐̇̌̆̔̇̈́̇̐͘͘̕͝͠c̶͓̳͍̰̮̰͈̣͊̊͗̑̆͆̀̊̄͋́́͑̄̀̆͜p̷̧̛͕͖̮̪̭̻̱͛̈̐͑͜͠ͅd̵̛̘̖͇̟̳͓̬̞͎͙̟̦͜ͅc̵̡̡̜̖̱̬̲̰̟̣͍͉͙̱͚̳͈̒́̏͛͛̅̆k̶̢̢̧̛̰̜̱̬̼̥͎̺̝͗̑̾̍̍̂̄͒͘͠ď̸̢̡̧͚̬͖̞͚̟̰̰̹̻̖͒̅̉̔̋̅̈́̍͌̇͆͋͊̀͘̕s̷̗͆̀̓͗͗̀͂̇̎̽̈́̑̋̚ơ̴͖͇͎͌̊̀̓ ̵͔̘͍́͑̊̈́̀͂̿̀̂̀͂̿̋͛̕͘͝j̸̧̳͓̙͉̟̫̒͑̏ͅm̵͈̖̹̝̯̥̐͊̽̿͘f̴̳̭̲̬͈̪̘͇͚͙͗̒̈́̃̈́̑̋ḑ̴̛͓͔̈́̇̒́̽̉̃̋́̈́́̐͘͠i̶̧̮̪̪̰̜̫̦͕͎̲̎̀͑̔͛̈͌̈͗͘̕̕̕͜͜͝ ̶̨̡͍͖̫͉̯͖̫̦̱̼̙̥̩̭̠̄͛̈́̓̽͂̽̇̅̾̀͝ņ̵̡̠̪͍͚̪̖͕̜͉̳͖̾̐̿̽̓̓͆͌͝f̶̯͇̥̫̙̗̔̊̓̀́͛̒͑̇̐͘̕̚ ̴̛̝̤̪͎̣̳̭̞̺̻͓̲̠̖̠̪̐̀̓͑͒̿́͂̃͋̕̕͝͠ͅù̷̺͚̮̜̲̤͇̭͋̂̈͗̈́̾̓͝j̶̹͑͆̈́̉̊̾f̶̧͖̥̉̊̆̿͆̏̈͑ͅͅ ̷̦̝͕̣̗̺̥̪̻͗͆̊͋̏̐͒̎̏̽̓͜͝ǫ̴̢̥̹̬̙̞͔͚̲̟̣̤̒͊̆͆́̈͆̑͒͘̚͜d̶̹̪̥̫̘̣͎̝̼̺̤̹̼͙̲̗̊̏̀̀̎͆̚̚p̷̢͔̩̙̬̮̺̟̭̙̖͇̤͙̤͊̔̇̿́s̶͉̩͚͎͔̙̓̔͗̍̅͒̏̇̓͂̆́͊j̵̛̰͚̤͖̞͗̒̎̍͐͂̈́̉̚f̷̡̨̛̮͓͉̖͉̹͔̘͙̱̦̎͑͌͋͒̂͘̚͠͝ͅi̷̢̮͓̮̮̖̼̫̻̼͎̮̔͐̋̄̿̒͝c̶̨̢̨̥̣̙̖̟̈́̃̊̓̌́̐͊̄͝n̶̡̘͓͉̞̮̻̹̦͍͉̝̲̺̩̗͆̈̉̉̅̑c̶̛͍͑͑̔̏̈́̔̊̐̒́̍̋̐͒̚ǫ̶̢̱̖̰̳̀͗̉̿͑͝͠n̴̳̲̗̬̜̮̩̱̉̏̚c̸̗͖̤̖͎̮͚̮̾̽̈́̓l̸̛͎̤̝͙̱̰̖̳͎̦̻̳͔̟̟̀͛͊̔̀́̄́̔̀̒̚ͅu̶̯̓̂̇̉̄̅̊̿̿̈́̈͆̈́̽̈́͝ś̸̨̡̹̘̙̜̰̉̾͋́́̓̕į̶͍̪̜̪̣͇̳͚͋̇̽̉̏̆̇̄̃̕͠ͅó̷͕͍̻̰͕̯̦̩̫͋̏̓̾̉̈́̚ņ̸̡̬̪̙̩͔͎̥̦̏͑́̆͌̐͘͜͝
I propose both the cyborgian and glitching praxis as strategies to evade from systemic violences because some systems demand cyborgian rewriting while others require full ghosting and disruption. Between Haraway's contaminating metaphors and Russell's obliterating noise it is possible to reach resistance.
Through this paper I aim to reconfigure myself, as I want it,when the system tries to process my being in a suffocating way.
I want academic, economic, athletic and laboral systems to not frighten me anymore.
It does not matter if I fail.
It does not matter if I fai
It does not matter if I fa
It does not matter if
It does not matter
It does not
It does
It
.
.
.
.
I want to ghost the anxiety that sorrounds me coming from within the walls of social medias, banks,rented apartments,jobs,tax authorities,universities.
When institutions demand perfect and efficient operations I glitch through their cracks.
I stuuuu—tt-
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ttuter tter and
s
tum
bl
e when wneh when…
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fluencyncy is compulsory.
I
slow
myself down,against hustle culture,
Am I privileged enough to fail?
Can you glitch?
Step 1:ID check.
Tick out all boxes that apply to you
☐Are you white?
☐Are you cis?
☐Are you abled?
☐Are you neurotypical?
☐Are you a documented citizen?
(If most are yes proceed,if no see disclaimer)☐Are you cis?
☐Are you abled?
☐Are you neurotypical?
☐Are you a documented citizen?
⚠DISCLAIMER
⚠ Glitching may result in:
⚠ Restricted access to resources.
⚠ Increased surveillance.
⚠ Criminalization of your existence.
⚠ Loss of stability, shelter, or safety.
⚠ Permanent exclusion from systems designed to reject difference.
⚠ being erased, not as a strategy, but as a consequence.
Step 2:check wheter you are prepared to fail or not
Tick out all the boxes that apply to you
☐ Do you have savings?
☐ Do you have healthcare?
☐ Do you have a backup passport?
☐Do you have generational wealth?
☐ Do you have an education?
☐ Do you have a job?
(If most are yes proceed,if no see disclaimer)☐ Do you have healthcare?
☐ Do you have a backup passport?
☐Do you have generational wealth?
☐ Do you have an education?
☐ Do you have a job?
⚠ DISCLAIMER:
⚠ If you lack financial safety, glitching will close doors(ie eviction) instead of opening them.
⚠ If you lack documentation, glitching may make you more traceable.
⚠ If you lack institutional protection, glitching may be labeled as non-compliance, incompetence, or criminal behavior.
Step 3 :(Only accesible to users who pass Steps 1 & 2)
Tick out all boxes that apply to you:
☐ Do you have an open-ended/undetermined work contract?
☐ Does your healthcare cover all treatments (including experimental/therapy)?
☐ Does your surname trigger immediate recognition in professional spaces?
☐ Have you ever had rules bent for you at banks/universities?
☐ Could you take a 6-month "creative break" without financial decay?
☐ Does your healthcare cover all treatments (including experimental/therapy)?
☐ Does your surname trigger immediate recognition in professional spaces?
☐ Have you ever had rules bent for you at banks/universities?
☐ Could you take a 6-month "creative break" without financial decay?
(If most are yes then you seem fit enough to glitch)
Am I privileged enough to fail?
ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES.
Will I allow for the system to stripe me of my right to fail?
Do I even have a choice?
ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGES.
When Legacy Russell writes ‘the glitch is a fissure for new possibilities,’ who is that fissure really for?
Sources and bibliography:
Key Argument: Menkman frames glitch as an aesthetic and systemic rupture within, a momentary breakdown that exposes the hidden structures of technological systems.
How Used: Provided the foundational theory for understanding glitch as more than error, but as a critical praxis. The manifesto’s focus on technological failure informed the project’s initial premise: glitch as sabotage.Purpose in Research: Menkman’s technological focus was critiqued through embodied practice. While she emphasizes digital artifacts, my Glitch Questionnaire revealed how systemic violence operates beyond screens—in bureaucratic language and material consequences.
Key Argument: Russell reimagines glitch as a survival tactic for queer, Black, and marginalized bodies, advocating for "error" as a way to evade oppressive categorization. She positiones glitch as a means to "crash" gendered and racialized binaries.
How Used: Framed glitch’s liberatory potential, particularly in discussions of identity and illegibility
Purpose in Research:it set the biggest theoretical framework that relied on my first romantization on the phenomena of glitch.
Key Argument: Haraway’s cyborg,a hybrid of machine and organism, challenges binaries (human/machine, nature/culture) through impure coalitions. She argues for infiltration as a form of resistance.
Key Argument: Berardi traces algorithm to the Greek algos (pain), arguing computational logic inflicts violence by reducing fluid human experiences into rigid data.
How Used: Explained the Glitch Questionnaire’s algorithmic cruelty. Questions about identity and economics mirrored how systems "compress" lives into checkboxes.
Purpose in Research: Linked abstract algorithmic critique to the very existence of algorithmic structure and its importance and presence.
Key Argument: Curtis critiques cybernetics’ failed promise of self-regulating utopias, showing how systems demand conformity and punish complexity.
How Used: contextualized the case study of Van Dyne’s model and mirrored how institutions pathologize and correct deviations.
Purpose in Research: Exposed systems’ fear of unpredictability—a fear the quiz performed by "blocking" non-normative users.
Key Argument: Van Dyne’s failed grassland model (1970s) revealed algorithmic modeling’s inability to process ecological complexity.
How Used: contextualized algorithms’ flaws. Just as the model couldn’t predict ecosystems, systems fail to categorize queer/disabled/BIPOC lives.
Purpose in Research: Demonstrated that systemic rigidity inevitably produces glitches, but who can safely live the consequences?
Berardi, Franco "Bifo." 2018. Breathing: Chaos and Poetry. South Pasadena, CA: Semiotext(e).
Curtis, Adam, dir. 2011. All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace. BBC Two Documentary Series.
Haraway, Donna. 1985. "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century." In Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, 149-181. New York: Routledge.
Menkman, Rosa. 2011. The Glitch Moment(um). Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures.
Russell, Legacy. 2020. Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto. London: Verso.
Curtis, Adam, dir. 2011. All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace. BBC Two Documentary Series.
Haraway, Donna. 1985. "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century." In Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, 149-181. New York: Routledge.
Menkman, Rosa. 2011. The Glitch Moment(um). Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures.
Russell, Legacy. 2020. Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto. London: Verso.
Van Dyne, George M., ed. 1969. The Ecosystem Concept in Natural Resource Management. New York: Academic Press.