Cyberpunk is a science-fiction genre set in a dystopian society that is “high-tech, low-life.” Techno-orientalism in cyberpunk highlights the foreign entity of the East, in relation to the white West. This is presented through the fetishisation of Asian women, transhumanism, and the post-capitalist societies in which corrupt governments and mega corporations are the ruling authority.
The Asian feminine in cyberpunk is interlinked with the view and treatment of Asian women throughout Western history. Asian women are the base for the fantasies of men, especially the Western man, whether he views his fantasies through automaton women, white-faced geishas, or a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox spirit who shapeshifts into a beautiful woman to seduce men and devour either their livers or hearts. This is particularly true in a white and male-dominated genre such as science fiction. The racialisation of Asian women persists despite the different characteristics one may make of her. Whether she’s a gun-armed dictator or a knife-wielding assassin, there’s one thing that doesn’t go unnoticed, and it’s her Asianness. Asian femininity exists in these media akin to an ornament, a decorative support in the background to exoticize a fairly bland protagonist. Both in explicit media and within interpersonal connections, Asian women are stereotyped to be “submissive,” almost as if it’s the ideal, like it’s the expectation that benefits the one on the other side of the leash, be it white men or society. “To be an Asian woman is to be relegated to an ontology of materials, one that is subject to be broken down and consumed for someone else” (Knife). On social media, there is even a trend of referencing the non-existent “Oxford study” under the comments of posts depicting interracial, heterosexual relationships where the woman is Asian and the man is white. “Their subservience and domination are used to further neo-colonial, white, hegemonic, masculine interests, which is evident in the advent of comfort women and the military sex industry (Yoneyama, 2015). Western nations, specifically white men, are invested in Asia because they perceive themselves as ‘saving’ Asian women from an Orientalized depiction of violent Asian men, which propagates a racialized and heteronormative notion of Asia (Park, 2012)” (Kuoch and Wang). In Ex Machina, the Japanese robot Kyoko is presented with “handicapped” intelligence in contrast to her white female robot counterpart Ava, who is programmed with the most advanced artificial intelligence available. Kyoko even adorns a human appearance while Ava exists with her metallic chest in comparison (Knife). Historically, Asian women have been portrayed as robots without their permission, a form of sexualisation and objectification through the white male gaze. “In 1853, French writer Gustave Flaubert describes his encounter with Kuchuk Hanem, an Egyptian woman: ‘the oriental woman is no more than a machine: she makes no distinction between one man and another man’” (Amelia Zhou). In the words of Anne Anlin Cheng, “Asiatic femininity has always been prosthetic. The dream of the yellow woman subsumes a dream about the inorganic. She is an, if not the, original cyborg” (Knife). The dehumanisation of Asian women in both media and reality allows the white man to take into action the perpetration of violence inflicted onto Asian women. “If cyborgs are code for non-human, other, Asian, then March 16, 2021’s Atlanta spa shooting comes as no surprise. Can we not, after all, view the white man who took it upon himself to rid the world of six Asian women in a massage parlor in Georgia as being much like the protagonists of cyberpunk narratives who build and dismantle Asian robots at their whim?” (Knife). We can also see this dehumanisation started early during the first waves of Asian American immigration into the United States. From white Americans claiming Chinese immigrants were stealing their jobs despite exploiting them for cheap labour to build the transcontinental railroad that was in construction between 1863 to 1869, to the white mob of more than 500 people that attacked Filipino farmworker men on January 19, 1930, after they were seen dancing with white women at a dance hall in Watsonville, California (“Filipino Farmworkers”). While Asian men are viewed as a threat to the fragile white male ego, Asian women are viewed as docile or submissive, which in turn leads to the emasculation of Asian men.
A recurring theme in the cyberpunk genre seems to be the question of what it means to be human, or what identity fully encompasses. After all, if emotions and empathy are what defines what it means to be human, what about the cold-blooded human murderer versus the robot programmed to act as a caretaker after a human child? What about the robot women who seem to be sentient and are essentially faux-girlfriends of these cyberpunk protagonists? Is the definition of being human and identity a moral question? What about when these flesh-born human beings start integrating cybernetics into their biology? Are they still human when they’ve replaced so much of their own body with technology that not only enhances but completely transforms them into a being past the limitations of the non-modified human body as it was initially created? These questions lead to the concept of transhumanism. In Altered Carbon, each person has a “stack” which is implanted into the spine and allows for the consciousness to transfer into another human body, or “sleeve”. In Cyberpunk 2077, people are able to enhance their bodies past human limitations with cyberware. The quality and capabilities of the cyberware depends on its price and how affordable a piece of cyberware is to its inhibitor. Similar to Altered Carbon where the wealthy can essentially live forever and customize new “sleeves”, the wealthy are able to afford better quality healthcare and cyberware. Along with moral and ethical concerns, there are consequences to tweaking human biology with technology. In Cyberpunk 2077, there is an affliction of a crazed mental state called cyberpsychosis. “Those affected with cyberpsychosis have a dissociative disorder that causes them to lose their sense of identity as a person as a result of cybernetic enhancements. They begin to view regular people and other living things as weak and inferior. Cyberpsychosis can eventually affect anyone modified with cybernetics” (“Cyberpsychosis”). The cyberpunk world would not exist without the fundamental wealth inequality. Cyberpunk societies can only function when there is a ruling class that holds little regard for the lower classes, as the genre is known for being “high-tech, low-life.” However, there are people who reimagine this futuristic society and the good the intersection of biology and technology could do for the health of humankind. “In this speculative future, cybernetics might become accessible to all, liberated from the profit motives of corporations and instead developed as public goods. With the focus shifting from competition to cooperation, cybernetic technology could be tailored to serve diverse communities and individuals. The emphasis would likely be on inclusivity, accessibility, and sustainability, ensuring that enhancements serve people rather than profits. For example, implants might be developed with a focus on enhancing quality of life for everyone, not just those who can afford expensive upgrades. Cybernetic technology could become a tool for closing societal gaps, addressing health disparities, and democratizing access to resources and opportunities” (alexandermharcei).
The entire genre of cyberpunk is defined by the way society is shaped by extreme wealth disparity between those who are thriving in the economy and the average person. Cyberpunk is essentially a post-capitalist society in which the ruling class, often the mega-corporations or the corrupt government, only function the way they do by taking advantage of those who are the most disenfranchised. These are usually laboured workers who are barely compensated and are treated unfairly by the systems put in place to keep them disempowered. Without these broken systems that work exactly as intended, the cyberpunk genre would cease to exist. “No matter how many jobs David works, he’s ultimately powerless in the face of the corporations that stand above him. No amount of money, murder, sabotage or rebellion will ever make a dent in the establishment” (McGeady). This mirrors and almost in a way foretells the future of capitalism. When the CEO of a major healthcare insurance company is shot for their greed over profit, people are forced to assess what they have always known, and the ugliest of capitalism can no longer hide behind the normalcy they’ve programmed into us all along. In Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the protagonist David’s mother passes away due to the lack of proper healthcare. “When David’s mom dies due to their lack of quality healthcare, he doesn’t react as dramatically as someone might react in real life. It definitely has an effect on him, but it isn’t seen as a tragedy, just unfortunate” (McGeady). Even when the time came to bury his mother, he was presented with limited options due to his inability to afford otherwise. “Corporations similar to those displayed in the show already exist. The lack of universal healthcare is a real issue that affects millions of people every day. The only thing left is for our technology to develop enough to begin cybernetic implants, and we might soon be experiencing our own version of Night City. If this is to be our future, I wonder how many of us will become cyberpunks, scream and shout into the impenetrable void of capitalism, despite the hopelessness” (McGeady).
Cyberpunk is a science-fiction genre set in a dystopian society that is “high-tech, low-life.” It is a world not only inspired by techno-orientalism, but is partial in the creation of the genre, and is the foundation of the aesthetic. The fetishisation of the Asian feminine is prevalent, if not necessary in the completion of a cyberpunk work. Cyberpunk contrasts and alienates the oriental East from the white and modernised West, all while depicting the intersection of biology and technology through transhumanism. Cyberpunk sets the environment in societies drenched by post-capitalism, where the corrupt government and ruling authority are mega-corporations.
Works Cited
alexandermharcei. “The Evolution of Cybernetics in Cyberpunk.” Arkhelian, 9 Nov. 2024, arkhelian.com/evolution-cyberpunk-cybernetics-implants/. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.
Amelia Zhou. “Towards New Future Terrains: Reorienting Asiatic Femininities in the Speculative Imagination.” Core.ac.uk, 2015, core.ac.uk/reader/212692912, oai:ses.library.usyd.edu.au:2123/18231. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
“Cyberpsychosis.” Cyberpunk Wiki, cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Cyberpsychosis.
“Filipino Farmworkers.” Equal Justice Initiative, 1 Mar. 2015, eji.org/news/history-racial-injustice-filipino-farmworkers/.
Knife, Blood. “The Original Cyborg: Asian Women & the Machinations of Power.” Blood Knife, 20 July 2021, bloodknife.com/original-cyborg-asian-women/.
Kuoch, June, and Allegro Wang. “Cyber Fantasies: Rina Sawayama, Asian Feminism, and Techno- Orientalism in the Age of Neoliberalism.” Sprinkle: An Undergraduate Journal of Feminist and Queer Studies |, vol. 11, pp. 2018–142, digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1085&context=sprinkle.
McGeady, Conor. “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners – an Artistic Look at the Dystopian Future That Awaits Us | the Pigeon Press.” Thepigeonpress.org, 11 Oct. 2022, thepigeonpress.org/cyberpunk-edgerunners-an-artistic-look-at-the-dystopian-future-that-awaits-us/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.