Fetishizing the Fembot: Sex, Technology and the Perfect Woman

Abstract

This thesis examines the fembot, or female robot, as a cultural site of complex signification in Western society. As a combination of woman and machine, the fembot functions as a metaphor for male desire and fear. I will explore the fembot archetype through film and advertising, analyze the relationship between women and machines, and attempt to understand the common themes that have become tied to the fembot: sex, technology, fetishism, death, dismemberment, and comedy.