Sarah Sharma: Insufferable Tools. Feminism Against Big Tech

The whims and power plays of tech oligarchs like Musk and Zuckerberg seem to be increasingly running our world. In her book “Insufferable Tools,” media theorist Sarah Sharma exposes the gendered politics of modern technology. She demonstrates how tech giants have transformed the internet—and, increasingly, “real life”—into environments in which we, as users, have become the real tools. Sharma critiques an inclusive “Big Tech feminism” system that attempts to incorporate and exploit people of color, queer people, and others regarded as “defective machines” within current gendered power structures. In contrast, Sharma proposes a feminist techno-politics that can forge new futures free from the grip of insufferable tools.

After an introductory talk by Sarah Sharma, the book's main themes will be discussed in a panel and with the audience. The complete evening program and panel lineup will be announced well before the event. 

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Sarah Sharma is Professor of Media Theory and Director of the Institute for Communication, Culture, Information and Technology at the University of Toronto. She is author of “In the Meantime: Temporality and Cultural Politics” and co-editor of “Re-Understanding Media: Feminist Extensions of Marshall McLuhan” (both Duke University Press.)