Abstract

This essay looks at the figure of the cyborg via its origins in mid-twentieth century American astronautics. It begins by comparing different approaches to the ›space cyborg‹, helping to situate it within the distinctive cultural preoccupations of its times and places. The discussion then proceeds to consider the American cyborg’s roots in two discursive regimes: that surrounding military masculinities, and that surrounding the non-human or de-humanizedmedical test subject. Via an analysis of the 1976 sci-fi novel Man Plus by Frederik Pohl, the essay explores how this dual heritage generates tensions in terms of gender, before concluding with an analysis of the ways in which the cyborg’s mutable embodiment runs aground on the perceived fixity of human sexuality. How might we use the historical concept of the cyborg to queer the notion of ›participant evolution‹ today?