A gynoid is a humanoid robot designed to look like a human
female, as compared to an android modeled after a male. The term gynoid
was coined by Gwyneth Jones in her 1985 novel Divine Endurance to
describe a robot slave character in a futuristic China, that is judged
by her beauty. The term is not common, however, with the masculine term
android being commonly used to refer to both “genders” of robot. The
word fembot (female robot) has also been used. Gynoids have also been
used as a metaphor in feminist discourse, as part of cyborg feminism,
representing female physical strength and freedom from the expectation
to reproduce.
Female-appearing robots have also appeared in real-life, with early
constructions being crude. The first gynoid was produced by one British
company, for use as a “pleasuring-aid”. It was called simply “36C”,
from her chest measurement, and had a 16-bit microprocessor and voice
synthesiser that allowed primitive responses to speech and push button
inputs. Female-appearing robots have also generated controversy. In
1983 a “busty female robot” was removed from a display at Berkeley
college after a petition was presented claiming it was insulting to
women. The robot’s creator called this “censorship” by the “feminist
movement” and akin to book burning.
The fetishization of gynoids in real life has been attributed to
male desires for custom-made passive women, and has been compared to
life-size female dolls. The reaction of people to robots that appeared
female to different degrees has been studied. The reaction of people
to such robots has been attributed in part to gender stereotypes. This
research has been used to elucidate gender cues, clarifying which
behaviours and aesthetics elicit a stronger gender-induced response.
Artificial women have been a common trope
in fiction and mythology since the writings of the ancient Greeks.
This has continued with modern fiction, particularly in the genre of
science fiction. In science fiction, female-appearing robots are
often produced for use as domestic servants and slaves, as seen in
the film Westworld, the Paul McAuley novel Fairyland (1995), and the
Lester del Ray short story Helen O’Loy (1938) as opposed to
male-appearing robots who are traditionally warriors, killers, or
laborors.
A long tradition exists in fiction, of men attempting to create the
stereotypical ideal woman, and fictional gynoids have been seen as an
extension of this theme. Examples include Hephaestus in the Iliad who
created female servants of metal and Ilmarinen in the Kalevala who
created an artificial wife. Probably most famous, however, is Pygmalion,
one of the earliest conceptualizations of constructions similar to
gynoids in literary history, from Ovid’s account of Pygmalion. In this
myth a female statue is sculpted that is so beautiful that the creator
falls in love with it, and after praying to Venus, the goddess takes
pity on him and converts the statue into a real woman with whom
Pygmalion has children.
Fiction about gynoids or female cyborgs reinforce essentialist ideas
of femininity, according to Magret Grebowicz. Such essentialist ideas
may present as gender stereotypes. Among the few non-eroticized
fictional gynoids include Rosie the Robot Maid from The Jetsons.
However, she still has some stereotypically feminine qualities, such as a
matronly shape and a predisposition to cry.
The stereotypical role of wifedom has also been explored through use of gynoids. In The Stepford Wives, husbands are shown as desiring to restrict the independence of their wives, and obedient and stereotypical spouses are preferred. The husbands’ technological method of obtaining this “perfect wife” is through the murder of their human wives and replacement with gynoid substitutes that are compliant and housework obsessed, resulting in a “picture-postcard” perfect suburban society. This has been seen as an allegory of male chauvinism of the period, by representing marriage as a master-slave relationship, and an attempt at raising feminist consciousness during the era of second wave feminism.
In a parody of the fembots from The Bionic Woman, attractive fembots
in fuzzy see-through night-gowns were used as a lure for the fictional
agent Austin Powers in the movie Austin Powers: International Man Of
Mystery. The film’s sequels had cameo appearances of characters revealed
as fembots. Judith Halberstam writes that these gynoids inform the
viewer that femaleness does not indicate naturalness, and their
exaggerated femininity is used in a similar way to the title
character’s exaggerated masculinity, lampooning stereotypes.
The stereotypical role of wifedom has also been explored through use of gynoids. In The Stepford Wives, husbands are shown as desiring to restrict the independence of their wives, and obedient and stereotypical spouses are preferred. The husbands’ technological method of obtaining this “perfect wife” is through the murder of their human wives and replacement with gynoid substitutes that are compliant and housework obsessed, resulting in a “picture-postcard” perfect suburban society. This has been seen as an allegory of male chauvinism of the period, by representing marriage as a master-slave relationship, and an attempt at raising feminist consciousness during the era of second wave feminism.
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