Word Weavers: Josephine Starrs and Virginia Barratt

Josephine Starrs and Virginia Barratt were among the creators of the VNS, an Australian feminist art collective born in the early days of the world wide web in the 1990s. The group is credited with coining the term "cyberfeminism." 

For Further Reading:

• The cyberfeminists who called themselves ‘the future cunt’ | Dazed
• An Oral History of the First Cyberfeminists

This month, we’re talking about Word Weavers — people who coined terms, popularized words, and even created entirely new languages. These activists, writers, artists, and scholars used language to shape ideas and give voice to experiences that once had no name. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. This month we're talking about word weavers, people
who coined terms, popularized words, and even created entirely new languages.
These activists, writers, artists, and scholars used language to shape
ideas and give voice to experiences that once had no name.

(00:25):
Today we're stepping into the early days of the Internet.
It's the nineteen nineties in Adelaide, Australia, and two women
have joined forces to create a powerful cultural movement, cyberfeminism.
The iconic duo took Australia by anarchy, spreading their technofeminist
vision through video installations, events, computer games, and billboards. They

(00:46):
referred to themselves as the virus of the New World
Disorder and the terminators of the moral Codes. Please meet
Virginia Barrett and Josephine Stars. At the turn of the
twenty first century, Virginia and Josephine were both involved in
Australia's creative art scene, but as the tech world evolved rapidly,

(01:08):
they felt an urgent void. At the time, the Internet
was primarily unregulated, which created endless possibilities for new movements
to take shape online and Virginia and Josephine wanted a
hand in transforming the emerging cyber world, which Virginia referred
to in an interview as dry, uncritical, and overwhelmingly male dominated.

(01:30):
The pair helped form a collective the challenge traditional narratives
about women in the digital world. They called it VNS Matrix,
a radical artists collective designed to remap the future of
the Internet. Think futuristic, fantastical objects, stream of consciousness writing,
and female video game heroes the goal for women to

(01:51):
rule cyberspace. One of their most famous works was their
Cyberfeminist Manifesto of the twenty first Century. Within this manifesto,
they coined the term cyberfeminism, a combination of two existing
words that together declared the rejection of patriarchal control over technology. Instead,

(02:11):
cyberfeminism embraced the potential for women to reshape the digital landscape.
The manifest boldly stated we are the modern cunt, positive,
anti reason, unbound, unleashed, unforgiving. The message was clear. VNS
Matrix was a group of subversive activists aiming to disrupt
the dominant forces in technology and culture. While the manifesto

(02:34):
was designed for the Internet, it circulated widely, jumping across
radio broadcasts, television, and printed advertisements of magazines. They had
started a cyber revolution with women at the center. Their
work was filled with provocative installations, public art, and digital imagery.
They used the digital medium not just to create art,
but to spread alternative visions through zines and online spaces.

(02:57):
They even staged an early digital intervention when they put
their manifesto on a billboard in Adelaide in nineteen ninety two.
Boldly challenging both art and tech institutions to address the
absence of women in the video game industry, VNS Matrix
made their own video game for public exhibition. All New

(03:18):
Gen was an interactive computer game for all genders. The
game was propped up by the idea that here gender
was just a shufflerble six letter word. After logging onto
the game, the first players asked what is your gender,
with the prompted answers of male, female, or neither. Choosing
male or female will send the player on an endless
loop that takes them out of the game. Neither is

(03:41):
the only way forward. VNS Matrix blew up internationally. The
collective joined a global community of cyberfeminists who were beginning
to take over the Internet. All New gen was well
received by the public two it tore a number of
international galleries and art spaces after its debut at the
Symposium of Electronic Art in Helsinki. Their second manifesto, the

(04:04):
Bitch Mutant Manifesto, was just as rebellious. It was a
final statement aimed at rejecting capitalist tech systems and asserting
women's ownership of their bodies and minds in a digital world.
With the iconic phrase suck my Code, Virginia and Josephine
reaffirmed their commitment to offending patriarchal structures and disrupting the
status quo. The collective disbanded in nineteen ninety seven, with

(04:28):
the second Manifesto being their last work. The creators were
starting to move in different directions, but when The Cyberfeminist
Manifesto turned twenty five, the Sydney College of the Arts
invited Virginia, Josephine and the rest of the collective for
a one time performance as part of an exhibit on
nineties feminism. The performance led to an influx of requests
for VNS to get back together. In the words of Virginia,

(04:51):
VNS matrix isn't who we are anymore, but it's who
will always be. Virginia Barrett and Josephine stars organized in
care Out, a radical a people of the early Internet.
Their cyberfeminist legacy is powerful. All month, we're talking about
word weavers. For more information, find us on Facebook and

(05:12):
Instagram at Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my
favorite sister and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow.