From cyberfeminism to technofeminism: From an essentialist perspective to social cyberfeminism in certain feminist practices in Spain

Spanish feminist praxis has, since about 1990, diversified its theoretical assumptions and objectives, proposing the use of new virtual communities in perspectives which approximate praxis to cyberfeminism as well as to technofeminism. The aim of this article is to consider and explore in depth the construction and use of new social spaces, using concrete examples from recent Spanish feminist praxis: specifically, two web portals. We will attempt to analyze the theoretical proposals put forth by the founders of two prominent feminist web portals of the 1990s and 2000s in Spain through an account of these sites' initiation, aims and the discursive production that different sections of the portals facilitate. We refer to E-leusis, founded by María Angustias Bertomeu, and Mujeres en Red (Women Online), founded by Montserrat Boix. Spanish feminist praxis has advanced from a position closer to that of the essentialist utopia defended by Bertomeu toward a sort of technofeminism, which Montserrat Boix has transformed into what she has termed “social cyberfeminism.”