Computers Can't Get Wet: Queer Slippage and Play in the Rhetoric Of
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Title Page Computers Can’t Get Wet: Queer Slippage and Play in the Rhetoric of Computational Structure by Sandra L. Nelson B.A. English Literature, St. John’s University, 2013 M.A. English Rhetoric and Composition, University of Pittsburgh, 2017 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2020 Committee Page UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Sandra L. Nelson It was defended on March 31, 2020 and approved by Peter Campbell, Assistant Professor, Department of English Benjamin Miller, Assistant Professor, Department of English Alison Langmead, Associate Professor, School of Information Sciences Thesis Advisor/Dissertation Director: Annette Vee, Associate Professor, Department of English ii Copyright © by Sandra L. Nelson 2020 iii Abstract Computers Can’t Get Wet: Queer Slippage and Play in the Rhetoric of Computational Structure Sandra L. Nelson, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2020 This dissertation takes up the argument that computers are rhetorical structures that can be queered. Using cross-disciplinary methods, it examines the interplay that occurs between the layers of the computational stack – focusing in particular on the slippage between materiality, code, interface, and the resulting software – and analyzes the narratives that each layer perpetuates individually and in tandem. It applies a multi-faceted approach to queer theory in order to reveal the ways in which anti-normative computer users critique, resist, and subvert these narratives. When computers are approached as always already queer, the possibilities for disruption that exist within their limits materialize and present themselves as opportunities for intersectional exploitation. Praxis is at the heart of this project. In it, the author strives to interact with, build, and embody the technology that also serves as the object of study. iv Table of Contents Dedication ..................................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... x 1.0 Introduction: Computers Can’t Get Wet ............................................................................. 1 2.0 Chapter One: I’m a Cyborg, But That’s Passé .................................................................. 24 2.1 Rhetorical Composition of Computing ....................................................................... 24 2.2 After Two Drinks, I Tell Everyone That I Have Hand Chips .................................. 31 2.3 Squeez’d from Goblin Fruits for You: Or I Broke My Raspberry Pi ..................... 43 2.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 54 3.0 Chapter Two: Ocarina of Impeccable Timing: Queer Rhetoric and Politics in the Anatomy of a Speedrun .............................................................................................................. 55 3.1 We Other Gamers......................................................................................................... 58 3.2 Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time .............................................................................. 61 3.3 Dissociation in the Rhetoric of Code and Interface ................................................... 64 3.4 Queering the Glitch-As-Exploit................................................................................... 69 3.5 Queering the Coded Assemblage ................................................................................ 73 3.6 Queering the Narrative Interface ................................................................................ 77 3.7 Queer Politics and Audience in Speedrun Culture ................................................... 82 3.8 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 92 4.0 Chapter Three: Sex in Networked Publics: Digital Privacy and Online Sex Work ....... 95 4.1 Site Description: Facebook and FetLife ..................................................................... 97 4.2 Networked Publics and Counterpublics ................................................................... 101 v 4.3 Domestic Sex Work Legislation and Site Policy ...................................................... 105 4.4 Online Sex Work......................................................................................................... 108 4.5 Method ......................................................................................................................... 113 4.6 Site Usage .................................................................................................................... 118 4.7 Identity Management and Context Collapse ........................................................... 121 4.8 Surveillance, Privacy, and Cyber Security............................................................... 126 4.9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 131 5.0 Chapter Four: Pittsburgh 10 ............................................................................................. 134 5.1 Pittsburgh 10 ................................................................................................................ 135 5.2 Methodology and the Materiality of Pittsburgh 10 .................................................. 137 5.3 Crumbling Infrastructure: Slippage within the Pittsburgh 10 Stack .................... 147 5.3.1 Case Study I: Procedural Rhetoric of Intentional Programming ...............151 5.3.2 Case Study II: Procedural Rhetoric of Glitches ............................................153 5.4 Who Can Say If I’ve Been Changed for the Better: Pittsburgh 10 as Queer Worldmaking .................................................................................................................... 159 5.5 Conclusion: Flowers in the Dustbin .......................................................................... 166 6.0 Conclusion: I Am Error ..................................................................................................... 169 Appendix A IRB Approval ....................................................................................................... 172 Appendix B Survey Questions ................................................................................................. 174 Appendix B.1 Self-Identification of Sex Workers on Social Networking Sites ........... 174 Appendix B.2 Pittsburgh Community Video Game ...................................................... 176 Appendix C Video Game Links ............................................................................................... 179 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 180 vi List of Tables Table 1 Online Sex Worker Demographics ............................................................................ 118 Table 2 Site Usage Results ........................................................................................................ 120 Table 3 Self-Identification Tactics in Sex Work and SNS Publics ....................................... 124 Table 4 Privacy Practices Results ............................................................................................ 130 vii List of Figures Figure 1 The Pittsburgh 10 Observable Stack Script ............................................................... 3 Figure 2 The NFC Tools Application on a 2015 HTC Desire ................................................. 35 Figure 3 The HTC Desire Reading the Desert WiFi Games Website from the NFC Chip ..35 Figure 4 The HTC Desire Routing to the Desert WiFi Games Website from the NFC Chip.36 Figure 5 The Pittsburgh 10 WebGL Build ............................................................................. 137 Figure 6 The TakeEnnui Function in Pittsburgh 10 ............................................................. 150 Figure 7 The Other Human Script in the Unity Developer Interface .................................. 150 Figure 8 The Pittsburgh 10 Repertoire .................................................................................... 153 viii Dedication For Davey PHX, Briony Maeve, and the I-10 that unites us through the desert. ix Acknowledgements Academic writing, like all creative pursuits, is inherently collaborative. I first recognize my scholarly influences. Annette Vee has been the Platonic ideal of an advisor, inspiring the essence of this project through her practical yet critical approach to code, and supporting its development through the stages of wayward experimentation, unconventional research, and watery attempts at humor. Peter Campbell’s questions and observations often gave me paws and encouraged me to purrsue more rigorous scholarship. Initially acting as the supervisor of my research assistant position, Benjamin Miller imparted to me the diverse forms methodology can take within the field of composition. In addition to offering intensive feedback on countless iterations of Pittsburgh 10, Alison Langmead taught me how computers work, and more importantly,