Cyborg Maintenance: The Invisible Work of the Technological Bodymind
Abstract
In this article, I describe the concept of Cyborg Maintenance: the being and doing of upkeeping a bodymind that relies on technologies. I focus on the “common” or “everyday” cyborg: the disabled person who relies on prosthetics, wheelchairs, medications, or other technologies to function in day-to-day life. I describe the historical and economic forces that push cyborg maintenance into hiding, what it is like to live and maintain a cyborg bodymind, and what it might mean to foreground the sorts of work necessary to maintain the cyborg bodymind. I argue that Cyborg Maintenance is a maintenance of relationships first, and that it reveals the multiple ways we are all dependent upon the wide care networks of our communities.
Keywords: Disability, Cyborg, Maintenance, Care, Agential Realism
How to Cite:
Earle, J. & Earle, J., (2026) “Cyborg Maintenance: The Invisible Work of the Technological Bodymind”, Disability Studies Quarterly 45(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.6346
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