Bodies in the digital era:Historias del Silicon Valley by Herminia Gil Guerrero

Abstract

The main characters in some of the short stories Historias de Silicon Valley by H. Gil Guerrero (2019) are contemporary archetypes of the so-called useful and docile individual who appear to be asexual and beyond gender differences. While working for prestigious digital technology companies, these characters pursue optimal efficiency at the cost of personal time and healthy lifestyles. Gil Guerrero portrays a generation of young people whose system of communication in social relations fails as it is based on images (social media) and quick exchange of short messages (chats). Isolation leads these young to alienation. Certain circumstances that emerge from the digital era trigger depression, burnout, and alienation among young women. This article analyzes these women’s experiences as well as their abnormal and instable relationship with food, all of which results in their bodies being neglected through medication and compulsive eating.