The Im:permeable Sieve: Following Gendered Imaginaries of Containers and Leaks

This essay interrogates the gendered imaginaries embedded in the metaphors of containers and leaks within media culture history and feminist science studies. It traces how concepts of impermeability and permeability are mapped onto technological and social infrastructures, considering the ways in which containment and leakage have been shaped and coded through gendered discourse. Drawing on research from feminist anthropology, the text explores how the figure of the sieve, oscillating between containing and leaking, functions as a site for critical reflection on the intersections of infrastructure, embodiment, and gender politics. By following these metaphors, this text demonstrates how imaginaries of media, science and technology reproduce, resist or reframe gendered boundaries and flows, opening up new avenues for feminist critique of knowledge production.