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When I communicate with a self-proclaimed “open source villain” copy For an interview, I’m sure she’ll email me from her pink mermaid wallet.
“I’m having a lot of fun,” she told me about it. Cyberdike seashell. “It’s a Tamagotchi device. It’s also an e-reader. It’s connected to a network with my vault and my servers, so it has access to all my server data, which has all my PDFs and books and notes and everything…and it’s also connected to my local AI setup at home.”
CC has no background in software engineering or computer science, but she has become good enough at building kitschy electronics — mini-computers that she builds on her own — that she documents the process on her blog Bimbo Tech So other women can follow in her footsteps, even if they don’t yet know what RAM is.
The idea of a cybernetic surface originated in William Gibson’s 1984 science fiction novel Neuromancer, when credit card-sized computers such as… Raspberry Pi These devices appeared on the market in 2010, and device enthusiasts began creating their own electronic collections and sharing them in specialized online communities. But over the past few months, these communities have exploded in popularity thanks to women on social media teaching each other how to build ultra-feminine technical computers by documenting their builds.
“I have a running joke that there’s an inherent misogyny in tech — because whenever they release a pro model, or an elite model… I’m always, let me guess, it’s black or silver,” CC said. “It will never come in pink.”
The process of customizing and designing an electronic skin has become an art form in itself. On Instagram and TikTok, you can find… Electronic deck made of wood and moss Who runs Game Boy Color games; A Desert inspired MP3 player Built inside a 3D printed fossil; A Barbie doll house Which opens to reveal a functional mini-computer; Or a Duck statue Which can be used to record voice notes.
“I don’t want Meta AI glasses. I want pirate books in a fancy little sleeve,” the creator said. Sarabelle Kim On TikTok. “No one can watch you there. You can get some basic parts from a thrift site or eBay and just customize them.”
There is clearly an aesthetic motive for the emergence of online groups for girls – why no Do you use Hello Kitty wallet to check your email? It’s fun for fun’s sake. But the women who build these amazing, stunning cyber groups aren’t just about shining. This trend is reaching its peak at a time when people feel powerless in the face of the ubiquitous homogeneity of Big Tech.
“I think that’s a refreshing thing for people who sold these Apple-like devices… If you try to jailbreak, if you try to do anything with this phone that you paid $1,000 for, that you have, it’s out of warranty,” CC said. “So I love seeing people taking the power back into their hands, putting the control back into their hands, which always means creativity when people are given the means to step out of the black box.”
Maro Vandanyan doesn’t work with hardware as a blockchain developer, but she has always enjoyed collecting old computer parts and repairing them.
“A few months ago, I just started as a hobby making art pieces, jewelry and wallets using old recycled or upcycled computers,” she said. “When I saw everyone making electronic collections, I said, ‘Wait, why would I only make upcycled, upcycled collections when I can actually keep the pieces on something that’s wearable, or transportable?’
Vandanyan took a different approach to building online collections, choosing instead to focus on the historical relationship between fiber art and technology. Vandanian refers to her work as “knitting with computers” or “macrame painting,” and deliberately points out the role of weaving—a practice often seen as women’s domestic labor—in the history of early computing.
Before silicon processors, some early computers ran on magnetic memory, made up of copper wires that were precisely threaded together to encode the 1s and 0s of binary code. So that NASA can build Apollo directing computerFor example, expert female textile workers were tasked with meticulous weaving Wires In extremely complex patterns, which powered the spacecraft that landed the first man on the moon.
“The original processor was hand-woven by seamstresses, not by engineers or anyone else,” she said. “I feel like I’m into hand weaving, and even fashion meets technology…it’s full circle.”
Vandanian began weaving pink berries to make purses and corsets, then posted photos of them Works in progress On X.
“Of course, when macramé became widespread, all the men said, ‘That’s a waste of a Raspberry Pi,’ or ‘What about the rain?'” she said. “And then I have to say, ‘Actually, it’s kept in an acrylic shell.’ And then they say, ‘This is too functional, and the GPIO will lose power!’ And I’m like, ‘Actually, I’m using conductive filament, so it’s actually going to move and work at full capacity.’”
CC has also encountered condescending men online who reject the idea of someone using a file Raspberry Pi On something as trivial as a clamshell wallet computer during a RAM shortage.
“This guy was on Reddit saying, ‘You built your first computer a month ago, so calm down.’” “Remember, I’ve been building computers for many years,” CC said. “So, long story short, he ended up apologizing and buying me a circuit board for my next internet device.”
From Mermaid’s CC Wallet Computer to Vandanyan’s Raspberry Pi Corset, these electronic kits represent a direct rejection of Silicon Valley culture, and not just in their scandalous embrace of pink. It’s intentionally impractical and ineffective, which seems sacrilegious in a culture so obsessed with improvement that it… Unregulated Chinese Peptide Injection Modern. It is a radical act to choose DIY technology experiments in order to have a closer relationship with devices that seem so abstract despite their ubiquity.
“Ten years ago, I was walking into a conference, and there were three girls, and people were literally saying, ‘Are you hired for the marketing team?’” Vandanian said. “I can’t even tell you how amazing it is to see so many girls all over social media and Instagram working on hardware, working on software, and then educating (each other), and that’s definitely an energy that we’re missing at every level in society.”
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