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New Technologies, Old Culture 189

women’s relationships to formal institutionalized power. While the-
orists in North America and Europe are fond of arguing that “for
those in possession of information technology, power, influence, priv-
ileged status and domination are further enhanced and assured”
(Acosta and Hartl 1996, 4)—women’s lives in the Gulf suggest that
advancement, even for those with access to the Internet, will con-
tinue to be contextualized in everyday forms of struggle and victory,
which aim to carve out spaces for freedom in the face of deeply en-
trenched hegemonies of patriarchy.

Techno-Culture, the Internet and Women’s Lived
Experiences in Kuwait

With the money to buy new technologies and a culture which encour-
ages their purchase, Kuwait has quickly adapted to the new informa-
tion capabilities provided by the Internet. In 1997, Gulfnet
International, Kuwait’s main Internet Service Provider, estimated
that at least 40% of the Middle East’s Internet users reside in
7
Kuwait. Another survey conducted in 1998 by the Dabbah Informa-
tion Technology Group (based in the United Arab Emirates) states
that Kuwait has the highest density of Internet users per capita of any
8
Islamic society. Three main factors help to explain the vibrancy of
Kuwait’s Internet culture. First is the fact that Kuwait has one of the
highest per capita incomes in the world, estimated at $23,300 (1997). 9
Second is that in Kuwait, new technologies and their acquisition are
considered signs of social status. Third, supporting a culture of techno-
consumerism, is the fact that the Kuwaiti government makes it a
point to “get the latest technologies into the hands of all citizens as
quickly as possible” as a means of distributing signs of affluence
10
among citizens. The importance of technological acquisition is seen
in the local press, as special “technology” sections of local newspapers
review products like digital cameras, laptop personal computers, new
software, flat screen televisions, digital phones, and other techno-toys
as soon as they are released by global manufacturers. This showcasing
process is not just “eye candy,” as might be the case in other develop-
ing countries; rather, each time a new product is reviewed in the press
a list of retailers in Kuwait where such things are available for pur-
chase is also provided. A “be the first on your block to have the latest
technologies” attitude feeds Kuwaiti techno-culture and, subse-
quently, has made Kuwaitis anxious to get “wired,” even if it means
paying $10 an hour to use a networked computer at an Internet cafe.