The Laugh of Medusa: DAO Cultures and Affective Economies

Decentralizing authority and power is an underpinning value for many involved in the DAO movement. Yet to what extent is the realisation of such intentions dependent upon cultural shifts that resist the formalism of these technical frameworks? In this presentation, Denise Thwaites will look to the work of feminist writers Sara Ahmed and Hélène Cixous to examine the affective economies emerging through DAO discourse. Through a particular DAO case study, she will explore how phallocentric systems that privilege particular expressions of accountability and transparency through practices of reputation requesting, DAO proposals, feedback and voting, may unintentionally marginalise diverse participation in these communities. Contrasting this to the affective economies that emerged through the clandestine phenomenon of Women’s Gifting Mandalas, Denise will invite us to explore how the transparency and opacity inherent to DAO technologies, may be embraced to re-imagine new cultures of organisation.