Tech Competency and the Pink pc: Illuminating the iMac G3 and pc Builds

Abstract Where women were once historically at the forefront of computer programming, contemporary tech culture erases their participation. Today, however, tech-competency is showcased as feminine in online Pink pc build videos, which contest dominant narratives that place tech culture adjacent to geek masculinity. Before young people were building their own Pink pc ’s, Apple’s G3 series represented an earlier articulation of feminine computer design. Apple’s rounded, colourful personal computer became an unconventional marker of femininity. Pink pc s challenge technology’s prevalent masculine-coding. Their hyperfeminine designs reflect possible agentic identity expression and resistance to hegemonic masculine taste values. Yet, the Pink pc also surfaces in corporate and post-feminist contexts and cultures, typically restricted by economic mobility. This article explores these contradictions through the Pink pc , from Apple’s G3 to Pink pc builds today, developing understandings towards feminist science and technology studies, invisible gaming cultures, and Critical Femininities.