Post A1lfayvbP8X4LriGvY by g@fed.giorgiocomai.eu
 (DIR) More posts by g@fed.giorgiocomai.eu
 (DIR) Post #A1lfayvbP8X4LriGvY by g@fed.giorgiocomai.eu
       2020-12-01T20:05:45.734982Z
       
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       I've been reading "data feminism" these days. I had high expectations and was sure I'd like the book, but I'm actually quite disappointed. Will probably share more thoughts as soon as I finish it, but in the meantime... has any of you read it or has seen interesting reviews?
       
 (DIR) Post #A1lfb3bvzglqsJY8Su by Gina@fosstodon.org
       2020-12-01T20:12:09Z
       
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       @g never heard of it, but I'm curious what you think.
       
 (DIR) Post #A1mgHh95ab2ioJLfns by g@fed.giorgiocomai.eu
       2020-12-01T23:03:15.889538Z
       
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       @Gina In brief, the book takes it from a promising start, pointing at how "data feminism", means, basically, to use data to challenge dominant power structures. There's a lot of references to intersectionality, the importance of community, and context. So far, so good, I'm all for it.My main concerns are:1.  it's all focused on the United States, and I'm not sure having only examples from the U.S. is really helpful for thinking at this best in Europe, or other parts of the world... for example, much of the debate on race and marginalised communities is so peculiarly American that it does not travel so well. One may say, ok, the authors are American, it's normal that they focus on the place they know best. But my take is... nope, no way, internationalism is an important part of how I see feminism. If one is interested in powerful examples of intersectional feminism one *must* look beyond their own country, both to understand and responde better to their own challenges as well as to build networks of international solidarity. I'm sure the authors nominally support all of this, but I've read ~80% of the book and it's all U.S.A., with minor examples from Canada and Australia. 2. their whole conversation is about challenging power structures, and they take as their starting point the "matrix of domination". When I first looked at it, I thought it mostly made sense. But chapter after chapter I realised ever more clearly that the economy barely features in their understanding of what oppresses us. It's (almost) all about how race and gender intersect, leading to all sorts of discrimination. I'm ~80% into the book, and there's still no distinct acknowledgment of the role of capitalism, neoliberalism, class... whatever you want to call it. I don't expect necessarily marxist feminism, but yes, I do expect some degree of anti-capitalism, or at the very least some more explicit criticism of capitalism as it currently works. But no, it's still all race and gender... this is, of course, important, but in a book-length debate on challenging power structures, being blind to money and their impact on power dynamics is problematic.3. Finally, in a book that in a way is all about politics, there is no reference to politics... there's no left and right, no progressives and conservatives. Ok, the "matrix of domination" works across all society, I get it, but I cannot unsee what different political forces stand for, including in Europe... think e.g. of the ongoing #StraikKobiet in Poland. Ignoring the political dimension of this all is problematic.Perhaps I'm just too much used to reading feminist books published by Verso... radical, internationalist, with examples and stories from across all continents, unashamedly leftist... from "generic" books such as "Radical happiness" https://www.versobooks.com/books/2819-radical-happiness - to the great "Revolting prostitutes" - https://www.versobooks.com/books/3039-revolting-prostitutes - (based on lived experience, with stories from across the world, and a lot of attention to migrants, which I believe is key for intersectional feminism in Europe, but barely mentioned in "data feminism"), or e.g. "Full Surrogacy Now" by Sophie Lewis, which widely discusses cross-border dynamics. So what we're left with is a book with some interesting ideas about community-driven data activism and data journalism, a reasonable debate of data ethics and the importance of context for data analysis and data-based advocacy, and some debate on (mostly) well known examples of gender-based discrimination and how it intersects with race.It wants to be empowering, and I do think it *can* be empowering in some contexts... but to me, it is politically underwhelming and somewhat parochial in its focusing so much on the U.S.But I don't want to be too critical, I think it's good for debates, and there's some useful inputs for broader conversations.Anyway, the book is also available online in Creative Commons: https://data-feminism.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/frfa9szd/release/3Attached, the 7 defining features of "data feminism" and the "matrix of domination"
       
 (DIR) Post #A1mgHhKQuQ7JNUejU8 by Gina@fosstodon.org
       2020-12-02T07:54:38Z
       
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       @g this is a very well formulated and thought out critique, thank you for sharing! :)