Book Review: Data Feminism
This book review critiques Lauren F. Klein and Catherine D'lgnazio's Data Feminism (2020). Klein and D'lgnazio take a visual approach to provide a synopsis—underpinned by social and political commentary—that explores the avenues through which data science and data ethics shape how contemporary technologies exploit injustices related to race and gender. Klein and D'lgnazio offer examples of this exploitation, such as the discriminatory surveillance apparatus that relies on racial profiling tactics. These examples are emboldened by the use of contemporary data strategies that—on the surface—strive to achieve a more equitable and 'neutral' hierarchal society. This review examines the text's visual approach to demonstrating institutional inequities and the authors' acknowledgement of their own privilege, specifically the role they play in upholding the oppressive systems they seek to dismantle through collaboration and intersectional analysis.