The information tools and platforms that we use on a daily basis are supposedly neutral, but this is far from the truth, especially for those within the LGBTQIA+ community, digital media scholar Alexander Monea argues in his new book ‘The Digital Closet’ (The MIT Press, $29.95, ISBN 9780262046770).
Indeed, Monea’s latest offering examines the heteronormativity of the computer vision-powered content filters that currently detect and block ‘pornographic’ images online. He argues that this bias creeps into our digital discourse, and in return polices sexuality and marginalises LGBTQIA+ users.
This book is thoroughly researched and richly sourced, with Monea digging deep into statistics, data and case studies to back up his argument. For example, he includes the story of how eBay purged all content perceived to be sexual or LGBTQIA+ in May 2021 while carving out exemptions for magazines such as ‘Playboy’ and ‘Penthouse’, both of which have a high straight...