A revealing look at how negative biases against women of color are embedded in search engine
results and algorithms Run a Google search for black girls??what will you find? Big Booty? and
other sexually explicit terms are likely to come up as top search terms. But if you type in
white girls ? the results are radically different. The suggested porn sites and un-moderated
discussions about why black women are so sassy? or why black women are so angry? presents a
disturbing portrait of black wOMhood in modern society. In Algorithms of Oppression Safiya
Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field
for all forms of ideas identities and activities. Data discrimination is a real social
problem Noble argues that the combination of private interests in promoting certain sites
along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of Internet search engines leads
to a biased set of search algorithms that privilege whiteness and discriminate against people
of color specifically women of color. Through an analysis of textual and media searches as
well as extensive research on paid online advertising Noble exposes a culture of racism and
sexism in the way discoverability is created online. As search engines and their related
companies grow in importance?operating as a source for email a major vehicle for primary and
secondary school learning and beyond?understanding and reversing these disquieting trends and
discriminatory practices is of utmost importance. An original surprising and at times
disturbing account of bias on the internet Algorithms of Oppression contributes to our
understanding of how racism is created maintained and disseminated in the 21st century.
