Rhetoric Review Jul 2021

Algorithmic Abstraction and the Racial Neoliberal Rhetorics of 23andMe

Kathleen Daly Weisse Marist College ; Julie Jung Illinois State University ; Kellie Sharp-Hoskins New Mexico State University

Abstract

Western mathematics functions as a technology of violence when it enlists computational algorithms to underwrite racial neoliberalism. Theorizing algorithmic abstraction as a racial neoliberal technique, this article dramatizes the concept’s methodological affordances through a case study of 23andMe, which deploys algorithmic abstraction to affectively secure and sell Whiteness.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2021-07-03
DOI
10.1080/07350198.2021.1922800
Open Access
Closed
Topics
social media

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Onge (2025)
    Casual Radicalization and Extreme Language: An Examination of Discourse on Reddit
    Rhetoric Review
  2. Gruber et al. (2024)
    A Forum on Neurorhetorics: Conscious of the Past, Mindful of the Future
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly

Cites in this index (7)

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    Algorithmic Dwelling: Ethos as Deformance in Online Spaces
    Rhetoric Review
  2. Chávez (2018)
    The Body: An Abstract and Actual Rhetorical Concept
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  3. Fancher (2018)
    Embodying Turing’s Machine: Queer, Embodied Rhetorics in the History of Digital…
    Rhetoric Review
  4. Brock et al. (2016)
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    Computers and Composition
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    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
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    Rhetoric Review
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CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network →

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