The real dirt: Gossip and feminist epistemology

Managing visibility on YouTube through algorithmic gossip

“…McRobbie argues that women’s forms of talk, of knowledge sharing, are located outside of institutionally sanctioned research practices, and are under-observed, and ghettoised. Similarly, Karen Adkins (2002) argues oral histories are often considered ‘trivial’ compared to the ‘real stuff’ of research – but argues that this distinction is ultimately ‘false’ (p. 215). Adkins (2002) draws attention to the erased role of talk in scientific or mathematic discovery, arguing ‘women’s ways of knowing are simply part of how all humans come to knowledge’ (p. 215).…”

“…As such producers, beauty vloggers are sources of algorithmic knowledge whose feminised output positions them outside of the technical , yet whose work is contingent on algorithmic visibility. Their knowledge about algorithmic processes is shared and enlivened through gossip, defined as loose, unmethodical talk that is generative: gossip lies at the ‘median point between random and agenda-driven’ (Adkins, 2002: 216). Not only is gossip an important and under-studied form of knowledge production, it is ‘embedded in traditional ways of knowledge production’ (Adkins, 2002: 223).…”

“…Their knowledge about algorithmic processes is shared and enlivened through gossip, defined as loose, unmethodical talk that is generative: gossip lies at the ‘median point between random and agenda-driven’ (Adkins, 2002: 216). Not only is gossip an important and under-studied form of knowledge production, it is ‘embedded in traditional ways of knowledge production’ (Adkins, 2002: 223). Gossip, particularly when associated with women, is dismissed for its bias, intimacy or as violation of privacy (McRobbie, 1982).…”

Gossip as a Burdened Virtue

“…Gossip has typically been regarded both by the folk and by feminist philosophers as a speech act predominately engaged in by women (de Sousa 1994, Jones 1980, Spacks 1982, Tannen 1990, and Collins 1994. We, however, follow Adkins (2002) in noting that gossip is not distinct to women's speech, though it does raise topics relevant to feminist philosophy.…”

“…The speaker can even know the content of the gossip firsthand, as evidenced by the lists of rapists at university campuses noted above. Third, though feminist epistemologists are right to note that gossip often occurs within the larger context of a narrative (Code 1995;Adkins 2002), gossip can also occur independently of a narrative context (again as the rapists lists indicate). Fourth, it is important to note the role of gender in defining this concept.…”