Open AccessUnmasking Biometrics’ Biases
Author(s) -
R.L.L. Wevers
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
tmg journal for media history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2213-7653
pISSN - 1387-649X
DOI - 10.18146/2213-7653.2018.368
Subject(s) - pseudoscience , biometrics , identity (music) , race (biology) , face (sociological concept) , sociology , psychology , internet privacy , gender studies , aesthetics , computer science , computer security , social science , art , alternative medicine , pathology , medicine
The article investigates the role of identity and the body in biometric technologies, contesting the conception that biometrics are neutral. It discusses biometrics’ exclusionary effects with regards to gender, race, class and ability, among others, by unveiling its historical links to nineteenth-century pseudoscientific practices. It does so through an analysis of Zach Blas’ Facial Weaponization Suite, an artistic critique of this dominant conception that draws attention to biometrics’ contested history and its current implications for marginalised identities.
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