Oliver L Haimson
Biographic Data
| ID | 275263 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Oliver L Haimson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Oliver L |
| FAMILY NAME | Haimson |
| SIGNATURE | HAIMSON O L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Michigan |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6552-4540 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 74 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 16 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Conceptualizing Precision Labor in Artificial Intelligence Training
Accuracy and precision are among the central values in the ML communities and tech industry. What does it take to achieve a high level of technical accuracy? What are the harms resulting from technology companies' obsession with technical accuracy and precision, and who incurs the greatest burdens? This paper explores accuracy in the context of AI training in China. Drawing on 9-month multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork, we document workers’ every…
The Technopolitics of Waiting
Many theorists of the information economy have argued that digitization has resulted in a “speeding up” of our experience of time (i.e. Gleick, 1999). This work contends that for many, especially those with less power, the techno-utopian vision characterized by datafication and Artificial Intelligence (AI) instead produces a state of prolonged waiting. Drawing from two long-term ethnographic studies examining the production and implementation pha…
Technology for transgender healthcare
While much of the transgender health literature has focused on poor health outcomes, less research has examined how trans people find reliable information on, and actually go about accessing, gender-affirming healthcare. Through qualitative interviews with creators of trans technologies, that is, technologies designed to address problems that trans people face, we found that digital technologies have become important tools for proliferating acces…
Exploring the Current Landscape of Trans Technology Design
Transgender people face substantial challenges in the world, such as discrimination, harassment, and lack of access to basic resources. Some of these challenges could be addressed to some extent with technology. In this paper I examine the world of trans technology design through interviews with 115 creators of trans technologies: apps, games, health resources, and other types of technology. I demonstrate that trans technology design processes ar…
Not robots; Cyborgs — Furthering anti-ableist research in human-computer interaction
This theoretical essay builds on existing literature to draw out the consequences of dehumanizing and disseminating autism discourses within the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). Focusing mainly on narratives in HCI that frame autistic people as or like machines, we explore how dominant constructions of autism in HCI work to normalize the field’s complicity in violent autism intervention paradigms, despite HCI researchers’ well-meaning i…
Nothing that I was specifically looking for”
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and non-cisgender or non-heterosexual (LGBTQ+) youth (ages 15 to 25) in the United States often struggle to access relevant and comprehensive sexual health information. LGBTQ + youth rely on the internet, particularly social media, as an information resource. We interviewed 17 LGBTQ + youth about their online sexual health information seeking experiences to understand the specific role of s…
(In)visible moderation
Research suggests that marginalized social media users face disproportionate content moderation and removal. However, when content is removed or accounts suspended, the processes governing content moderation are largely invisible, making assessing content moderation bias difficult. To study this bias, we conducted a digital ethnography of marginalized users on Reddit’s /r/FTM subreddit and Twitch’s “Just Chatting” and “Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beache…
Transgender identity management across social media platforms
Transgender people use social media for identity work, which takes place over time and across platforms. In this study, we interviewed 20 transgender social media users to examine transgender identity management across the social media ecosystem. We found that transgender social media users curate their social media experiences to fit their needs through creating accounts on different platforms, maintaining multiple accounts on individual platfor…
Drawing from justice theories to support targets of online harassment
Most content moderation approaches in the United States rely on criminal justice models that sanction offenders via content removal or user bans. However, these models write the online harassment targets out of the justice-seeking process. Via an online survey with US participants ( N = 573), this research draws from justice theories to investigate approaches for supporting targets of online harassment. We uncover preferences for banning offender…
Challenging 'Getting Better' Social Media Narratives With Intersectional Transgender Lived Experiences
A dominant media narrative of 'getting better' over time is often projected onto LGBTQ people's personal life experiences. In this research study, I examine this narrative's role in transgender people's emotional well-being throughout transition. A 'getting better' narrative was pervasive in my qualitative analysis of 240 Tumblr transition blogs and 20 interviews with bloggers, signaling that it impacted people's self-concept both as presented on…
How to do better with gender on surveys
Community + Culture features practitioner perspectives on designing technologies for and with communities. We highlight compelling projects and provocative points of view that speak to both community technology practice and the interaction design field as a whole. --- Sheena Erete, Editor
Tumblr was a trans technology
Building from previous researchers’ conceptions of queer technologies, we consider what it means to be a trans technology. This research study draws from interviews with Tumblr transition bloggers (n = 20), along with virtual ethnography, trans theory, and trans technological histories, using Tumblr as a case study to understand how social technologies can meet the needs of trans communities. Tumblr supported trans experiences by enabling users t…
A conversation
The following is a panel discussion from QIS2 that in which five experts shared their research on queer media and technology. The panellists discuss a wide range of topics including trans people and surveillance online; trans identity and social media; online communities and feminist politics; the LGBT games archive; and digital vigilantism and sex trafficking. Uniting these diverse themes were a shared attention to the politics of queer visibili…
Relationship breakup disclosures and media ideologies on Facebook
After relationship breakups, people must make difficult decisions about whether and how to convey this change in a networked environment. To understand and characterize behaviors around breakup disclosures, we analyzed survey responses from 119 US Facebook users who reported experiencing a recent breakup. Using mixed methods, we find that those perceiving Facebook as a more efficient disclosure medium are more likely to announce breakups. We show…
Constructing and enforcing "authentic" identity online
Despite the participatory and democratic promises of Web 2.0, many marginalized individuals with fluid or non-normative identities continue to struggle to represent themselves online. Facebook users, in particular, are told to use “authentic identities,” an idea reinforced throughout the site’s documentation, “real name” and other policies, and in public statements by company representatives. Facebook’s conception of authenticity and real names, …
Baking Gender Into Social Media Design
In recent years, several popular social media platforms have launched freeform custom gender fields. This decision reconstitutes gender categories beyond an oppressive binary only permitting 'males' and 'females.' In this work, we uncover many different user-facing gender category design strategies within the social media ecosystem, ranging from custom gender options (on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest) to the absence of gender fields entirely (…
Tumblr was a trans technology
Building from previous researchers’ conceptions of queer technologies, we consider what it means to be a trans technology. This research study draws from interviews with Tumblr transition bloggers (n = 20), along with virtual ethnography, trans theory, and trans technological histories, using Tumblr as a case study to understand how social technologies can meet the needs of trans communities. Tumblr supported trans experiences by enabling users t…
Baking Gender Into Social Media Design
In recent years, several popular social media platforms have launched freeform custom gender fields. This decision reconstitutes gender categories beyond an oppressive binary only permitting 'males' and 'females.' In this work, we uncover many different user-facing gender category design strategies within the social media ecosystem, ranging from custom gender options (on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest) to the absence of gender fields entirely (…
(In)visible moderation
Research suggests that marginalized social media users face disproportionate content moderation and removal. However, when content is removed or accounts suspended, the processes governing content moderation are largely invisible, making assessing content moderation bias difficult. To study this bias, we conducted a digital ethnography of marginalized users on Reddit’s /r/FTM subreddit and Twitch’s “Just Chatting” and “Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beache…
Drawing from justice theories to support targets of online harassment
Most content moderation approaches in the United States rely on criminal justice models that sanction offenders via content removal or user bans. However, these models write the online harassment targets out of the justice-seeking process. Via an online survey with US participants ( N = 573), this research draws from justice theories to investigate approaches for supporting targets of online harassment. We uncover preferences for banning offender…
Transgender identity management across social media platforms
Transgender people use social media for identity work, which takes place over time and across platforms. In this study, we interviewed 20 transgender social media users to examine transgender identity management across the social media ecosystem. We found that transgender social media users curate their social media experiences to fit their needs through creating accounts on different platforms, maintaining multiple accounts on individual platfor…
Technology for transgender healthcare
While much of the transgender health literature has focused on poor health outcomes, less research has examined how trans people find reliable information on, and actually go about accessing, gender-affirming healthcare. Through qualitative interviews with creators of trans technologies, that is, technologies designed to address problems that trans people face, we found that digital technologies have become important tools for proliferating acces…
Relationship breakup disclosures and media ideologies on Facebook
After relationship breakups, people must make difficult decisions about whether and how to convey this change in a networked environment. To understand and characterize behaviors around breakup disclosures, we analyzed survey responses from 119 US Facebook users who reported experiencing a recent breakup. Using mixed methods, we find that those perceiving Facebook as a more efficient disclosure medium are more likely to announce breakups. We show…
Nothing that I was specifically looking for”
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and non-cisgender or non-heterosexual (LGBTQ+) youth (ages 15 to 25) in the United States often struggle to access relevant and comprehensive sexual health information. LGBTQ + youth rely on the internet, particularly social media, as an information resource. We interviewed 17 LGBTQ + youth about their online sexual health information seeking experiences to understand the specific role of s…
Challenging 'Getting Better' Social Media Narratives With Intersectional Transgender Lived Experiences
A dominant media narrative of 'getting better' over time is often projected onto LGBTQ people's personal life experiences. In this research study, I examine this narrative's role in transgender people's emotional well-being throughout transition. A 'getting better' narrative was pervasive in my qualitative analysis of 240 Tumblr transition blogs and 20 interviews with bloggers, signaling that it impacted people's self-concept both as presented on…
Constructing and enforcing "authentic" identity online
Despite the participatory and democratic promises of Web 2.0, many marginalized individuals with fluid or non-normative identities continue to struggle to represent themselves online. Facebook users, in particular, are told to use “authentic identities,” an idea reinforced throughout the site’s documentation, “real name” and other policies, and in public statements by company representatives. Facebook’s conception of authenticity and real names, …
Baking Gender Into Social Media Design
In recent years, several popular social media platforms have launched freeform custom gender fields. This decision reconstitutes gender categories beyond an oppressive binary only permitting 'males' and 'females.' In this work, we uncover many different user-facing gender category design strategies within the social media ecosystem, ranging from custom gender options (on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest) to the absence of gender fields entirely (…
Relationship breakup disclosures and media ideologies on Facebook
After relationship breakups, people must make difficult decisions about whether and how to convey this change in a networked environment. To understand and characterize behaviors around breakup disclosures, we analyzed survey responses from 119 US Facebook users who reported experiencing a recent breakup. Using mixed methods, we find that those perceiving Facebook as a more efficient disclosure medium are more likely to announce breakups. We show…
A conversation
The following is a panel discussion from QIS2 that in which five experts shared their research on queer media and technology. The panellists discuss a wide range of topics including trans people and surveillance online; trans identity and social media; online communities and feminist politics; the LGBT games archive; and digital vigilantism and sex trafficking. Uniting these diverse themes were a shared attention to the politics of queer visibili…
How to do better with gender on surveys
Community + Culture features practitioner perspectives on designing technologies for and with communities. We highlight compelling projects and provocative points of view that speak to both community technology practice and the interaction design field as a whole. --- Sheena Erete, Editor
Tumblr was a trans technology
Building from previous researchers’ conceptions of queer technologies, we consider what it means to be a trans technology. This research study draws from interviews with Tumblr transition bloggers (n = 20), along with virtual ethnography, trans theory, and trans technological histories, using Tumblr as a case study to understand how social technologies can meet the needs of trans communities. Tumblr supported trans experiences by enabling users t…
Drawing from justice theories to support targets of online harassment
Most content moderation approaches in the United States rely on criminal justice models that sanction offenders via content removal or user bans. However, these models write the online harassment targets out of the justice-seeking process. Via an online survey with US participants ( N = 573), this research draws from justice theories to investigate approaches for supporting targets of online harassment. We uncover preferences for banning offender…
Challenging 'Getting Better' Social Media Narratives With Intersectional Transgender Lived Experiences
A dominant media narrative of 'getting better' over time is often projected onto LGBTQ people's personal life experiences. In this research study, I examine this narrative's role in transgender people's emotional well-being throughout transition. A 'getting better' narrative was pervasive in my qualitative analysis of 240 Tumblr transition blogs and 20 interviews with bloggers, signaling that it impacted people's self-concept both as presented on…
Nothing that I was specifically looking for”
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and non-cisgender or non-heterosexual (LGBTQ+) youth (ages 15 to 25) in the United States often struggle to access relevant and comprehensive sexual health information. LGBTQ + youth rely on the internet, particularly social media, as an information resource. We interviewed 17 LGBTQ + youth about their online sexual health information seeking experiences to understand the specific role of s…
(In)visible moderation
Research suggests that marginalized social media users face disproportionate content moderation and removal. However, when content is removed or accounts suspended, the processes governing content moderation are largely invisible, making assessing content moderation bias difficult. To study this bias, we conducted a digital ethnography of marginalized users on Reddit’s /r/FTM subreddit and Twitch’s “Just Chatting” and “Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beache…
Transgender identity management across social media platforms
Transgender people use social media for identity work, which takes place over time and across platforms. In this study, we interviewed 20 transgender social media users to examine transgender identity management across the social media ecosystem. We found that transgender social media users curate their social media experiences to fit their needs through creating accounts on different platforms, maintaining multiple accounts on individual platfor…
Exploring the Current Landscape of Trans Technology Design
Transgender people face substantial challenges in the world, such as discrimination, harassment, and lack of access to basic resources. Some of these challenges could be addressed to some extent with technology. In this paper I examine the world of trans technology design through interviews with 115 creators of trans technologies: apps, games, health resources, and other types of technology. I demonstrate that trans technology design processes ar…
Not robots; Cyborgs — Furthering anti-ableist research in human-computer interaction
This theoretical essay builds on existing literature to draw out the consequences of dehumanizing and disseminating autism discourses within the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). Focusing mainly on narratives in HCI that frame autistic people as or like machines, we explore how dominant constructions of autism in HCI work to normalize the field’s complicity in violent autism intervention paradigms, despite HCI researchers’ well-meaning i…
Technology for transgender healthcare
While much of the transgender health literature has focused on poor health outcomes, less research has examined how trans people find reliable information on, and actually go about accessing, gender-affirming healthcare. Through qualitative interviews with creators of trans technologies, that is, technologies designed to address problems that trans people face, we found that digital technologies have become important tools for proliferating acces…
Conceptualizing Precision Labor in Artificial Intelligence Training
Accuracy and precision are among the central values in the ML communities and tech industry. What does it take to achieve a high level of technical accuracy? What are the harms resulting from technology companies' obsession with technical accuracy and precision, and who incurs the greatest burdens? This paper explores accuracy in the context of AI training in China. Drawing on 9-month multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork, we document workers’ every…
The Technopolitics of Waiting
Many theorists of the information economy have argued that digitization has resulted in a “speeding up” of our experience of time (i.e. Gleick, 1999). This work contends that for many, especially those with less power, the techno-utopian vision characterized by datafication and Artificial Intelligence (AI) instead produces a state of prolonged waiting. Drawing from two long-term ethnographic studies examining the production and implementation pha…
Computer Science (11 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Social media (8 works) · Political science (7 works) · World Wide Web (6 works) · Gender Studies (5 works) · Internet privacy (5 works) · Social Media and Politics (5 works) · Social Psychology (5 works)