So if you've ever ordered anything from Amazon.com you have probably received emails like this "(NAME), we think that customers who ordered (this title) might be interested in the new release (new release's title)."
Amazon is always trying to figure out what you want. And given the inter/multidisciplinarity of my field, I present a particular challenge to Amazon's computer-generated recommendations.
The other day I got one stating that if I liked Feminism and the Female Body: Liberating the Amazon Within, that I might now like the new release, GameFace: The Kickass Guide for Women Who Love Pro Sports.
They couldn't be more wrong. And the fact that Amazon believes that these two books are similar is astounding. The simple tag: women and sports does not make these books similarly appealing.
Feminism and the Female Body is about the potential for social change and empowerment through physical activity. It invokes radical feminist theory, addresses issues of race, age, sexuality, gender, ability, and presents the failings and possibilities of sport and physical activity for women.
I haven't read GameFace (and I don't plan to) but I don't think they are comparable books. Here is a description from Amazon's site:
Here at last is a book for women who love professional sports that is at once smart and saucy, deep and dishy. It’s not a book for women who want to impress their husbands or boyfriends. It’s not a book that gets all worked up over Title IX or Mia Hamm or the virtues of the WNBA. And it’s not a book with a pink cover.
Well thank goodness for that last point anyway. But the description contradicts itself later:
GameFace will inspire female fans everywhere to regale stat-spewing guys at water coolers and sports bars with mesmerizing tales of thrilling victories, agonizing defeats, and the magical (and sometimes hilarious) moments that only pro sports can deliver.
So, in the end, it's still all about impressing guys.
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