The Storefront of Gender in the Portuguese Google PlayStore

Abstract

Notions of gender and sexuality are much more complex than the traditional heteronormative system suggests in most Western societies. From a perspective that approaches gender as a social construction, the chapter focuses on how gender is constituted in the offer of Android apps in the Portuguese Google PlayStore. The authors propose two research questions: (RQ1) How do app icons and descriptions visually and textually express the gender spectra based on the search results for the terms mulher (woman), homem (man), agénero (agender), transgénero (transgender) and não-binário (non-binary)? (RQ2): Which apps are recommended across genders? Adopting an exploratory digital methods approach, the authors address these questions by combining different data points, ranging from the app publication date, rating, number of downloads, price, gender-based options, etc. The query design attends to different app typologies for everyday practices such as games, self-tracking, dating, fitness and social media. The analysis focuses on the app market in Portugal, allowing us to explore how collective narrative processes on app-based platforms enhance power relations by perpetuating hegemonic masculinities and femininities anchored upon heteronormativity. Employing a multi-modal approach, the authors’ goal is to assess whether the app market challenges or replicates the standard heteronormative social behaviour. The results show a significant difference between the predominant genres, especially regarding the application's colour palettes, description and proposed uses.

Citation

Flores, A.M.M., Caldeira, S.P. and Pilipets, E. (2024), "The Storefront of Gender in the Portuguese Google PlayStore", Amaral, I., de Simões, R.B. and Flores, A.M.M. (Ed.) Young Adulthood Across Digital Platforms, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 57-74. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-524-820241004