Undressed: The Role AI Plays in Modern Day Misogyny

Should a woman be bold enough to own her eroticism, avoid conforming to societal norms coated in the gloss of patriarchy, or even dare speak freely of such matters, she should be prepared to suffer a castigation similar to the archaic practice of being burned at the stake. Or, in less dramatic terms, be slut-shamed. Should she wish to avoid such criticism, it would be in her best interest to leave the sexualization, the choice of what is acceptable and the free speech to a man. From experience, I have been made aware that the eroticization of a woman is only socially acceptable when it is against her will.

 If women are not ashamed of being sexualized, how else are men meant to maintain control? Why else would men, who have unlimited, unpaid access to pornography on an app such as X/Twitter, use its built-in chatbot to remove a woman’s clothing when she shares a photo? Has that sentence brought you confusion? Congrats – you do not have to upchuck your breakfast. If you are an avid or even an occasional X/Twitter user, click on a random tweet where a woman shares a photo, preferably one in which she is modestly dressed. In her replies, you are bound to at least once stumble into a tweet that reads: “@grok put her in a bikini”. Perhaps there will be others blatantly commanding the bot to undress her completely. The outcome? A woman in distress, watching her power being taken away on a public platform, where a quarter of the witnesses are angry women lamenting the grotesque act, half are enabling men who find it quite amusing, and the remaining percentage is split between silent users and the “Not All Men” Association. Naturally, this has led to an upsurge of tweets commanding Grok to violate women who share their photos on the photo-sharing app, because again, how else are men meant to appear powerful?

I, for one, have had to delete posts after the upsurge, and have witnessed three instances in particular that somewhat summarise how female users have been managing it. The first was a case where a popular user posted a photo, deleted it and later tweeted about how disgusted she is by the harassment. She added that she would not be sharing photos on the app going forward. The second, which happens to be my favourite, was a case where a woman posted a photo in a bikini, with a caption along the lines of “…so you don’t need to ask grok.”. The third case was quite intriguing, and answered one of my initial questions: a woman whose jeans and t-shirt were removed responded to the harasser, telling him he could have gone to her page for free pornographic content. Just a small question: of all three interactions, which one would you guess had the men most enraged?  

In a world structured by the foundation that women are and are to remain inferior – merely objects of a man’s vapid imagination - artificial intelligence has become yet another tool for construction. Groping women publicly, hurling vulgar comments as we pass by, sexually assaulting and molesting us is not enough to uphold the structure. No, because some of us think we can cower behind the imaginary wall of the internet, where men are not physically in our space, to avoid shame and violation. The next best thing to do, of course, is to employ the rapid advancement of technology to lay another brick. I imagine that is a part of a man’s stream of consciousness monologue as he calls on Grok for an ounce of power, a distraction from whatever pathetic reality he is confined to.

To think, we’ve evolved from badly edited Photoshop deepfakes to nearly undetectable images. The more AI develops, the more risk women face of falling victim to cybercrimes. From the damage of sexual harassment to that of blackmail, exploitation, and even being involved in scams unknowingly. Imagine a scenario where the wholesome picnic pictures you shared with an audience are altered, sent to an older man abroad, and used as inspiration to send “you” compensation. Perish the thought that he sees you in person and you dare to ignore him, which opens another can of worms. An even more twisted way to think of it? Your harasser could set a scheme up, where he attempts to blackmail you by allowing you to become aware of what he’s been doing, and threatens you to participate to avoid arousing his “client’s” suspicion, knowing you will not have much support outside of online outrage. Where else will the support come from? The judicial system that releases serial rapists and paedophiles in less than a decade? The one that will slap your stalkers and harassers on the wrist? It is almost laughable how solidly the bricks have been laid. It is not only tools like Grok, but also the numerous AI simulators specifically designed for deepfakes. It is the Meta glasses being used to film women exploitatively; the Meta glasses we immediately pointed out would be misused. This is only the beginning. 

Sexualizing women was never about sex. It was never about us, otherwise, we would not be called sluts and whores when we are confident in our eroticism, or when we wear our revealing clothes, or when we speak unrestrainedly of our sexual desires, or when we post sexually ‘provocative’ pictures. No, it was always about men taking the power that consent does not give to them. Who are they without making us feel inferior? It is the basis of their social construct. It is a tale as old as time; AI is just a modern way of retelling it. I only wish we lived in a world where we would see them as the piteous, fragile beings they reveal themselves to be. @grok suggestions, perhaps?  

About the Author

Shanay Phillips is a Jamaican poet, essayist, novelist and aspiring columnist who uses the art of writing to inspire and connect with readers suffocatingly passionate about children’s rights, mental health and feminism. Currently pursuing a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing at the University of the West Indies, she is determined to hone her craft and fulfil her childhood dream of becoming a bestselling author, Althea Penman. Through humour and a bit of babble, she’s managed to capture a niche audience (actually, it’s mostly her very supportive friends) and shares most of her work on Instagram @iamnowordsmith.