FEMALE OBJECTIFICATION IN AI ‘ART’: DO WOMEN PERPETUATE IT (and if so, why)? (first published in 'Medium')

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even the mourner is objectified in this AI text-to-image ‘creation’ (her body-shape-accentuating clothing is a slight improvement on our first attempt, in which she was created with bare shoulders and an ample bosom)

During the past year, I’ve exchanged thoughts about female objectification with a cross-section of people using the popular AI text-to-image international community ‘art’ platform of which I continue to be a member (albeit somewhat reluctantly). And although pseudonyms and avatars can be misleading, over time I’ve learned how to identify the gender of most anonymous account holders with whom I’ve interacted virtually.

Which is how I’ve come to the discomforting conclusion that most oversexualized AI pin-up girls are generated by women.

In the context of objectification and self-objectification theory, this shouldn’t have come as a surprise. But it still irks. Why would any self-respecting woman want to perpetuate the demeaning, centuries-old culture of gender bias to which she, too, has fallen victim (despite possibly being unaware of that)?

Sadly, empirically based research tends to suggest that she does so in pursuit of the social rewards and validation that come with successful intrasexual competition in all its complexity. This, in turn, is driven by a plethora of psychological and sociological factors leading to the internalisation of societal norms inculcated in the female psyche from childhood – by family, friends and the school environment (Dax Kellie, Khandis Blake and Robert Brooks, Plos One; Shilei Chen, Wijnand van Tilburg and Patrick Leman, Psychology of Women Quarterly).

The AI text-to-image community ‘art’ platform with which I’m most familiar simply taps into and exploits this.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this series of articles on the perils of AI text-to-image ‘art’, the platform combines access to all the latest image generating models with chat rooms, competitions – and most aspects of the ‘like-follow-comment’ social media culture. On X, these offerings are described as ‘addictive’. Which they are.

It’s no mean feat to persuade an AI ‘art’ generating model to interpret one’s word prompt aesthetically – in a way that could attract ‘likes’, complimentary comments and ‘followers’ (or even win a competition). Sometimes the chosen model and style get it right first time. But generally, the process wolfs down membership credits that may be rewarded with freebies but more-often-than-not aren’t.

So, AI text-to-image ‘art’ is a dopamine-rush-driven gamble.

Which may be why generating images of oversexualized women is so popular. ‘Boys will be boys’, so it stands to reason that many men on the platform love that kind of thing, making no bones about it. And judging from the comments, many women there thrive on the approval and admiration that comes with ‘creating’ a sexually charged image. Possibly with that in mind, the alluring, ‘come hither’ look has been algorithmically perfected to a T – taking female objectification to another level entirely, regardless of whether the subject is scantily clad or fully robed.

Is it too much to expect women to step back, reflect and stop feeding this heinous cycle of self-destruction? Time will tell.