Kit Chokly

2023 Console-ing Passions

The following was presented at the 2023 Console-ing Passions: International Conference on Television, Video, Audio, New Media and Feminism, held at the University of Calgary, Canada on June 22 – 24, 2023.

The coded alt-text and the text displayed on this page are identical.

You can jump to the references by clicking here.

If you have any comments or feedback about this work, please email me at kit.chokly@mail.mcgill.ca.

Slide 1

A title slide, which reads “‘Feels like my soul. Good job, AI.’ Exploring a transspeculative structure of feeling via AI-generated imagery on reddit. Kit Chokly (he/they), PhD Student, McGill University. 2023 Console-ing Passions Conference, June 24, University of Calgary.” The quote in the title is in yellow, while the rest of the text is white on a dark blue and pink gradient background. There is a large QR code to the side of the slide which directs to this site, as well as a short url in the footer which does the same (kitchokly.com/resources).

A title slide, which reads “‘Feels like my soul. Good job, AI.’ Exploring a transspeculative structure of feeling via AI-generated imagery on reddit. Kit Chokly (he/they), PhD Student, McGill University. 2023 Console-ing Passions Conference, June 24, University of Calgary.” The quote in the title is in yellow, while the rest of the text is white on a dark blue and pink gradient background. There is a large QR code to the side of the slide which directs to this site, as well as a short url in the footer which does the same (kitchokly.com/resources).

Slide 2

A vertical, AI-generated image which does not resolve into any particular thing. It is made up of a combination of cubist and smooth shapes, with lots of bright pink and dark blues. Over the image is a small text box that reads “‘gender dysphoria’ Wombo Dream 30/11/21 r/trans.” The background gradient remains, as does the footer URL.

A vertical, AI-generated image which does not resolve into any particular thing. It is made up of a combination of cubist and smooth shapes, with lots of bright pink and dark blues. Over the image is a small text box that reads “‘gender dysphoria’ Wombo Dream 30/11/21 r/trans.” The background gradient remains, as does the footer URL.The “AI” this person is referring to here is a text-to-image generation model employed by an app called Wombo Dream. There are a lot of different text-to-image generation models, some of which are already over ten years old, but it was around mid-2021 that user interfaces made it so that people could use these generators without needing to know how to code: You just enter a prompt into a text box, and the generator spits an image out in response. 

Slide 3

The machine-generated image is moved to the left hand side. Two screenshots of Reddit comments appear on the right, with key points highlights. The first highlight reads “(I used the Wombo Dream app, it’s free and astonishingly good at conceptual things! I gave it all kind [sic] of trans related prompts but this was by far my favourite.)”. The second highlight reads “surprisingly accurate”.

The image remains but a new Reddit comment appears on the right. The highlighted text reads “The only thing I see in this is the confusion that I felt. There is no concrete shape and anything you focus on disappears. Very reminiscent of how I was when I began to question.”

Slide 4

The image remains but a new Reddit comment appears on the right. The highlighted text reads “The only thing I see in this is the confusion that I felt. There is no concrete shape and anything you focus on disappears. Very reminiscent of how I was when I began to question.”

The image remains but a new Reddit comment appears on the right. The highlighted text reads “The only thing I see in this is the confusion that I felt. There is no concrete shape and anything you focus on disappears. Very reminiscent of how I was when I began to question.”

Slide 5

Again, a new Reddit comment replaces the previous. The highlighted text reads “That’s a surprisingly accurate representation of what I feel […] that reminds me it’s okay for me to not be cool with my flesh. Good job AI”.

Again, a new Reddit comment replaces the previous. The highlighted text reads “That’s a surprisingly accurate representation of what I feel […] that reminds me it’s okay for me to not be cool with my flesh. Good job AI”.So I was really struck by the both the earnestness and complexity of these responses here to a machine-generated image about trans experience. And this is because human-made represenations of trans experience, especially those found in mainstream media, are frequently limited to normative conceptions of gender and transition which have largely solidified around their medical definition.

Slide 6

The image and screenshots are replaced by text. At the top, a large sentence reads “Normative representations of gender and transition are often tied to their medical definition.” “tied to their medical definition” is highlighted in yellow. Below it are two columns. The first reads, in quotation, “A strong conviction that one has the typical feelings and reactions of the other gender (or some alternative gender different from one’s assigned gender).” The second reads, also in quotation, “The condition is associated with clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.” Below it is a citation which reads “American Psychiatric Association 2022 (DSM-5-TR, F64.0)”.

The image and screenshots are replaced by text. At the top, a large sentence reads “Normative representations of gender and transition are often tied to their medical definition.” “tied to their medical definition” is highlighted in yellow. Below it are two columns. The first reads, in quotation, “A strong conviction that one has the typical feelings and reactions of the other gender (or some alternative gender different from one’s assigned gender).” The second reads, also in quotation, “The condition is associated with clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.” Below it is a citation which reads “American Psychiatric Association 2022 (DSM-5-TR, F64.0)”.

Slide 7

New text replaces the previous. At the top, a large sentence reads “These definitions contribute to what Hil Malatino terms transnormative structures of feeling” “transnormative structures of feeling” is highlighted in yellow. Below it are two paragraphs. The first reads, in quotation, “transition narratives that rely on and thus reproduce hegemonic, intensively stereotypical accounts of what it is to ‘feel like’ a man or a woman, importing these accounts (rooted, most often, in white bourgeois gendered norms and mores) into trans life-worlds wherein they seem to fit strangely, if at all.” The second reads, also in quotation, “Nevertheless, each repetition of such a narrative seems to further entrench and intensify a set of racialized, gender-normed limitations that work to determine how transition becomes legible and coherent— indeed, that come to shape and delimit what it means to transition at all.” Below it is a citation which reads “Malatino, 2022, Side Affects, p. 8”.

New text replaces the previous. At the top, a large sentence reads “These definitions contribute to what Hil Malatino terms transnormative structures of feeling” “transnormative structures of feeling” is highlighted in yellow. Below it are two paragraphs. The first reads, in quotation, “transition narratives that rely on and thus reproduce hegemonic, intensively stereotypical accounts of what it is to ‘feel like’ a man or a woman, importing these accounts (rooted, most often, in white bourgeois gendered norms and mores) into trans life-worlds wherein they seem to fit strangely, if at all.” The second reads, also in quotation, “Nevertheless, each repetition of such a narrative seems to further entrench and intensify a set of racialized, gender-normed limitations that work to determine how transition becomes legible and coherent— indeed, that come to shape and delimit what it means to transition at all.” Below it is a citation which reads “Malatino, 2022, Side Affects, p. 8”.

Slide 8

The text disappears, and the machine-generated image from slides 2–5 returns to the centre.

The text disappears, and the machine-generated image from slides 2–5 returns in the centre.

Slide 9

The image shrinks to become a part of a grid of 16 different but obviously machine-generated images. Most of the images include human-like features—eyes, hair, and what looks like light-coloured skin. A couple include flag-like shapes, as do some others which feature what looks like nonsensical text. Most rely on a heavy use of pink and blue.

The image shrinks to become a part of a grid of 16 different but obviously machine-generated images. Most of the images include human-like features—eyes, hair, and what looks like light-coloured skin. A couple include flag-like shapes, as do some others which feature what looks like nonsensical text. Most rely on a heavy use of pink and blue.

Slide 10

The image grid is replaced by text again. At the top in yellow is the phrase “transspeculative structures of feeling”. Below, slightly smaller and in white, reads “The affective social formations which support the capacity to” followed by thee bullets, “feel gender and transition otherwise,” “in exploratory ways,” “with others.”

The image grid is replaced by text again. At the top in yellow is the phrase “transspeculative structures of feeling”. Below, slightly smaller and in white, reads “The affective social formations which support the capacity to” followed by thee bullets, “feel gender and transition otherwise,” “in exploratory ways,” “with others.”

Slide 11

A new machine-generated image, which was included in the grid on slide 9, is centered on the screen. It has a light grey background and include five distinct objects which look like wrapped bandages from different angles. These objects have light pink, hair-like appendages. There is also a flag-light rectangle in the near-middle of the image which has three horizontal stripes in blue, yellow, and pink, and a shape at the top which is approximate to the nonsensical word “Bnonp”. Over the image is a small text box that reads “‘non-binary’ Nightcafe 09/10/21 r/ ennnnnnnnnnnnbbbbbby”.

A new machine-generated image, which was included in the grid on slide 9, is centered on the screen. It has a light grey background and include five distinct objects which look like wrapped bandages from different angles. These objects have light pink, hair-like appendages. There is also a flag-light rectangle in the near-middle of the image which has three horizontal stripes in blue, yellow, and pink, and a shape at the top which is approximate to the nonsensical word “Bnonp”. Over the image is a small text box that reads “‘non-binary’ Nightcafe 09/10/21 r/ ennnnnnnnnnnnbbbbbby”.

Slide 12

Four screenshots from two different stock image sites, each feature the top search results for “transgender” and “non-binary.” They show a collection of images which include transgender or non-binary symbols, chalkboard signs—one that reads “non-binary,” another which reads “not he not she just me”, non-binary, trans, and a lesbian flag, and two people, one white and one Black.

Four screenshots from two different stock image sites, each feature the top search results for “transgender” and “non-binary.” They show a collection of images which include transgender or non-binary symbols, chalkboard signs—one that reads “non-binary,” another which reads “not he not she just me”, non-binary, trans, and a lesbian flag, and two people, one white and one Black.

Slide 13

The machine-generated image “non-binary” from slide 11 is on the right side of this slide. On the left are three Reddit comments. The first reads “This pic. My gender now.” The second reads “I don’t know what this mummified cryptid is but gender envy”.

The machine-generated image “non-binary” from slide 11 is on the right side of this slide. On the left are three Reddit comments. The first reads “This pic. My gender now.” The second reads “I don’t know what this mummified cryptid is but gender envy”.

Slide 14

The machine-generated image remains, but the comments are replaced with new ones. The first comment reads, "'hey, so what are your pronouns?' bno/np". The second reads, “Petition to make this our new prideflag” while a response reads “Update: here it is!” with an imgur.com URL. Below the comments is a screenshot of the linked prideflag, which renders the abstracted shapes from the machine-generated image into a graph design of black and white stripes with the pink, yellow, and pink stripes in the middle. At the top reads “bnonp”.

The machine-generated image remains, but the comments are replaced with new ones. The first comment reads, “‘hey, so what are your pronouns?’ bno/np“. The second reads, “Petition to make this our new prideflag” while a response reads “Update: here it is!” with an imgur.com URL. Below the comments is a screenshot of the linked prideflag, which renders the abstracted shapes from the machine-generated image into a graph design of black and white stripes with the pink, yellow, and pink stripes in the middle. At the top reads “bnonp”.

Slide 15

A new machine-generated image appears on the left-hand side. It features a melty magenta figure which may be seated and looking over its shoulder at the viewer. There appears to be some type of large, bat wing-like object coming from behind it. It is “seated” on a series of neon cubes which look like a city on a hill from afar. Over the image is a small text box that reads “‘trans’ Wombo Dream 27/11/21 r/lgbtmemes”. The screenshotted comment on the right has highlighted text which reads “looks like a body, melting and morphing into something new, something different, something we cannot comprehend, and at least to me that really fits the prompt of trans.”

A new machine-generated image appears on the left-hand side. It features a melty magenta figure which may be seated and looking over its shoulder at the viewer. There appears to be some type of large, bat wing-like object coming from behind it. It is “seated” on a series of neon cubes which look like a city on a hill from afar. Over the image is a small text box that reads “‘trans’ Wombo Dream 27/11/21 r/lgbtmemes”. The screenshotted comment on the right has highlighted text which reads “looks like a body, melting and morphing into something new, something different, something we cannot comprehend, and at least to me that really fits the prompt of trans.”Again and again, people commented on these posts by emphasizing the way these images made them feel—and the difficulty of putting this affect into words. As this one commenter writes, this image, quote, “looks like a body, melting and morphing into something new, something different, something we cannot comprehend, and at least to me that really fits the prompt of trans.” 

Slide 16

Another machine-generated image, this time on the right. It features a figure which may be facing away from the viewer, wearing long cream-coloured robes. The background is an abstract mountain-like scene in pink and violet. Over the image is a small text box that reads “‘nonbinary’ Wombo Dream 27/11/21 r/ennnnnnnnnnnnbbbbbby”. The screenshotted comment on the left has highlighted text which reads “Feels like my soul. Good job, AI”.

Another machine-generated image, this time on the right. It features a figure which may be facing away from the viewer, wearing long cream-coloured robes. The background is an abstract mountain-like scene in pink and violet. Over the image is a small text box that reads “‘nonbinary’ Wombo Dream 27/11/21 r/ennnnnnnnnnnnbbbbbby”. The screenshotted comment on the left has highlighted text which reads “Feels like my soul. Good job, AI”.

Slide 17

On the left is another machine-generated image, this time in neon pinks and bright blues. It looks like two faces, one facing the view, the other away, united in a Picasso-like style. The face’s “skin” is light and it’s “eye” is bright blue. It blends into what looks like an scene urban scene of brightly-lit windows in the bottom left corner. Over the image is a small text box that reads “‘gender’ Wombo Dream 17/12/21 r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns”. The screenshotted comment on the right has highlighted text which reads “I mean, it’s pretty accurate to the confusing mess that gender can be.”

On the left is another machine-generated image, this time in neon pinks and bright blues. It looks like two faces, one facing the view, the other away, united in a Picasso-like style. The face’s “skin” is light and it’s “eye” is bright blue. It blends into what looks like an scene urban scene of brightly-lit windows in the bottom left corner. Over the image is a small text box that reads “‘gender’ Wombo Dream 17/12/21 r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns”. The screenshotted comment on the right has highlighted text which reads “I mean, it’s pretty accurate to the confusing mess that gender can be.”

Slide 18

On the right is yet another machine-generated visual; this time, however, it is a moving image. It begins with a swirling, rainbow cloud which morphs into a face, tilted to the sky featuring not one but two open-mouth grins on top of one another. Behind the face appears to be pine trees at a distance, with a background that looks like a stadium ceiling. Another smiling, cartoon-like face appears below the first as well as some yellow flowers. The video loops. Over the video is a small text box that reads “‘euphoria’ modified DeepDaze 03/02/22 r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns”. There are two comments on the left, the first reading “Ah yes, this surrealist feeling, visualized.” The second reads “Omg i [sic] can’t believe how this image resonate [sic] with me”.

On the right is yet another machine-generated visual; this time, however, it is a moving image. It begins with a swirling, rainbow cloud which morphs into a face, tilted to the sky featuring not one but two open-mouth grins on top of one another. Behind the face appears to be pine trees at a distance, with a background that looks like a stadium ceiling. Another smiling, cartoon-like face appears below the first as well as some yellow flowers. The video loops. Over the video is a small text box that reads “‘euphoria’ modified DeepDaze 03/02/22 r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns”. There are two comments on the left, the first reading “Ah yes, this surrealist feeling, visualized.” The second reads “Omg i [sic] can’t believe how this image resonate [sic] with me”.

Slide 19

Three screenshots taken from the websites of three difference text-to-image generators: DALL-E 2, Imagen, and Stable Diffusion. The DALL-E screenshot reads: “DALL-E 2 is an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.” The Stabled Diffusion screenshot reads “Stable Diffusion is a latent text-to-image diffusion model capable of generating photo-realistic images given any text input, cultivates autonomous freedom to produce incredible imagery, empowers billions of people to create stunning art within seconds. Create beautiful are using stable diffusion ONLINE for free.” Last, the Imagen screenshot reads “unprecedented photorealism x deep level of language understanding.” In each screenshot, the words “realistic,” “photo-realistic,” and “photorealism” are highlighted in yellow.

Three screenshots taken from the websites of three difference text-to-image generators: DALL-E 2, Imagen, and Stable Diffusion. The DALL-E screenshot reads: “DALL-E 2 is an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.” The Stabled Diffusion screenshot reads “Stable Diffusion is a latent text-to-image diffusion model capable of generating photo-realistic images given any text input, cultivates autonomous freedom to produce incredible imagery, empowers billions of people to create stunning art within seconds. Create beautiful are using stable diffusion ONLINE for free.” Last, the Imagen screenshot reads “unprecedented photorealism x deep level of language understanding.” In each screenshot, the words “realistic,” “photo-realistic,” and “photorealism” are highlighted in yellow.

Slide 20

A screenshot of a thread on the r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns subreddit, titled “Third-party API access, or: I am so tired,” shared by user vibratoryblurriness, the main moderator of the subreddit. The left side of the screenshot contains the post. The text which is visible is as follows: Unless you use Reddit under a rock you've probably heard the big fuss about Reddit restricting access to the site at the end of the month for third-party clients and tools. Lots of other people have written lots of great explanations so I'm not going to here. r/AskHistorians had what I thought was a good post about it, and there's been a lot of good commentary and explanation from devs of various apps and bots, including RIF and Apollo. Go read some of those if you still need more information beyond “Reddit is killing all third-party apps and severely limiting what bots and other tools will be able to do.” As far as this subreddit is concerned, we've historically been reluctant to make it private or restricted for protests before because it's the main source of support a lot of people have, and it feels extra gross taking that away in the middle of Pride. We were waiting a bit to see how stuff played out, but as of earlier today the devs of many of the tools we rely on have officially given up after some very unproductive discussions with Reddit, and as of June 30th at the very least RIF and Apollo will have their access to the site disabled. When that happens it will effectively kill this subreddit. It's already a minor miracle that we're still up and running. It's a semi-open secret that I've been doing most of the work myself for the past couple years because everyone else has had a lot more stuff to deal with in their personal lives or quit a while ago in protest of previous terrible decisions Reddit has made that made our jobs more difficult. Over that time being a mod has become an increasingly thankless task, as the admins have completely failed to address major problems like the massive number of repost/spam bots across the entire site. Now that they're taking away the last things left that made it just barely tolerable I just can't be bothered anymore and wouldn't wish it on anyone else. The right side of the screenshot features the subreddit sidebar, which includes a white, pink, and blue icon, the subreddit description (“Trans people making fun of themselves, others, and the situations they find themselves in with memes and gifs. For more detailed descriptions of the rules and posting guidelines, check out the wiki”), date the subreddit was created (August 4, 2012), its status (restricted), number of subscribers aka “shitposters” (393k) and number currently online (461). Some of the subreddit rules are also visible, including “1. Absolutely no bigotry of any kind.*

A screenshot of a thread on the r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns subreddit, titled “Third-party API access, or: I am so tired,” shared by user vibratoryblurriness, the main moderator of the subreddit. The left side of the screenshot contains the post. The text which is visible is as follows:

Unless you use Reddit under a rock you’ve probably heard the big fuss about Reddit restricting access to the site at the end of the month for third-party clients and tools. Lots of other people have written lots of great explanations so I’m not going to here. r/AskHistorians had what I thought was a good post about it, and there’s been a lot of good commentary and explanation from devs of various apps and bots, including RIF and Apollo. Go read some of those if you still need more information beyond “Reddit is killing all third-party apps and severely limiting what bots and other tools will be able to do.”

As far as this subreddit is concerned, we’ve historically been reluctant to make it private or restricted for protests before because it’s the main source of support a lot of people have, and it feels extra gross taking that away in the middle of Pride. We were waiting a bit to see how stuff played out, but as of earlier today the devs of many of the tools we rely on have officially given up after some very unproductive discussions with Reddit, and as of June 30th at the very least RIF and Apollo will have their access to the site disabled.

When that happens it will effectively kill this subreddit.

It’s already a minor miracle that we’re still up and running. It’s a semi-open secret that I’ve been doing most of the work myself for the past couple years because everyone else has had a lot more stuff to deal with in their personal lives or quit a while ago in protest of previous terrible decisions Reddit has made that made our jobs more difficult. Over that time being a mod has become an increasingly thankless task, as the admins have completely failed to address major problems like the massive number of repost/spam bots across the entire site. Now that they’re taking away the last things left that made it just barely tolerable I just can’t be bothered anymore and wouldn’t wish it on anyone else.

The right side of the screenshot features the subreddit sidebar, which includes a white, pink, and blue icon, the subreddit description (“Trans people making fun of themselves, others, and the situations they find themselves in with memes and gifs. For more detailed descriptions of the rules and posting guidelines, check out the wiki”), date the subreddit was created (August 4, 2012), its status (restricted), number of subscribers aka “shitposters” (393k) and number currently online (461). Some of the subreddit rules are also visible, including “1. Absolutely no bigotry of any kind.*”

Slide 21

The grid of machine-generated images from slide 9 is faded into the gradient background. On top in yellow reads the words “thank you.” Below are Kit’s contact details, include their email (kit.chokly@mail.mcgill.ca), Mastodon server and username (@kitchokly@zirk.us) and handle for other social media sites (@kitchokly).

The grid of machine-generated images from slide 9 is faded into the gradient background. On top in yellow reads the words “thank you.” Below are Kit’s contact details, include their email (kit.chokly@mail.mcgill.ca), Mastodon server and username (@kitchokly@zirk.us) and handle for other social media sites (@kitchokly).

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR). American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787

Atomiclizard456. (2021, December 18). I put the word gender in an ai art generator [Reddit Post]. r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns. 

Berlant, L. G. (2022). On the inconvenience of other people. Duke University Press.

Crawford, L. (2015). Woolf’s “Einfühlung”: An Alternative Theory of Transgender Affect. Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal, 48(1), 18.

Haimson, O., Dame-Griff, A., Capello, E., & Richter, Z. (2019). Tumblr was a trans technology: The meaning, importance, history, and future of trans technologies. Feminist Media Studies, 1–17.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2019.1678505

Isaac, M. (2023, April 18). Reddit Wants to Get Paid for Helping to Teach Big A.I. Systems. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/technology/reddit-ai-openai-google.html

Keegan, C. M. (2016). Revisitation: A trans phenomenology of the media image. MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research, 32(61).
https://doi.org/10.7146/mediekultur.v32i61.22414

Keegan, C. M., & Horak, L. (2022). Introduction: Transing cinema and media studies. Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, 61(2), 162–169.

Killer-Of-Spades. (2021, November 27). Part 1 of LGBTQ+ communities through AI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer). Comment more communities for me to do! [Reddit Post]. r/lgbtmemes. 

Malatino, H. (2022). Side affects: On being trans and feeling bad. University of Minnesota Press.

muddylegs. (2021, November 30). I got an AI to draw a picture of gender dysphoria [Reddit Post]. r/trans. 

shroomfarmer2. (2021, October 9). “non-binary” by nightcafe ai [Reddit Post]. r/ennnnnnnnnnnnbbbbbby.

Stryker, S. (2006). (De)Subjugated knowledges. In S. Stryker & S. Whittle (Eds.), The transgender studies reader (pp. 1–17). Routledge.

SyntaxErrorAtLine420. (2022, February 4). An AI interpretation of euphoria, now with video thanks to not going with wombo [Reddit Post]. r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns. 

vibratoryblurriness. (2023, June 9). Third-party API access, or: I am so tired [Reddit Post]. r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns. 

wildhomosexual. (2021, November 27). Put “nonbinary” into an art generator and the AI made this. [Reddit Post]. r/ennnnnnnnnnnnbbbbbby. 

Williams, R. (1977). Marxism and literature. Oxford University Press.

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