The stories we tell about women: Erotic chatbots and the trivialisation of consent
What consequences do erotic chatbots have for the treatment of real women? The exact consequences remain to be seen as the use of sextech increases. However, the stories that erotic chatbot apps tell about women are concerning. They objectify women, trivialise consent and treat women as a commodity for male, heterosexual pleasure. This needs to change. In recent years, there has been a rise in sexualised, female-gendered chatbots that are “designed and advertised as capable of providing erotic and emotive relationships,” as Chloe Locatelli writes . These chatbots are marketed towards men and replicate troubling, reductive stereotypes of femininity. If there is no pushback to how men (mis)treat sexual chatbots, the use of them will only reinforce misogyny against real women. Locatelli examines three AI chatbots marketed to male, heterosexual users. One of the main concerns that she raises with sexbots is that they replicate “stereotypes of [female] sexual servitude” and raise “concer
