Replicants

One of the big criticisms levelled against trans people, is that we are inauthentic in some way. That there is an artificiality to our existence. Because most of us ‘decide’ to change - elect to take hormones and get surgeries, living our lives in a way unfamiliar with the majority, we are fake. Some see us as pretending. Doing an ‘impersonation’ of an identity. We’re treated like Replicants in a Bladerunner film - abominations; to be identified, stripped down and discontinued. We are not equal, and the news reminds us of it daily.

I used to see crude, hand drawn cartoons on the internet sometimes. In these; a ‘trans woman’ would be portrayed - usually standing in a ladies bathroom, hairy and bulking - beyond the grotesque - extolling some sort of self-affirmation like: ‘I am woman, hear me roar’ or ‘Excuse me, my pronouns are she/her!’ They’re the ammunition of the ‘gender critical activist’ - who, as a rule, has a folder on their desktop full of them (just next to the folder full of child pornography). The situations depicted were absurd, and hideous. They were cruel, but easy to brush off - being as they were the rabid scrawlings of a nutbag.

In the original Bladerunner, a former policeman - Deckard - is sent to hunt down Replicants, which he attempts with brutal efficiency. Until he meets one he likes.

An irony I’m finding difficult to reconcile at the moment, is that trans people are being routinely demonised for our ‘inauthenticity’... and at the same time in our society; inauthenticity has never been so wilfully accepted. The rate at which generative A.I has been embraced, by seemingly everyone, is baffling. Businesses nationwide all suddenly share the same awful logo designer. Employers are insisting their staff team up with chatbots for the sake of efficiency. Filmmakers are happily dismantling their legacies; entranced by the magic machine that does what they tell it. Authenticity is dead.

There is nothing inauthentic about trans people. The decision to embark on a transition is, itself, a rejection of artificiality. We get tired of the performance we’ve been putting on for years to appease those we care about, so we decide to be honest for once. People aren’t used to it, and they can’t handle it. If anything, we’re too real for them - they can’t comprehend the idea that someone would dare to be so honest. To put so much at stake and roll the dice.

In a world where odd A.I images of people are the first thing you see when you unlock your phone now, you’d be lucky to see a real trans person instead. Except, these freaks who once took the effort to at least hand draw the grotesque caricatures of the bulking trans woman in the ladies room have embraced the artificial. Now, photorealistic videos are generated which depict ‘trans women’ engaging in all the things they’ve said we do, but previously had no video evidence to show. The worst ideas about us, brought to life by the incantation of a prompt. Then shared on social media.

In Bladerunner, Deckard locates a Replicant named Rachael. She is unique among other Replicants, in that she believes herself to be human - given false memories to convince her. Deckard does not kill her. In fact, he seems to fall in love with her.

The thing about propaganda is; it doesn’t matter whether people think it’s real or not. What’s important; is that it functions as ‘proof’ for as long as it needs to. An A.I video of a ‘trans woman’ screaming about pronouns outside a ladies room might not look 100% convincing, but it’s more than enough to create a memory for a person. A false memory. There is a distinctly different quality to A.I videos than traditional film or CGI. You can’t see the seams, and what’s generated fits more neatly into the frame. It’s uncanny. We don’t yet know what this could be doing to our brains - how it affects our perceptions about reality. Even the form - not displayed in the fantasy safe-zone of the cinema or the television, but the real. Social media is a form of documentary.

The enthusiasm with which generative A.I has seemingly been adopted by society, gives me mixed messages. Some see its potential to realise and manifest as a marvel - something to embrace, that’ll improve the future. At the same time; a lot of these sorts - like Elon Musk - have so little philosophical nuance that they can’t even love and accept their trans daughter. Perhaps he ought to ask Grok to explain to him why this looks so bad.

In Bladerunner, it is heavily implied that Deckard, by the end, starts to have doubts about his very own identity. He has seen what is possible, and the question of whether or not he is a Replicant becomes all encompassing. The propaganda no longer washes - and things are suddenly - conveniently - more complicated. The hunter becomes the hunted, and fates remain unknown. What once seemed artificial, now feels real.

I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Grown men, falling in love with algorithms. I watched a half woman, half strawberry hybrid breakup with a banana. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.

Hey, by the way - my short film ‘Transsexual Psycho Bitch Murder Party’ premieres this Saturday night at 8pm (GMT), over on my Youtube channel. Here’s the link if you’d like to check it out. Thank you.

Also, also: I have started uploading to my old Youtube channel again - just for casual little personal interest videos. Go and subscribe if you’re into that sorta thing.

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