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READING TRANSNESS IN AI NARRATIVES: HOW ARTIFICIALITY CONSTRUCTS TRANSGENDER IDENTITY

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Date Issued:
2023
Abstract/Description:
Transgender identity and the concept of artificial intelligence are constructed and understood through dichotomies such as natural/unnatural and real/artificial, with each dichotomy informing the other; what is “unnatural” is often deemed to be a mimicry of the “natural,” therefore a false representation of what is “real.” By surveying various classic SF texts and their portrayal of AI characters through the lens of transgender studies—drawing upon scholars including Susan Stryker, Sandy Stone, and Florence Ashley—I assert that artificiality itself is a construction formed by cisnormative ideals and standards to exclude certain others (namely, transgender people) that requires reframing. I examine how these representations in works such as Richard Powers’s Galatea 2.2 reveal and articulate the constructed dichotomies and cultural narratives which surround transgender identity, as well as how contemporary, trans-authored works such as Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous can offer tools for responding to and reconfiguring those dichotomies.
Title: READING TRANSNESS IN AI NARRATIVES: HOW ARTIFICIALITY CONSTRUCTS TRANSGENDER IDENTITY.
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Name(s): Sheridan, Tristan , author
Miller, Timothy , Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Department of English
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2023
Date Issued: 2023
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 80 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Transgender identity and the concept of artificial intelligence are constructed and understood through dichotomies such as natural/unnatural and real/artificial, with each dichotomy informing the other; what is “unnatural” is often deemed to be a mimicry of the “natural,” therefore a false representation of what is “real.” By surveying various classic SF texts and their portrayal of AI characters through the lens of transgender studies—drawing upon scholars including Susan Stryker, Sandy Stone, and Florence Ashley—I assert that artificiality itself is a construction formed by cisnormative ideals and standards to exclude certain others (namely, transgender people) that requires reframing. I examine how these representations in works such as Richard Powers’s Galatea 2.2 reveal and articulate the constructed dichotomies and cultural narratives which surround transgender identity, as well as how contemporary, trans-authored works such as Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous can offer tools for responding to and reconfiguring those dichotomies.
Identifier: FA00014196 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2023.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Transgender fiction
Artificial intelligence in literature
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014196
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.