AI slop content has taken over our social media feeds. And brought racist and misogynistic stereotypes with it.
Over the last year, AI slop has taken over all of our social media feeds. From Tung Tung Tung Sahur to Fruit Love Island, it first seems like this type of content is just harmless entertainment – a way of passing the time when you are bored. But once you become aware of the misogynistic and racist undertones in the videos, you can’t really ignore them anymore. You start to ask yourself: is this actually funny, or could this have a damaging effect on its consumers?
The Same Story in Every Video… Over and Over Again
@fionabby_5 #aitrend #aistrawberry #trending #aifruit #fyp
original sound - Fiona
The premise is mostly the same: the female fruit, often a strawberry, cheats on the male one, either because her new partner is offering her money or due to her own sexual desire. The person she cheats with is a darker, bigger fruit than her husband, who is usually the same fruit or color – for example an eggplant or a bar of chocolate. Sometimes she’s also involved in some "group action" with multiple purple "veggie-daddies". After some time, the female fruit becomes pregnant and gives birth to a cute little fruit baby that does not resemble her same-fruit husband. That is how he finds out that she was cheating on him. As a result, he leaves her and the baby and often starts over with a more beautiful fruit woman than his wife.
Of course, the story sometimes changes a bit – because what is AI if not creative? (Yes, that was irony.) But it always contains the same subtle message of misogyny, racism and colorism.
Dark Eggplants and Pale Strawberries – Stereotypes in the Form of Fruit AI Characters
While not obvious at first glance, it doesn’t take long to discover the racist and misogynist stereotypes represented by the fruits and vegetables.
@colorfultales02 #fruits #fruit #aifruit #tales
original sound - colorfultales02
The female fruit, for example a strawberry, is always portrayed as attractive, with a curvy yet slim body and an overall feminine appearance. For the eggplant "veggie-daddy" it is very easy to seduce her. And of course, her promiscuous behavior is punished in some way by the end of the video.
The overwhelming number of stereotypes in these narratives is deeply concerning. Not only do they reduce women to their appearance, but they also reinforce the harmful message that there is something wrong with a woman being sexually active. The one-dimensional characters who cheat on their husbands also resemble narratives common in the "manosphere" and "red-pill content."
Racist and colorist undertones are very present in this type of content as well. The eggplant men are depicted as overly masculine and as using the fruit ladies for their own enjoyment. They are portrayed as aggressors who bring harm upon the family of unripe, pale strawberries.
Some videos even include transphobic or homophobic messages. In others, the female character is sexually assaulted. Of course, the story frames the assault as some kind of secret affair. Sometimes she experiences pain after the intercourse. No matter which video you watch, it always feels somewhat strange once you look behind the strawberry lady’s funny face and realize that you might actually be consuming a form of weird fetish content.
Harmless or Harmful?
While this type of content might not have a huge impact on adults, it is important to remember who else is watching it – teenagers and children. And their “political” opinions are not fully formed yet. So what they watch may influence them more than the average critically thinking adult. While the long-term effects of AI on the younger generations are still unknown, it is clear that the media helps to shape their worldview and beliefs. And beliefs shaped by stereotypical AI fetish content are definitely not a good foundation for an equal society.
