Imagine a picture of yourself, happy smile, nice pose, perfect backdrop – and nothing to hide your beauty. Nothing, because you’re naked. You wouldn’t take a picture like that? Oh, don’t worry. You don’t need to. There’s an app out there that will do the trick for anyone who wants to make pictures of you or anyone else. The app is called DeepNude, and Motherboard Magazine gave it a shot. Put simply, the app is a kind of low-level photoshop that will replace clothed parts of women’s bodies in pictures with fake boobs, vaginas, etc. Depending on the stock material, the app produces results that don’t look like a naked body at all – or very realistic one.
The app is clearly just another way of taking control over women’s bodies, objectifying them and calling it a “playful joke.” No harm done? It doesn’t matter if it really is you in these pictures or not. Just the mere possibility of the picture being real drags the target woman through the mud. Sent to the wrong people, these pictures can destroy careers, partnerships and lives. This is why we need urgent change of laws. Politicians in many countries have been talking about guarding women’s privacy and well-being, but most laws fall short by miles. Even if something is eventually outlawed, the crimes are often not enforceable or punishable. Like upskirting, which is not legal in many countries, but cannot be adequately punished.
There is no redeemable purpose for this application of technology, but it is more than just a waste of time. This app just shows that laws and politics are always behind, and tech is making it easier to take advantage of and violate women. Although it has recently been taken down, it’s only a matter of time before we will see another app taking its place. We need less bros and trolls making apps and more thoughtful men who would can respect women and just get on with life rather than spend their energy harming others.
-Kristina Kraemer
Junior Editor
Girl News International