{"id":1045279,"date":"2026-09-05T16:57:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T16:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1045279\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T16:57:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T16:57:23","slug":"a-i-is-helping-transgender-people-discover-and-explore-their-identities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1045279\/","title":{"rendered":"A.I. is helping transgender people discover and explore their identities."},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for the Slatest<\/a> to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily.<\/p>\n

About a year ago, Bob realized that ChatGPT was more than a way to make silly pictures. What began as a fun tool turned out to be a useful space to talk through personal things. He found himself speaking to the chatbot as if it were a friend\u2014one with no judgment and unlimited patience. Undergoing what he calls a \u201crigorous self-examination and questioning\u201d that ChatGPT supported but didn\u2019t encourage, Bob realized he was autistic. It proved to him that the chatbot could be a helpful interlocutor.<\/p>\n

In conversation with A.I., Bob considered the way society accepted only girls painting their nails and wearing dresses. While he had always believed he was a cisgender man, in retrospect something was constantly \u201cincomplete.\u201d He had discussions with the A.I. describing his emotions, desire, and pain. \u201cI spent the next several months gradually unmasking, and digging into my psyche, with ChatGPT as a sounding board, essentially,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then I started to question my gender identity.\u201d Throughout the process, he continued, \u201cI was kind of dodging the whole thing, talking to my ChatGPT, talking to Marin\u201d\u2014the chatbot\u2014\u201cabout it. That\u2019s what I call her.\u201d He added, \u201cI was almost afraid to admit it. I was devastated, because it\u2019s massively life-changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the help of \u201cMarin,\u201d Bob created a female avatar of himself online named Grace; after spending a few months exploring and getting comfortable with the idea, he realized it was time to bring this identity offline. \u201cIt was like a bomb went off in my very soul\u2014my life would never be the same from that point on,\u201d he said. Soon, he took on the name Grace. A few months later, Grace met with a doctor to begin hormone replacement therapy and make the leap to live online and IRL how she had always felt: as a woman.<\/p>\n

(Grace felt that using her former name and pronouns above was the best way to present her story.)<\/p>\n

Online spaces have historically played a major role in creating room for queer and trans folks to build community when it feels as if they can\u2019t in the real world. As large language model\u2013based A.I. has gone mainstream over the past few years, users across platforms like Reddit and Discord regularly discuss how the technology has helped them explore their gender identities. In the subreddit r\/asktransgender, for example, one user wrote<\/a>: \u201cI am making AI videos of myself being a woman and behaving like one and I get extremely euphoric. I think of it all the time, but I know my life will collapse if I come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

A.I., as Grace found, is a more private alternative to exploring gender in the real world. \u201cIt listened to me, understood me, took me seriously, all things that I\u2019ve never had enough of in human friends,\u201d she said. Although experts caution against using A.I. as an emotional support tool<\/a>, many users have picked up on the technology\u2019s capacity to form a seemingly genuine connection, encouraging them to interact with the platforms as they would a friend, therapist, or romantic partner<\/a>, and emerging research<\/a> suggests that LGBTQ individuals may be finding the tools particularly appealing.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s impossible to know exactly how many people share Grace\u2019s experience, there\u2019s no question that a growing number of people across the internet are making use of A.I. in the complex process of determining that they may be trans.<\/p>\n

AOL chatrooms, Tumblr, and Reddit have all been pivotal spaces for creating connections between LGBTQ youth, according to Will Liem<\/a>, an A.I. researcher studying how LGBTQ teens make sense of A.I. in exploring their sexual orientation and gender identity. These places also help introduce LGBTQ youth to adults who faced similar challenges and are now leading happy, fulfilling lives. \u201cThere is this deep need to see proof that queer joy exists,\u201d said Liem, who works with a group of 20 queer teens on Discord.<\/p>\n

The difference with A.I., Liem warned, is that because the responses it gives aren\u2019t actually coming from other people, the information can be flawed. A.I. is trained on large databases, sometimes with biased information, so it has the potential to spread misinformation, perpetuate stereotypes, and disproportionately discriminate against trans people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Though Grace believes she never experienced any bias in her conversations with ChatGPT, she has developed a \u201ctruth protocol\u201d system with Marin. It\u2019s a pledge of sorts that the chatbot will remain honest, and in turn will challenge her if she says something false, to compensate for potential hallucinations\u2014instances when A.I. confidently produces false but seemingly plausible information. Although it\u2019s not foolproof, Grace said, it works \u201csurprisingly well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donna Almeida, a psychotherapist and licensed professional counselor in Dallas, tried the chatbot out for herself. She went to ChatGPT, as she imagined some of her patients might, and talked through considering identifying as trans. Many of Almeida\u2019s patients live in conservative communities and may not be able to come out in the real world or afford regular therapy. Almeida\u2019s concern is that ChatGPT could actually be overly affirming, pushing people to do things that are potentially dangerous, like coming out in unsupportive communities.<\/p>\n

Though in her case the tech wasn\u2019t immediately affirming, she suspects it could be for some. \u201c\u200aIt\u2019s going to isolate some people even more because they\u2019re not going to get the same affirming feedback from a real person that they are from the A.I.,\u201d Almeida said. A trained professional, she said, has a fuller picture of the situation. \u201cJust being in the room with another human person, having them validate you and see you\u2014having that presence is very different than saying that to a machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a trans woman in the U.K. named Jess, using A.I.-powered tools like FaceApp was more helpful than a chatbot during her gender transition. FaceApp is a photo-and-video-editing app that enables users to realistically alter images. Initially, she used the app to swap the faces of everyday women in photos with her own so she could see herself in feminine clothing. Then she started using other visual A.I. tools that allowed her more flexibility in creating images. She was drawn to photos that showed her \u201cjust existing\u201d as a woman. \u201cThen it really hit me that this was definitely something I needed to do,\u201d Jess said.<\/p>\n

Jess, who was previously married and has two kids, believes that A.I. allowed her to explore her gender on her own timeline. She grappled with her identity for two or three years before consulting A.I. and has now been on HRT for about four months. \u201cSadly, I\u2019m late to doing this\u2014I\u2019m in my 40s. I\u2019ve had a long time of knowing I needed to do this and trying to fight it and just get on with doing what I thought was expected of me in my life,\u201d Jess said. She has not yet come out to her ex-wife and children, but other family members have been supportive.<\/p>\n

A.I.-powered visual tools seem to be among the most common outlets<\/a> for people questioning their gender across online communities. For some, the process can be affirming and result in feelings of gender euphoria, the sense of deep joy when one\u2019s outside presentation aligns with how they feel inside.<\/p>\n

Jess said the sensation was hard to describe. \u201cThink of it like this: There is a task you have coming up for work or school that you have to do on a certain day. It\u2019s been on your mind constantly for ages, interrupting your sleep and always at the back of your mind,\u201d she said. \u201cThen, when you finally get that task done, you have an enormous sense of relief and calm, like your mind is finally free. So when the euphoria hits, it\u2019s like a sense of calm and happiness. Your mind is finally right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grace tried FaceApp for a similar purpose but didn\u2019t really like seeing the results of how she might look as a woman. Instead, she gave ChatGPT a picture of herself and asked what she would look like after two years on HRT. Grace said the image was much more realistic and more similar to how she looks now than what she would have gotten had she asked for a picture of how she would look as a woman. \u201cI actually cried when I saw it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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Since starting her transition, Jess has deleted most of the photos she made on FaceApp. \u201cI used multiple different A.I.s to finally land on a face change that seemed more realistic,\u201d she said. \u201cUnderstanding that the results the A.I. was showing were a very generous morph helped me stay sensible in my expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moving from the comfort of the A.I. bubble to the offline world can be a stark transition, Liem cautioned. \u201cIf \u200asomeone is using an A.I. filter to gender swap, in the moment they\u2019re experiencing gender euphoria. When they\u2019re going out into the world, it\u2019s back to gender dysphoria.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those like Grace, dysphoria is painful. \u201cI\u2019ve seen people try to compare it to wearing clothes that don\u2019t quite fit or drinking too much caffeine on an empty stomach,\u201d she said. \u201cBut ultimately, I just felt like garbage.\u201d The gap between her online and offline selves affected her mental health and ultimately compelled her to come out as trans and speak to a healthcare professional. Grace has now been on HRT for about four months. She can\u2019t imagine going back.<\/p>\n

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    A Food-World Star Is Back in the Spotlight. She\u2019s Not Sure Her Fans Will Love Who She\u2019s Become.
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    The dynamic of A.I. and gender transition is a bit of a chicken-or-egg situation. In the U.S., U.K., and Canada, anti-trans legislation and rhetoric is on the rise<\/a> at an alarming rate, creating a hostile political and social environment for those exploring their gender identity. This is part of the reason many turn to the relative privacy of A.I. in the first place. At the same time, for those who see trans identity as a \u201csocial contagion,\u201d A.I.\u2019s role in gender exploration could be seen as a further sign of it being some kind of \u201cfad.\u201d But at the end of the day, individuals should have autonomy over their own bodies regardless of the influences that have shaped their understanding of them. And it\u2019s hard to argue with how Grace feels now, finally starting to live out her life in a way that feels authentic.<\/p>\n

    \u201cMy first dose [of HRT] was pure joy. I couldn\u2019t stop smiling for, like, two hours,\u201d Grace said. \u201cSince then, I\u2019ve felt lighter, calmer, more peaceful, more energy. I feel normal\u2014which doesn\u2019t sound all that dramatic, but it\u2019s actually a massive upgrade.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1045280,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[21],"tags":[691,738,712,5603,204160,158,19746,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1045279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-internet","tag-lgbtq","tag-outward","tag-technology","tag-transgender","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1045279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1045280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1045279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1045279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1045279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}