Douglas College student research essay submitted as partial requirement for GSWS 2101: Gender Today (Fall 2021) course. Faculty sponsor to submit this essay to DOOR: Dr. Jill Fellows.
The use of virtual assistants is increasing every day, as a technological tool that is marketed as a necessity to assist in making our modern lives more efficient. These tools are designed to help us with daily tasks such as searching for information, reading emails, writing messages, making calls and scheduling meetings with others. The most popular examples “Siri” or “Alexa” have been created with specific gendered characteristics and behavior as the author points out “virtual assistants are very obviously gendered. Siri and Alexa both have female names”, (Fellows, forthcoming 2022) designed with a personality of submissive and serviceable, as the author mentions “they portray a gender binary dominant-submissive relationship, positioning the user in the dominant position, and they play out subordination as feminine.” (Fellows, forthcoming 2022)
