GENDr is an attempt to answer some of the questions that are raised from a close reading of Cheney-Lippold. His interest is in how algorithmic models act as a form of persuasion, through “the capacity of suggestion to softly persuade users towards models of normalized behavior and identity…” How does this power of persuasion actually work? Do users of digital interfaces truly become slaves to the power of algorithmic inference? What does it feel like to have a system declare your gender identity?

When you use GENDr, you can “watch” the algorithm as it categorizes your gender, as well as the results of this marketing system: the varying products. On one hand, the application visualizes and brands these algorithmic models of marketing analysis. With its seductive design and modern interface, GENDr transforms this algorithmic process into readable ratios, all the while reducing the process of gender identification into a personal shopping experience. Further, the application transforms algorithmic surveillance into an interactive, digital, and, most importantly, personal experience. Issues of algorithmic control and concerns about privacy can be acted out through engagement with the app.

The goal here is to provide an alternative to the lecture or essay or even the gallery show. If we can produce and distribute an experience that engages in the same manner as the same apps and platforms which GENDr seeks to critique, then perhaps we can start to break the control which our algorithmic masters have over us as user/consumers.

See? It’s easy.