Published January 23, 2025

A Richer Picture

A reflection on gender and alt-text

Page 1 of a 6 page comic. Panel 1 contains a drawing of a laptop with a video call open. The present or says, “Looks like we still have a few folks trickling in…” Next to the drawing, a caption reads: “I recently attended a presentation on alt text: how to use it, good and bad examples, etc. *Alt text describes an image online & is often read aloud by screen readers used by visually impaired folks.” Panel 2 begins with the caption, “Someone asked how she should approach describing gender:” Below is a drawing of someone with light skin and short, dark hair looking at the computer screen. A speech bubble from the computer says, “What if there’s someone who I think might be a woman, but I’m not sure how they identify?” Panel 3 begins with the caption, “I was surprised by the reply.” Below, the presenter replies, “Well, for someone using a screen reader, it doesn’t really matter how someone /identifies/. Ideally, you should describe someone as a man or a woman so they can picture that person’s body shape.” Panel 4 contains a drawing of the person with dark hair looking at their computer, surprised. A speech bubble from the computer says, “Oh, okay…” On the right side of the panel, a caption reads, “I couldn’t help but think that she must have assumed that she was speaking to a solely cisgender audience.”

Page 3 of a 6 page comic. Panel 1 opens with the caption, “Me, who is occasionally assumed to be a 14-year-old boy (until I open my mouth to speak).” To the right is a drawing of Al holding the door open for someone off-panel. They say, “Thanks, bud.” Panel 2 caption: “Personally, I feel like her system is incredibly reductive for not only me, but also those using screen readers.” Below is a man wearing a baseball cap. He holds up his phone, which emits a speech bubble that says, “A man and a woman holding hands.” Panel 3 contains a drawing of pictograms of a man and woman holding hands. Caption reads, “I don’t know about you, but I struggle to assign singular images to the words ‘man’ and ‘woman.’” Panel 3 is a tall panel that contains only text: “I’ve known many men and women throughout my life, none of whom look identical. Was this not the case for her? She must have never met someone who she couldn’t categorize at a glance, as she was asking us to do.”

Page 4 of a 6 page comic. Panel 1 is long and this, and contains only text: “Why does someone’s ‘body shape’ even matter if the focus of the image isn’t on them, but rather what they’re doing or looking at?” The next three panels contain the same image: someone looking at fish in an aquarium. They cascade down the page with alternating captions next to each: “A young woman looks at tropical fish in an aquarium.” / “A teenage boy looks at tropical fish in an aquarium.” / “A young person with light skin and short, dark hair looks at tropical fish in an aquarium.” Bubbles guide the viewer’s eye from one caption to the next, and flow down to the bottom of the page. At the bottom of the page is the final panel, which is just the caption: “The focus of the image is the fact that someone is looking at tropical fish - not whether that person has a penis or a vagina.”

Page 5 of a 6 page comic. Panel 1 takes up the top 2/3 of the page, and contains three captions over an image of Al isolated on a black background. Their eyes are closed, with their arms out on either side of them and a pillow behind their head. They are shirtless, with their top surgery scars visible. They are wearing boxers. Within the panel, a thin frame surrounds their image on the black background, reminiscent of an x-ray machine. The captions flow from top to bottom and read: “What would she think of my body shape? I don’t have breasts.” / “Does she need whoever’s using the screen reader to know what my genitals look like?” / “This isn’t to say you should purposefully create vague and allusive alt text.” Panel 2 opens with the caption: “If you know the gender (or race) of a subject, describe it! If not, and you’re describing an image where one or two people are the primary focus…” Panel 3 contains just the following caption, isolated on a black background and surrounded by a thin, white frame: “…I’d argue that breaking a person down into their individual physical traits provides a richer (and often more accurate) picture.”

Page 6 of a 6 page comic. Panel 1 contains only text: “I wonder if she knows that some people who look like me use screen readers, too.” Panel 2 opens with the caption: “Here’s how I hope a stranger would describe me:” Below is a photograph of me (Al) with the following image description beneath it: “Photo of a person in their 20’s with light skin, short dark hair, and soft features. They are wearing a black leather jacket over a salmon-colored sweatshirt. They are smiling at the camera.”

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