Assistentes virtuais de marca como reforço dos estereótipos e preconceitos

Abstract

The objective of the article is to reflect on the adoption of virtual assistants as a new type of brand expressiveness within the contemporary cybercultural scene. When observing the most common practices in the market, the recurrence of a process of naturalization of the stereotype of the image of a female character, notably of a black woman, in a trend that, in our view, reinforces prejudice stands out. When observing more usual market practices, we see several possibilities being used in different aesthetic, identity and linguistic directions. The concern concerns how this type of communication, characterized by a language coated with an astute, technological and essentially current logic, can slip a process of naturalization of the stereotype of the role of a submissive and servile woman, reinforcing racial and gender inequality. From researchers in the field of communication, we selected relevant examples of advertising scenario and examine empirical cases of visual representations used by brands, to discuss the logics that support this new format of media movement. It is evident that the images selected for the virtual assistants can become a kind of mental shield that normalizes and reinforces nefarious aspects of our society.