Intersectional Gender Representation in Corporate Social Media and Corresponding AI-Generated Images: Hallucinatory AI or Anamorphic AI in a House of Illusions?

Abstract

Abstract This study examined how companies visually constructed intersectional gender representation in their social media posts and how Generative AI may reproduce or reshape these practices. Drawing on gender representation research in corporate communication, the Stereotype Content Model, and visual social semiotics, we analyzed 300 Instagram posts from the top 100 Fortune 500 B2C companies alongside 300 AI-generated images created to mirror them. Using mixed-methods visual social semiotic content analysis, we compared compositional, interactional, and representational meanings, positioning representation as distributive and recognitional justice. Findings indicated that corporate imagery often signaled performative inclusivity in compositional and interactional meanings, while reinforcing persistent hierarchies in representational meanings. In contrast, AI-generated imagery appeared anamorphic, sometimes reflecting dominant representational patterns and other times distorting or reversing them in ways that rendered identity markers ambiguous or exaggerated. These findings highlight ethical challenges in integrating AI into corporate communication and underscore the need for organizational reflexivity, transparency, and accountability in visual content creation. This study contributes to emerging scholarship on AI ethics and gender representation in corporate communication and offers practical guidance for managers seeking to ensure that the use of AI supports inclusivity and social justice.