Savannah Daniels poses for a photo, Thursday, May 16, 2019, in Baltimore. Daniels, 32, a military veteran living in Baltimore says she realized she identified as female by watching episodes of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” television series while serving in Afghanistan as a chaplain’s assistant in the U.S. Navy. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
NEW YORK (AP) – Hit a button, and you’re “transformed” into a woman. The beard disappears. The face and jaw smooth out. The hair floats jauntily around the shoulders.
“Yo this is SPOT ON my mom.” ”Pretty.” ”Are you in a sorority?”
A swipe and another click. Suddenly you’re a square-jawed man – heavy of brow, sporting five o’ clock shadow.
“I look like my brother Jay.” ”Hahahaha Suzie I’m dyingggg.” ”My sisters were like, ‘um… strange. You’re kinda hot’ haha.”
The gender-bending selfies accompanied by flip or sarcastic comments are flooding social feeds since Snapchat introduced a filter this month allowing users to swap gender appearances with the tap of a finger. But for many people who have longed for a button that would change them in real life, the portrait parade isn’t a game.