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Re: Race, Gender, and Other Categories in Alt Text for Headshots

for

From: Guy Hickling
Date: Feb 13, 2016 9:33AM

I think I have to disagree with all the comments made so far! I do
humbly apologise, and hope none of you mind too much! But it seems to
me we are missing the most important point - that the blind screen
reader user is surely entitled to all the information that is being
conveyed by the photograph to sighted people - possibly limited just a
little by considerations of legal considerations and fairness to the
subjects of the head shots, but not much. To refuse to supply supply
the available information to the blind person is discrimination
against them.

So, sex first (most important!) Say in the alt text whether the photo
subject is a man or a woman - it isn't always obvious from the name,
but it is a most important piece of information if the blind user is
planning to meet or even just contect them. A blind woman might not
want to apply for a job where all her collegues would be men.

Perhaps adding Mr, Mrs, Ms etc before the name will do it, though for
doctors and proffs you would also have to add a bit more. Even if the
first name gives it away to many users, remember some users from other
cutural backgrounds or races (there, I've said it!) may not be so
familiar with the name.

Next, how are they dressed? What a person wears is very relevant to a)
what kind of person they are, and b) how they want to be seen by
others. In a business - a page of directors' or employess' mugshots
for instance, how the whole group is dressed (or permitted to dress by
company rules) says a lot about the people and also the company ethos
and its employee relations (a blind person might want to see that
before going to a meeting there).

Is the photo subject casually dressed or in a suit and tie (if male)?
Is a lady in a smart suit for business or a casual multi-coloured
jumper? Presumably the person dressed the way they wanted to be seen
as on the day they were due to pose for the mugshot.

Again, is the photo intended to say anything else about what the
person is like? Or is it just a simple pose? We probably don't care if
a person is standing or sitting if they are just posing for a straight
portrait. But if they are obviously posing in a special way to convey
something then that should be inlcuded in the alt text. We hardly ever
see a photo of Richard Branson. We only see photos of Branson doing
something, because thats they way he is and how he likes to be seen.
And he is always laughing, or at least smiling. I don't know if all
Branson alt texts say "a cheerful Richard Branson" or "a laughing
Richard Branson", but if they don't they should, and blind people
would then gradually build up a picture over time of the kind of
cheerful person he is, the same view that most sighted people have
formed of him.

As for the setting a person is photographed in, is that important? If
it isn't, if it just happens to be where the photo was taken, then
don't weigh down the alt text with it. But if it is important (often a
difficult conclusion to make, of course) then include it.

Age: hmmmm, now it gets difficult. The web developer could offend a
lot of people including his bosses here! Perhaps the simplest thing to
do, if a company website is showing photos of employees, perhaps the
company should ask them if they are willing for their (very
approximate) ages to be mentioned, and how? It is difficult, but then
why should a blind person go to a meeting or a job interview without
knowing whether the person is much younger than them or older than
them, when sighted people go to the same interview with that
information obtained from the company website?

Of course, noone will see the information in alt text except blind
people - though search engines might possibly pick it up - do they
show text from alt text? I can't remember ever having seen that. Maybe
the photo subject should have the right for their age not to be
mentioned in any way to avoid them being discriminated against, but
check what they put on their Facebook first - perhaps its all out
there!.

Finally, race and colour. Yes, this is difficult I agree, because of
the hatreds some people can form as a result. Sighted people are
expected not to show bias when they see a person's colour (we can't
help what they feel inside). Maybe not mentioning it in alt text
forces a blind person not to have bias, I don't know. Again perhaps
the simplest thing to do, if a company website is showing websites of
employees, why not ask them if they are willing for their colour to be
mentioned? Some will be proud of it, some will not want it mentioned,
for all sorts of reasons (including fear of discrimination). But to
mention it might show the company's diversity (or lack of it).

I hope this kicks off more discussion about the subject (even if some
disagree with me). And what would blind people like to see on this?
Alt texts for mugshots is a difficult one.

Perhaps what we need is an agreed standard on what information to
include for mugshots and full length portraits, and what more personal
and possibly contentious information to omit? Anyone in W3C reading
this?

Regards,
Guy Hickling
01635 860 728
http://www.enigmaticweb.com