Unconscious Bias
Jul. 19th, 2015 01:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grimrose_eilwynnVery good piece on unconscious bias and how it's different from conscious prejudice:
http://www.ted.com/talks/yassmin_abdel_magied_what_does_my_headscarf_mean_to_you#t-414264
I have had some experiences with unconscious bias myself.
I grew up in a very small, out-in-the-country, mostly-white town. The people who weren't white had absolutely nothing to do with the people who were. (Once, I was running in PE in middle school and there were two Hispanic girls running behind me. "Hey, you're Mexican, right?" one asked the other. "So, why do you hang around with white girls?")
So when I went to college in a major city, it was a big culture shock for me. All of a sudden, I was encountering people of all different kinds of races, all gathered together in one place.
I got surprised by a lot of things -- like, for example, that my favorite artist was highly intellectual and also Hispanic. I was made uncertain by a lot of things -- for example, Black men intimidated me at first, being a white girl as I was. I made friends with a Chinese foreign exchange student, and he was actually one of the most outgoing people I've ever met. I had to confront these initial reactions and overcome them.
I've seen a lot of unconscious bias in family members as well. I won't name names, but I've seen people fake stereotypical Black inner city accents, talk about all Hispanics as if they're undereducated and willing to work for less, say that homosexuals are unnatural and not good at staying in committed relationships, and say that we don't need feminism anymore because women have total equality right?
I agree with the speaker in that video. I think it's good for us to have our unconscious biases challenged. I know that I'm a better person for it, and I'm better at picking out unconscious bias in other people than I used to be.
In fact, I would say that unconscious bias is the biggest race issue of today. Look, for example, at police officers arresting, shooting at, or being more suspicious of Black people. I highly doubt most of them woke up and thought, "I'm going to be a racist today and shoot a Black person because they're Black! YEAH!" It's unconscious bias that makes Black people seem more dangerous to a white cop.
Unconscious bias is why women get paid less than men, it's why people who aren't white are more likely to be detained or arrested. It accounts for a lot of the problems in today's society.
http://www.ted.com/talks/yassmin_abdel_magied_what_does_my_headscarf_mean_to_you#t-414264
I have had some experiences with unconscious bias myself.
I grew up in a very small, out-in-the-country, mostly-white town. The people who weren't white had absolutely nothing to do with the people who were. (Once, I was running in PE in middle school and there were two Hispanic girls running behind me. "Hey, you're Mexican, right?" one asked the other. "So, why do you hang around with white girls?")
So when I went to college in a major city, it was a big culture shock for me. All of a sudden, I was encountering people of all different kinds of races, all gathered together in one place.
I got surprised by a lot of things -- like, for example, that my favorite artist was highly intellectual and also Hispanic. I was made uncertain by a lot of things -- for example, Black men intimidated me at first, being a white girl as I was. I made friends with a Chinese foreign exchange student, and he was actually one of the most outgoing people I've ever met. I had to confront these initial reactions and overcome them.
I've seen a lot of unconscious bias in family members as well. I won't name names, but I've seen people fake stereotypical Black inner city accents, talk about all Hispanics as if they're undereducated and willing to work for less, say that homosexuals are unnatural and not good at staying in committed relationships, and say that we don't need feminism anymore because women have total equality right?
I agree with the speaker in that video. I think it's good for us to have our unconscious biases challenged. I know that I'm a better person for it, and I'm better at picking out unconscious bias in other people than I used to be.
In fact, I would say that unconscious bias is the biggest race issue of today. Look, for example, at police officers arresting, shooting at, or being more suspicious of Black people. I highly doubt most of them woke up and thought, "I'm going to be a racist today and shoot a Black person because they're Black! YEAH!" It's unconscious bias that makes Black people seem more dangerous to a white cop.
Unconscious bias is why women get paid less than men, it's why people who aren't white are more likely to be detained or arrested. It accounts for a lot of the problems in today's society.
