Sexism @ MindSay 
men
Our Racist, Sexist Selves
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
NY Times Published: April 6, 2008
To my horror, I turn out to be a racist.
The University of Chicago offers an on-line psychological test in which you
encounter a series of 100 black or white men, holding either guns or
cellphones. You’re supposed to shoot the gunmen and holster your gun for the
others.
I shot armed blacks in an average of 0.679 seconds, while I waited slightly
longer — .694 seconds — to shoot armed whites. Conversely, I holstered my
gun more quickly when encountering unarmed whites than unarmed blacks.
Take the test yourself and you’ll probably find that you show bias as well.
Most whites and many blacks are more quick to shoot blacks, no matter how
egalitarian they profess to be.
Harvard has a similar battery of psychological tests online (I have links to
all of these from my blog, nytimes.com/ontheground, and my Facebook page,
facebook.com/kristof). These “implicit attitude tests” very cleverly show
that a stunningly large proportion of people who honestly believe themselves
to be egalitarian unconsciously associate good with white and bad with
black.
The unconscious is playing a political role this year, for the evidence is
overwhelming that most Americans have unconscious biases both against blacks
and against women in executive roles.
At first glance, it may seem that Barack Obama would face a stronger
impediment than Hillary Clinton. Experiments have shown that the brain
categorizes people by race in less than 100 milliseconds (one-tenth of a
second), about 50 milliseconds before determining sex. And evolutionary
psychologists believe we’re hard-wired to be suspicious of people outside
our own group, to save our ancestors from blithely greeting enemy tribes of
cave men. In contrast, there’s no hard-wired hostility toward women, though
men may have a hard-wired desire to control and impregnate them.
Yet racism may also be easier to override than sexism. For example, one
experiment found it easy for whites to admire African-American doctors; they
just mentally categorized them as “doctors” rather than as “blacks.”
Meanwhile, whites categorize black doctors whom they dislike as “blacks.”
In another experiment, researchers put blacks and whites in sports jerseys
as if they belonged to two basketball teams. People looking at the photos
logged the players in their memories more by team than by race, recalling a
player’s jersey color but not necessarily his or her race. But only very
rarely did people forget whether a player was male or female.
“We can make categorization by race go away, but we could never make gender
categorization go away,” said John Tooby, a scholar at the University of
California, Santa Barbara, who ran the experiment. Looking at the challenges
that black and female candidates face in overcoming unconscious bias, he
added, “Based on the underlying psychology and anthropology, I think it’s
more difficult for a woman, though not impossible.”
Alice Eagly, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University, agrees:
“In general, gender trumps race. … Race may be easier to overcome.”
The challenge for women competing in politics or business is less misogyny
than unconscious sexism: Americans don’t hate women, but they do frequently
stereotype them as warm and friendly, creating a mismatch with the
stereotype we hold of leaders as tough and strong. So voters (women as well
as men, though a bit less so) may feel that a female candidate is not the
right person for the job because of biases they’re not even aware of.
“I don’t have to be conscious of this,” said Nilanjana Dasgupta, a
psychology professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. “All I
think is that this person isn’t a good fit for a tough leadership job.”
Women now hold 55 percent of top jobs at American foundations but are still
vastly underrepresented among political and corporate leaders — and one
factor may be that those are seen as jobs requiring particular toughness.
Our unconscious may feel more of a mismatch when a woman competes to be
president or a C.E.O. than when she aims to lead a foundation or a
university.
Women face a related challenge: Those viewed as tough and strong are also
typically perceived as cold and unfeminine. Many experiments have found that
women have trouble being perceived as both nice and competent.
“Clinton runs the risk of being seen as particularly cold, particularly
uncaring, because she doesn’t fit the mold,” said Joshua Correll, a
psychologist at the University of Chicago. “It probably is something a man
doesn’t deal with.”
But biases are not immutable. Research subjects who were asked to think of a
strong woman then showed less implicit bias about men and women. And
students exposed to a large number of female professors also experienced a
reduction in gender stereotypes.
So maybe the impact of this presidential contest won’t be measured just in
national policies, but also in progress in the deepest recesses of our own
minds.
The test can be found at this link: http://backhand.uchicago.edu/Center/ShooterEffect/
The article at this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/opinion/06kristof.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Nicholas+Kristof%2C+April+6%2C+2008&st=nyt&oref=slogin
Freudian translation...? I'm thinking (1) says that I see Jason as some type of unobtainable person (like a character in a show) and possibly fake (because lets face it, soap opera ppl aren't exactly the best at acting)? I've no idea about the dark hair and beard. Possibly that I feel he's wearing a mask? Although if that's the case, it must be subconciously...because right here right now I don't think that. My initial response to (2) is that I'm recognizing that I'm attracted to guys who are "quiet" (like a mime) and closed - perhaps guys who aren't open to having a relationship, even though they're flirting? *shrug* I really would like to take a class or read a book or something on interpreting dreams.
Other updates include:
*Getting my hair cut! Wooooot! And possibly low lights and/or high lights. :) Btw, it's going to be ridiculously shorter ;)
*Going to campus today to grind my stone. Plan to see Greg and/or go out to dinner.
*I hate Lithography. I'm totally uninspired to come up with any creative imagery. Especially when I know that all Hilton will do is bitch and moan about it, cut it down, and basically say it's shit. He'll use his whole "A good drawing printed badly is a bad print and a bad drawing printed well is still a bad print" on me, then he'll turn to Micah who will have drawn a Windex bottle and a salt shaker (a sequel to his 409 bottle and cup--which, by the way, were completely out of perspective and proportion. Oh oh, AND because he was a dumb ass the "409" printed backwards) and say "This is printed nicely." God he's such an ass hole.
...Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much... the wheel, New York, wars, and so on, whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely the dolphins believed themselves to be more intelligent than man for precisely the same reasons.
-Douglas Adams
As people, I don’t think we can begin to fathom the consequences of our own actions, let alone the actions of humankind on a global scale. Yet, like a mosaic up close, one must step back to see the picture. What is seemingly chaotic can suddenly come into focus as a choreographed dance from a distance.
Therefore, we must do this when we think about the world we live in. To judge things from our own limited vantage point is like trying to touch the mosaic with your nose and still see what the artist intended. Our own assumed experience, knowledge, and beliefs lend us to discrimination against those things that are foreign to us, in their ideals, race, culture, or beliefs.
It is difficult to comprehend what discrimination has done. The problems that could be contributed to it are vast and countless, yet is still happens all the time. Discrimination, in the form of racism, sexism, and general xenophobia, has allowed countless generations of human beings to dehumanize each other, to make their fellow man less than human, merely something meant to be educated by force, liberated, battled, cleansed, killed and victimized. This discrimination causes its victims, not just feel worthless, but to keep a piece of that resentment with them, and pass it on to create an ongoing cycle of discrimination.
Countless deaths can be traced back to some form of discrimination on a small and large scale. Everything from petty disagreements to massive wars can be attributed to discrimination’s name. In war discrimination can even become a tool for soldiers who must, to keep their sanity, dehumanize the victims of war. You don’t hear many soldiers saying, “I just killed a man in battle that I held on equal grounds with myself.” You hear, “I killed three of those Japs today! or “Those Yankees didn’t stand a chance!” or “Mark me down for three of those towel heads.”
I think it says something about an action that requires the degradation of humans in order to complete said action.
To me, though, discrimination can be seen on smaller levels. Do we not constantly see the young discriminate against the old, and the old discriminate against the young? The younger seem to grow up thinking that older people know nothing at all, and older people think younger people are hopelessly lost. Do we not see in situations where there are strong differences in opinions that people can forget that they are only speaking opinion, that they dehumanize their opponent in order to keep their beliefs? Atheists and Christians have a long history of this. They end up calling themselves by those labels to avoid coming to terms with the fact that they are both just expressing their opinions, which allows them to keep feeling they have the superior position.
Yet we give differences of opinion their power to divide, not only within religion, but also in everything. We give them substance and make them as solid as walls between others and ourselves. It starts on a large scale. I live on this continent, in this country, in this state, in this county, in this city, in this house. We've set ourselves up for division. We do not just have rivalry between countries, but also between states, counties, cities, and in our own neighborhood. Then we build up our belief boundaries. I am part of this faith, or I am strictly part of none. I follow these political lines, or I don't believe in any of it. I drive this type of car, listen to this music, I am this race, this age, this ethnicity, this, that, and so on, so forth until each person can easily be pitted against the next.
These are not insurmountable differences, of course. There is probably some cosmic reason that we are divided, but should there not be common needs, common goals, and things that we can all agree on in general? For example, there are certain things that every one absolutely needs. If everyone must have these things to survive securely then everyone should be entitled to them. MMany of the world’s struggles come from the fear that we will not have what we need to survive. Some people would rather deny this to people because someone would stop doing his share knowing that he doesn't have to do anything to survive, but if people only worked for what was necessary, greed would be outdated.
It isn’t that it did not exist in politics before, but the masses seem to be politicized, made to be more active in politics because that is what is on TV. That is what is on the Internet. It is becoming more common to hear people referred to not as brother, or fellow human, but as liberals and conservatives. There is most certainly a difference of opinion, but this does not change the fact that we are all still human (except for those commies!). Regardless of what we believe, what we look like, and who we are, we are all still human, and we all still matter. I won’t claim that some day we will learn that we all have influence on the world around us; because that implies that everyone will want to take responsibility for his or her own actions.
I will suggest, however, that it would be a good thing if we could keep in mind that most opinions are in the realm of possibility, that all beliefs are valid if someone believes them. It would be a good thing if we learned that two opposing ideas can exist and everyone can still be happy. All ideas are valid in that they are all ideas, whether right or wrong.
Dear Whatever readers read my Blog,
This being my first blog, I feel the need to attack that which I feel is a growing hipocrasy in america and the world.
Racism. What is racism?
Racism is a belief or ideology that race accounts for differences in human character or ability, often manifested in a belief that a particular race is superior to others.
Racial prejudice refers to pre-formed notion of individuals based on their perceived racial heritage.It involves hasty generalizations about members of a group based on the perceived characteristics of one or more members of the group. Generalizations include beliefs that every member of a group has the same personality traits, interests, language, culture, ideas, norms and attitudes.
I will not attack Imus, stupid as his joke may have been. He has been slammed enough on here. I will however mention Afirmative Action, "History Months", and my own personal opinions. Take from this what you will. But before responding I ask that you examine your response, your beliefs, and take a good look at yourself in the mirror.
Afirmative Action, one of the biggest mistakes in American History. Why do I say that you ask? I say it because in of itself it perpetuates the belieft that there are different races. The last time I checked, we were all members of the same species. By seperating ourselves by the color of our skin, our religion, or our sexual preference we open ourselves up to hate and ignorance.
History Months, by their very nature are racist. I find the very exsistance of "Black History Month" and others to be offensive. Why? Because it perpetuates the belief that we are different. Going through high school, 5 years ago. I learned about the egyptions, the Romans, the Chinese, and then we have Black History Month. To me, it's stupidity. Instead of months exsisting for the purpose of seperating us, we should have a Human History Month. To teach that we are all the same, and that there is no difference.
But alas, I fear it is not to be.
I am sure people will argue and complain. I find most amusing when people argue that something is racist by being racist. IF your argument includes refering to your opponent as "white" and yourself or a group of people as "black"...You have proven my point.
Arguing that someone is an "Ignorant White Person" as I have seen on another blog..Does nothing but show that you are a racist. You hold a bias against someone else's opinion, intelligence and very person because of the color of their skin. Your very argument at that point is disgusting. I have heard people argue that all the months but black history month are white people's history. That statement is racist. period. Not to mention that even in the context in which you mean it is inaccurate. Romans were not "white", though they were highly intelligent human beings with a very advanced culture. Are you refering to the Egyptions as white?
What I am trying to get at, is that if everyone started seeing each other as People and not Colors. We wouldn't have the issues that we are having in America even today. Some of the most racist people that I have met are claiming that their people were victoms. Fine, but do I curse the British for the Irish Potato Famine?
There comes a time to let go of Racism and become better human beings. Being stuck in the past mindset of racial prejudice is holding us back. I am tired of hearing about any group of people in a race fashion. It insults my intelligence.
Someday, it is my firm belief that we will all be the same color. Not in my lifetime, but someday it is bound to happen. If that is needed to bring about unitiy within our species, then I grieve. I grieve for our children, your children and the suffering that ignorance brings about.
For those that choose to remain in the ignorant state of mind that judges by race, I hope you take a long hard look in the mirror after reading this. I have seen racism in my time, I am currently serving in Iraq near the Syrian Border. But unlike 95% of the Marines here. I converse with Iraqi's and treat them as complete equals. Often they are surprised and they ask me, "Why are you so nice?". To them I reply.
We are all the same, you and I. There is no need for hatred.
Sincerely,
Bill
Corporal USMC 2001-2006
General Dynamics IT Contractor 2006 - Present
Al Qaim Iraq
What are you, a 22 year-old college grad, completely unaware, and frickin' irresponsible?
My daughter had a friend for sleepover the other night at our house. She wanted to take this little girl shopping for her birthday present. So we went to the mall. Bombed out at the toy store, but hey, how about some clothes? Hey, there's a Sears! Let's go look.
They are both cute 10 year-olds that enjoy finding clothes in bright colors with snazzy icons on them, that say cute things.
Cute things.
Like, "can you resist this face?" We bought that t-shirt.
But there were a lot of clothes in there with attitude I'd prefer my kid doesn't adopt. Her school recently sent home notices about not wearing these kinds of clothes. Check out some of the sayings I saw on clothes for little girls and adolescent girls:
"I do what I want, when I want, where I want". On a set of pajamas for 10-12 year-olds.
"Your problem with this is WHAT?" on a t-shirt for 10 year-olds.
"Kiss my you-know-what" on the back of a pair of pants for 11 year-olds.
I just think this is highly inappropriate for girls' clothes. I get it that kids develop attitude when they become teens. I get it that they want to separate and become individuals as opposed to extensions of mom and dad. I support that process.
But I think we could send empowering messages, rather than Big Attitude ones. Especially for girls.
My daughter has a shirt I dearly love. I bought it for her. It says, "A wise man once said, "I don't know. Go and ask a girl."
I like this kind of messaging. My friend makes this cool set of duds called Boodha Babies. She has this hip baby, drawn in outline, with a diamond on its belly, grinning like a buddha, and saying, "peace, baby." I have seen other t-shirts with messaging on them like 'girls rule', 'girl power', and 'girls rock'.
This kind of messaging affirms girls, affirms kids, and sends out vibes that are more inclusional, and less attitudinal. What choices does a parent have, standing in a sea of clothes for kids with nothing on them but Big Attitude? How can parents find something the school, the other parent, and other kids won't have trouble with? Jeez...What are the clothing buyers at Sears thinking in stocking crap like the Big Attitude stuff???
Soon I'll be reduced to buying plain white t-shirts and painting / stencilling empowering messages on them.
Hey, now THERE'S an idea....
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