Stereotypes

In the first portion of the Blind reading for today, Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald discuss two implicit bias experiments that were performed in order to reveal any underlying stereotypes when it comes to gender and race. The first one titled the “Becoming Famous Overnight” experiment revealed that within society, people tend to believe that a male has more of a potential to be famous than a female. Even when the subjects were explicitly asked if they believed this, they said they did not however their results said otherwise. Another experiment that was analyzed looked into the common inferences among the relationship between the black population and weapons. The results of these trials showed that “the automatic Black = weapons association is much stronger among all groups who took the test” (105). Through both of these experiments, it was proven that there tend to be negative implicit biases placed against women and the black population. These views cause both of these groups of people to be seen as “inferior,” even in the 21st century. However, what if you belong to both of these populations? What are the personal physical and mental implications of being a black woman? There are countless studies and trials performed on just the female or colored populations, but there don’t seem to be many analyses carried out that combine the two.

3 thoughts on “Stereotypes

  1. Emily Anastos

    That is a very important point to realize that there is a huge gap in terms of studies that combine the demographics of female and colored populations. I wonder how many other demographical gaps there are combining age, race, religion, etc!

  2. Rashel Amador

    I definitely agree that there should be more research on the intersectionality of being both a black and a woman. There are many other variables that factor into the experiences of women and I think it is important to acknowledge those other identities.

  3. Sofia Torrens

    I completely agree, I think that there needs to be more research combining two different marginalized groups for their stereotypes, not just continuing with one. People belong to so many groups and are most likely experiencing so many stereotypes which greatly disenfranchise them.

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