This week’s podcast/readings discussing implicit bias and stereotypes reinforces what I already knew about both of these topics. Especially in my Women Gender and Sexuality Studies courses, these two topics are widely discussed, and how these stereotypes and implicit bias affect the everyday lives of those around us. I find Dr.Bezios’s point so true that no matter what we are looking at or talking about, whether its an ethnic group, our campus culture, or various other  ideas, we inherently create bias in our own heads, even if we don’t mean to, and the only way to curve this and make it better is by exposure to other types of cultures and listening/learning about these cultures.

Hearing Dr.Bezio in the podcast talk about stereotypes of groups of people and the implicit bias’ towards them makes me think  about  my own life experiences. I was privileged enough to never  experience stereotypes based on the color of my skin, and because of the very diverse middle/high school i went to, I did not see as many of these stereotypes come into play; Although I knew it was already present in media and I saw it, I never really saw it in person or experienced as much of it until later in high school and college.

 An area I have experienced implicit bias is the fact that I am Jewish. Although looking at me you might not be able to tell, I am very open when it comes to my religion, as it is a part of my culture and heritage. When I tell people I am Jewish, I am often met with responses such as “you don’t Look jewish”, or “you/your personality doesn’t seem jewish”. This is due to the implicit bias/stereotypes that jews have large/curved noses, or even the assumptions that  Jews control businesses/financial markets or are money hungry, or even the idea that jews agree with everything  that the Israeli government says/are more loyal to Israel than anything else. Sure, this may be true for some people, but is an extreme stereotype that does not apply to the entire group. For those who are open to learning and removing these bias’, I usually try to help educate others, whether its  teaching about jewish history/rituals, or discussing the holidays or letting them try some of our signature food dishes, people being willing to learn and grow truly is a solution to make these stereotypes and implicit bias’ lessen.