I took the Transgender Implicit Bias Test and received a result of a slight automatic preference for transgender people over cisgender people. I was surprised by this result, as I believe that I likely have implicit biases that follow societal norms which, historically have been biased against transgender individuals. I was glad to not receive that result saying I was biased against transgender people, however, I am slightly skeptical. After taking the test, I went back and read that this particular test requires the ability to distinguish between the faces of transgender and cisgender celebrities. As someone who knows very little about celebrities, this takes away the biases that comes with easily recognizing famous people, and so I wonder if my result also suggests that I cannot distinguish between transgender and cisgender faces. If this is true, I would be comfortable with this idea, because I don’t think it should be up to someone else’s perception to determine someone else’s identity. Both cisgender and transgender individuals have a wide range of physical appearances, and many physical attributes that we ascribe to certain identities actually can overlap greatly, so in some ways using physical appearances to determine preference of transgender or cisgender individuals may be deceptive. I am glad to have received a result that suggests I am not biased against transgender individuals, however, I am skeptical of this result, and I think I still have a long way to go in fully aligning with the my implicit bias test result.
Critical Thinking
I find your test results interesting. I wonder the accuracy of the test as well. At what point do we believe we have biases that we in fact do not. Do these biases come from our parents or siblings? Sometimes I believe I have biases towards certain things when in fact, I shouldn’t or do not.
I also found your results to be interesting but also very insightful! I think your results tie quite closely with the reading/ podcast in the sense that bias (and even the phobia) of trans bodies is something that is learned in our society. That is to say, we are not born with a disposition towards trans bodies (Which is an argument very often made) but instead are taught that hatred by society.
I really like your take on how understanding that not being able to determine gender based on appearance is a good thing. While it is always proper to use someone’s correct gender identity if it is known, one cannot determine anyone’s gender just based off of just their appearance. I also think it is important to acknowledge that not everyone has to have an implicit bias on everything. While results may surprise you, that doesn’t mean they’re automatically incorrect!