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    1 Last Year I Spoke On A Panel During A Campus

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    LEYENDKILLER ALBERTO
    This document discusses how stereotyping and discrimination are inherent parts of human social interaction. It argues that we all stereotype and discriminate unconsciously based on social roles and hierarchies. While some forms of discrimination limit opportunities and are unjust, other types of discrimination based on changeable attributes are less problematic. The document concludes that a completely bias-free society is impossible, but we should aim to reduce unjust discrimination, especially over attributes outside an individual's control like race or disability status.

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    1 Last Year I Spoke On A Panel During A Campus

    Uploaded by

    LEYENDKILLER ALBERTO
    109 views1 page
    This document discusses how stereotyping and discrimination are inherent parts of human social interaction. It argues that we all stereotype and discriminate unconsciously based on social roles and hierarchies. While some forms of discrimination limit opportunities and are unjust, other types of discrimination based on changeable attributes are less problematic. The document concludes that a completely bias-free society is impossible, but we should aim to reduce unjust discrimination, especially over attributes outside an individual's control like race or disability status.

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    1 Last Year I Spoke on a Panel During a Campus

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    This document discusses how stereotyping and discrimination are inherent parts of human social interaction. It argues that we all stereotype and discriminate unconsciously based on social roles and hierarchies. While some forms of discrimination limit opportunities and are unjust, other types of discrimination based on changeable attributes are less problematic. The document concludes that a completely bias-free society is impossible, but we should aim to reduce unjust discrimination, especially over attributes outside an individual's control like race or disability status.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    109 views1 page

    1 Last Year I Spoke On A Panel During A Campus

    Uploaded by

    LEYENDKILLER ALBERTO
    This document discusses how stereotyping and discrimination are inherent parts of human social interaction. It argues that we all stereotype and discriminate unconsciously based on social roles and hierarchies. While some forms of discrimination limit opportunities and are unjust, other types of discrimination based on changeable attributes are less problematic. The document concludes that a completely bias-free society is impossible, but we should aim to reduce unjust discrimination, especially over attributes outside an individual's control like race or disability status.

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    1 Last year I spoke on a panel during a campus-wide event on ending gender discrimination and

    patriarchy. Afterwards, a young lady asked, “Can I ask you a quick question?” I smiled and nodded
    yes. “Thank you. I wanted to ask you, do you think that stereotypes and discrimination will ever go
    away?” “But why are you asking me this question?” I asked. She looked stunned. “Well, I guess I
    asked you because you’re a professor and you just spoke on that panel, so I assumed you’d be
    knowledgeable.” “Precisely,” I said. “We’ve never met before have we?” I asked. She shook her head
    no. “Then didn’t you feel comfortable asking me your question because of the stereotypes in your
    head about professors?” She grinned. “I get it! I’m stereotyping you now and discriminating against
    you based on you being a professor.” “Yes!” I exclaimed.

    2 The truth is, everyone stereotypes and discriminates against people every day and for the most
    part, no one sees it as an injustice. For instance, I’m willing to bet that you speak differently to your
    best friends than you do a total stranger. The way I interact with my students is far different from how
    I interact with my parents which is far different than how I act with my friends. We all discriminate
    against others around us based on who they are, who we are, and in what capacity we know them.
    Neither stereotypes nor discrimination is inherently unjust or immoral

    3 When we interact with others, we tailor our performance to what we think our audience expects of
    us. Idealization describes the work we do to present a version of ourselves that we believe our
    audience will most appreciate. Therefore, the reason we talk differently to our friends, parents, and
    coworkers is that we are idealizing our presentation of self to suit the desires of the audience before
    us. Or put more simply, when we idealize our presentation of self, we are discriminating.
    4 How we behave is influenced by our place within our community’s social hierarchies. Your position
    within the hierarchy is determined by the social assets you possess. Social assets can be things that
    you are born with or they can be things that you achieve later in life.

    5 Take for instance the hierarchy of a family. Often it is the case that children are at the bottom of the
    hierarchy, their parents are above them, and their grandparents are above them all. Children hold the
    least amount of power and have access to the least amount of family resources. Parents have the
    authority to tell kids what to do, but kids do not have the authority to tell their parents what to do.

    6 Simply put, we cannot live without stereotypes and discrimination. When we meet people for the
    first time we use stereotypes to decipher who they are, what they might want from us, and how we
    should present ourselves to them. Our stereotypes are almost certainly not 100% accurate, but when
    we meet someone for the first time we have no other information to go on. However, this doesn’t
    mean that it’s okay to continue to stereotype people after you get to know them. Once you learn that
    your presumptions about another person/group are inaccurate, you are expected to adjust the way
    you’re thinking and behaving towards them.

    7 The larger idea here is that not all forms of discrimination are viewed as unfair or unjust. Hopefully,
    we can all agree that when stereotyping or discrimination limit an individual or group’s ability to
    achieve their goals, it is oppressive. For the most part, the forms of discrimination that we find most
    objectionable are those that are based on social assets that are beyond the control of the individual.
    For instance, being bigoted toward a person based on their race, gender, or disability status is
    considered an injustice. However, when the social asset being used to discriminate is one that the
    individual could’ve (at least partially) controlled, fewer people will view the discrimination as unjust.
    Employers discriminate against applicants who do not have a bachelor’s degree, for example, and
    few people complain.

    8 Stereotypes and discrimination are tools of oppression, to be sure, but they are also tools we use
    to make sense of our world and get through the day. We will never live in a world free of stereotypes
    and oppression, but we can strive to live in a world that is free from the injustices created by
    stereotypes and oppression.

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