We all carry a number of biases in our head, which many a times we don't even recognize or accept. For example, in one experiment, a set of white people, who didn't consider themselves racist, were asked if they could help only one person who would they help in a situation where a black man and a white man needs help. Most of them went with the "white man". One conclusion of this study was that they were all racist, but they weren't aware of it. Personally, my conclusion is a little different. In my opinion, these people were not racist. These people just went with a more comfortable and familiar choice. In other words, white people are expected to know and be more comfortable with white people than black people. Therefore, selecting to help a white man is a more comfortable choice.
To give an analogy, a person from Country A is expected to be more familiar and comfortable with another person from Country A, than Country B. Does that make the person from Country A bad? No ways! However, there is certainly a bias, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
It's good to be aware of our biases. Here, I will like to bring another popular bias, which is gender bias. Many people think gender bias is a bias in favor of men and bias against women. That's not correct. It can be either way. In fact, such a thinking itself reflects the bias that we carry towards this term. To add, gender bias term also includes bias against or in favor of transgender people.
So, which bias is stronger in you? Try to answer a few questions, where you expect your biases to be in contradiction with each other and that can help you figure out the strength of each bias in you. To get you started, think about answers to the following questions:
1. If a white man slaps a black woman in front of you, who do you think is likely to be at fault?
2. If a black woman slaps a white man in front of you, who do you think is likely to be at fault?
4. If a white woman slaps a black man in front of you, who do you think is likely to be at fault?
After you have answered the above questions, reflect on how race and gender bias played a role in your thinking. Which answers were easier than others? Which bias came out stronger? Share your thoughts and experiences!
