Re: new member presentation
On Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 12:40 AM, Monique Y. Mudama
<spam@bounceswoosh.org> wrote:
>
> Why would skills not have an innate gender bias?* Good question. But
> I don't put much faith in these studies and anecdotes, because it's
> hard to control for known bias in our culture, let alone be able to
> recognize it in all of its possible forms. From inside our cultures,
> we may be able to see certain patterns, but others will elude us
> because they're as invisible as air.
Sometimes folks that have grown up with such (negative?) patterns
will/may not go against the system ...probably due to lack of
knowledge or choose to live within it because they lack the resources
to bring about lasting change. I suppose recognizing and accepting it
is the first step.
> It's the subconscious things that will
> get you every time, and even if somehow parents managed to be
> miraculously completely free of any societal bias, they certainly
> can't ensure that everyone the child interacts with is free of these
> biases. There are grandparents, aunts and uncles, neighbors,
> teachers, random people on the street. Kids are good at picking up
> subtle signals; it's how they survive and learn to function in
> society.
Nicely put. These cultural layers (for lack of a better term) can be
so difficult to overcome that sometimes people may give in to the
sheer magnitude and social pressure (or other reasons I am unaware of)
as they learn that it does not pay to upset the applecart.
--
Vid
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