Mon May 18, 2015, 11:35 PM
Star Member Liberal_in_LA (36,614 posts)
You might not think you're sexist – until you take a look at your bookshelf
But passive bias is still bias - and it has ripple effects into the broader culture. Is it really so much to ask that we pay attention to what shapes our tastes?
For example, I was riding the subway recently when I noticed my seatmate scrolling through a Twitter feed that looked remarkably like mine. I was tickled to be sitting next to a like-minded person, but as I looked on I noticed there was one thing that seemed to be missing from his newsfeed: women. He was following fantastic and smart men, but still - as far as I could tell, all men.
I got the same uneasy feeling when I listened to a podcast interview with a TV showrunner and writer that I admire. He spoke eloquently about his passions and mentors - and the people whose work he liked most. All men.
I’m sure both of these people are smart, engaged and not deliberately or actively sexist - but when your worldview is solely shaped by men, you are missing out. And like it or not, your taste in music, books, television or art says something about you: it sends a message about what you think is worth your time, what you think is interesting and who you think is smart. So if the only culture you pay attention to is created by men, or created by white people, you are making an explicit statement about who and what is important.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/18/you-might-not-think-youre-a-sexist-until-you-take-a-look-at-your-bookshelf
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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)Tue May 19, 2015, 12:10 AM
Star Member haikugal (2,225 posts)
1. This has been true since I was in HS...
I had no idea how influenced I was by the surrounding culture. It takes thought and reading, talk and OP's like this, but we can all improve. The difference between then and now is that there are many more women to look to in our culture than before. We need to keep going!
Thanks for the OP...great post!
Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)Tue May 19, 2015, 02:14 AM
Star Member Behind the Aegis (36,674 posts)
2. Same applies to racism and heterosexism (and a few other -isms).
As someone who is an avid TV viewer and has a husband who is the same, and is an avid movie watcher, I noticed this with people's viewing habits, too. How many books do people have from GLBT writers or about GLBT topics or watch programs/movies with POSITIVE portrayals of GLBT people? What about books/movies/shows about other cultures/countries?
It is a function of the subconscious, IMO, to seek out "similar". It takes more of a conscious effort to change it, and finally let it (searching out "the other") be something that easily appeals to you.
Response to Behind the Aegis (Reply #2)Tue May 19, 2015, 03:54 AM
Star Member cali (101,316 posts)
4. the first LGBT book I read was a novel called The Well of Loneliness
I was around 12 and it had a huge impact on me. It was in my parents' library- which was a pretty amazing place. My much more modest library is well represented by works from LGBT authors and minority authors. I've always sought out different from me when it comes to reading.
Response to laundry_queen (Reply #17)Tue May 19, 2015, 08:27 AM
Sobax (110 posts)
20. I already know that I pick books because they interest me
Not because the author is a certain gender or race. It's just not something I pay any attention to. No further introspection is necessary.
And for what it's worth, some of my favorite authors are female. There are no "prejudices" to examine
Response to Sobax (Reply #20)Tue May 19, 2015, 09:11 AM
Star Member gollygee (17,268 posts)
24. The whole point is that, by not paying any attention to it,
people often unknowingly limit themselves in the way the article says. It's a suggestion to start paying attention to it.
Response to kcr (Reply #49)Tue May 19, 2015, 03:30 PM
Sobax (110 posts)
52. Well I haven't sat down and worked out exactly what the male-female ratio is
But I'd guess 70-80% of the books I read are written by men, which apparently could mean I'm unconsciously sexist according to Jessica Valenti.
Response to Sobax (Reply #52)Tue May 19, 2015, 03:35 PM
kcr (8,444 posts)
53. Well, yes. That's the point.
It's not conscious. But once it's pointed out, one can either respond by making a conscious effort to search out other authors to diversify their tastes more, or reject the premise as if it isn't possible and remain deliberately ignorant. But once it's been pointed out it's no longer unconscious. It's a choice.
Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)Tue May 19, 2015, 11:23 AM
Bluenorthwest (35,808 posts)
32. Oh my God, it applies to all minorities as well. Example, it's obvious from the posts about LGBT
issues from many straight posters that they have never, ever read any LGBT political books or speeches, they have no idea what, for example, Harvey Milk actually talked about nor what ACT UP did and worse, they don't want to know. They want to assume. So that's what they do. Smugly and with great certainty, they assume.
but when your worldview is solely shaped by men, you are missing out.
Harvey Milk
I read Sue Grafton and watched Star Trek episodes written by DC Fontana.
My worldview is balanced.
How many books do people have from GLBT writers or about GLBT topics or watch programs/movies with POSITIVE portrayals of GLBT people?
A newly discovered form of hidden bigotry, detectable only by DUmmies.
:yawn:
oddly enough, there just doesn't seem to be a huge market for books written in ebonics or having a lisp.
I read Marx, 60's feminists and gay rights authors. Not just a few but dozens. Not books about them but books BY them (HINT: It's why my moles have been able to so easily hang out with the HoF'er heifers).And I suppose you don't see any irony in your comments in bold above. Calling women "heifers", posting in a forum where one of your posters still uses the "N-word" without even a visible cringe from his cohorts, and in a thread where the title drops the word "queer" and the author of the OP calls another poster a "faggot"?
I realized just how demented and hateful they were so I became a conservative and never looked back.
And I suppose you don't see any irony in your comments in bold above. Calling women "heifers", posting in a forum where one of your posters still uses the "N-word" without even a visible cringe from his cohorts, and in a thread where the title drops the word "queer" and the author of the OP calls another poster a "faggot"?
And you talk about not looking back at the demented and hateful people you left behind? I'm sure you don't see the irony, so let me explain: you're still associating with (and behaving like) demented and hateful people.
And I suppose you don't see any irony in your comments in bold above. Calling women "heifers", posting in a forum where one of your posters still uses the "N-word" without even a visible cringe from his cohorts, and in a thread where the title drops the word "queer" and the author of the OP calls another poster a "faggot"?
And you talk about not looking back at the demented and hateful people you left behind? I'm sure you don't see the irony, so let me explain: you're still associating with (and behaving like) demented and hateful people.
Yet, the mental degenerates that are your compatriots have no objective except to force everyone else to become like them.I get your point, and the difference between you and femininsts is and always has been totally clear: When I challenge a femininst about her point of view, she'll insult me, rage at me, and get me banned from her private feminist enclave at DU. When I just challenged you, you raged a bit and then made some bizarre threat of violence -- true to the standard discourse: If you perceive me as a threat, you'll kill me.
I condemn wanton violence but I'll shoot you through the ****ing head without an ounce of remorse if I find you inside my house uninvited.
Get the difference?
The language anyone chooses to use is immaterial.Of course, Dog. That's always the case.
You have no right to not be offended, but you have two choices: the choice to read or not read, and the choice to reply or not. What you don't have is a claim, or power to demand, anyone else to accomodate your feeeelings.
You see, Buzz, words are like abortions. If you don't like the word '******', don't use it.
I get your point, and the difference between you and femininsts is and always has been totally clear: When I challenge a femininst about her point of view, she'll insult me, rage at me, and get me banned from her private feminist enclave at DU. When I just challenged you, you raged a bit and then made some bizarre threat of violence -- true to the standard discourse: If you perceive me as a threat, you'll kill me.
Got it.
Now, after that needless little tangent, my point remains. And for the record, it's always been my complaint about The Cave. You carry on and on about how stupid, hate-filled, and depraved DUers are, but your behavior is no different. Well, other than the veiled threats of violence, of course -- that's your exclusive ground.
Of course, Dog. That's always the case.
But, if I support the right for somebody to arrange for an abortion for their concubine, the Right-to-Lifers will call me an accessory to murder. Similarly, if somebody here calls someone a ******, they'll be called out on it. It's the full cirlce of free speech -- you can say what you want (within very few constraints), but when you say something stupid or offensive, there is likely to be someone around to exercise their free speech in reacting to you.
(I am not going to elevate this to the level of a sh*tstorm; but, I did want to point out a couple of things. I also recognize that I will pay the price. )
when you say something stupid or offensive
Mostly correct, but you have a glaring error right in the middle of it.You are correct. That was sloppy wording on my part. In this context, "stupid" and "offensive" are purely subjective based on personal interpretation.
Just because you are offended, doesn't make the words 'offensive'. It means only that you are offended. Your emotional response is yours, and is not universal. Otherwise, the same characterization could be applied to literally anything, because somebody may take offense - which would make the word meaningless.
You are correct. That was sloppy wording on my part. In this context, "stupid" and "offensive" are purely subjective based on personal interpretation.
Thanks. If someone had taken offense at your characterizations of 'stupid or offensive' words, we'd be here all day trading butthurts!
"The Well of Loneliness" Yeah, I'm going to move that to the top of my reading list, right under "The Downward Spiral" and "The Bottomless Pit."
Why would anybody read something like that? I mean willingly, recreationally, for fun, not being forced to for some horrible college course?
It sounds like it should come with a bottle of Xanax and a bottle of cheap vodka.And a revolver or a razor blade.
I don't trade butt-hurts; I give them away.
I'm like the Santa Claus of Butt-Hurt. I have a list, a global logistics and distribution network, regularly scheduled stops and -- most importantly -- a factory full of unpaid third-world laborers making butt-hurts for all the little boys and girls.
Of all the posts here in the DUmpster,,,the one with queers attracts Buzzy like a moth to the flame.You never get it. Calling a liberal "gay" is not an insult.
Does anyone know if Buzz Click is gay?
You never get it. Calling a liberal "gay" is not an insult.
You never get it. Calling a liberal "gay" is not an insult.
You never get it. Calling a liberal "gay" is not an insult.
Hey DUmmy ..
Doesn't consciously forcing one's self to read materials by authors one normally wouldn't read make one just as 'bigoted' ? It's about the same as eating everything on one's plate because of 'the starving children'. -its done not for enjoyment, but requirement. So, in one's heart, one is still 'bigoted'.
Reading all the "right" books is so :kumbaya: . It's more like being Sheeple, but I don't see the emoticon of the sheep skipping rope.
(http://blog.coyoteproductions.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Jump-rope-all-together.gif)
I am just amazed at the many ways a feminist can find to be offended.
I am just amazed at the many ways a feminist can find to be offended.
Keeps 'em so busy there's no time for shaving or exercise.