Race and Gender Bias in Online Courses

[Ana the Ist]

Thanks.

It looks like this article is criticizing the Implicit Association Test in particular. It's possible that the IAT isn't a good measure, and should be discarded in favor of some other measure.

It would be more troubling to me to see studies in which, say,
professors discovered that they were calling on students in category A twice as often as students in category B, and then the professors tried to correct their behavior, but were unable to correct it no matter what. This article doesn't seem to be addressing that kind of situation.

If you're referring to the study in the OP, you're looking at it wrong. 7-12% is a marginal difference. Imagine you asked me 100 questions one year and I only answered 7....then you asked me 100 questions the next year and I answered a whopping 12 lol. Do you think your reaction would be....

A. Wow! He answered almost twice as many questions the second year!

Or

B. Wow...no matter what I do, this guy ignores around 90% of my questions.

I mean 2 is double the size of 1...but out of 100...nobody would care or likely even notice. There's a reason this study is grasping at the straws of a tiny statistical difference.

 

[rjs330]

The problem here is people think bias and bigotry are the same thing. It's not. I think genderism is a mental illness. Some people buy into because it's chic. Those that are truly transgender are mentally ill and not normal. I feel for them as I would ANY person with mental Illness. I don't treat them any different than any other human being deserving my empathy. But to many because of that I'm a bigot. Nope, I just am realistic enough to recognize a problem when I see one.

 

[SummerMadness]

The problem here is people think bias and bigotry are the same thing. It's not. I think genderism is a mental illness. Some people buy into because it's chic. Those that are truly transgender are mentally ill and not normal. I feel for them as I would ANY person with mental Illness. I don't treat them any different than any other human being deserving my empathy. But to many because of that I'm a bigot. Nope, I just am realistic enough to recognize a problem when I see one.

You are attempting to redefine the frame in order to justify your mistreatment of another group. Even if we were to accept your "transgender as mental illness" argument, having a mental illness does not justify mistreating another person. This is the same misguided thinking I saw as a child where a kid would punch another kid with Downs syndrome while playing football because it was sport to him. Or when some of those ignorant bullies grow up, they target homeless people (often those with mental illness) with verbal and physical abuse. No one is confusing bias and bigotry, but bias leading to unequal treatment should be addressed. In the case of this class, removing names and pictures would help tremendously.

We've seen this type of racial discrimination previously with regards to applicants seeking a job or in a related case, people of color being denied mortgages or given less options despite similar levels of income and credit worthiness as their white counterparts. Whether you attribute this to bias or bigotry, it is a problem that cannot be ignored if we are to be a society that seeks to give everyone the same opportunity.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Whether you attribute this to bias or bigotry, it is a problem that cannot be ignored if we are to be a society that seeks to give everyone the same opportunity.

We cannot possibly be a society where everyone has equal opportunities. Smart people have different opportunities than dumb people. Athletic people have different opportunities than weak people. Beautiful people have different opportunities than ugly people.

Equal rights is the best we can hope for.

 

[rjs330]

You are attempting to redefine the frame in order to justify your mistreatment of another group. Even if we were to accept your "transgender as mental illness" argument, having a mental illness does not justify mistreating another person. This is the same misguided thinking I saw as a child where a kid would punch another kid with Downs syndrome while playing football because it was sport to him. Or when some of those ignorant bullies grow up, they target homeless people (often those with mental illness) with verbal and physical abuse. No one is confusing bias and bigotry, but bias leading to unequal treatment should be addressed. In the case of this class, removing names and pictures would help tremendously.

We've seen this type of racial discrimination previously with regards to applicants seeking a job or in a related case, people of color being denied mortgages or given less options despite similar levels of income and credit worthiness as their white counterparts. Whether you attribute this to bias or bigotry, it is a problem that cannot be ignored if we are to be a society that seeks to give everyone the same opportunity.

This is your problem, thinking that because people recognize a problem they mistreat people. It shows your bigotry to those people. I have never mistreated or been mean to anyone. Never. Yet you assumed I have. I have never belittled anyone with a mental illness, nor said mean things to them. So, it seems you need to take a step back. Shame on you for jumping to conclusions.

We need to stand up to bullies. All of us. How horrible for people to pick on downs kids or any other child who is struggling with something. We as a society for all our talk don't stand up for those being bullied. That includes the schools. For all their anti bullying rhetoric that are sadly lacking in enforcing the rules.