My World

La Moreneta

Basilica of "La Moreneta"

Thought I might throw in a little context. She's up above the choir in the center of this shot.

Japanese Garden - Portland, Oregon

Japanese Garden - Portland, Oregon, originally uploaded by Alex Williams.

Estuarine Shades

Estuarine Shades, originally uploaded by Alex Williams.

Lily

img_4906Ilford_PanF_yellow_filter, originally uploaded by Alex Williams.

Gender & Racial Stereotypes

This is something I've been feeling more and more in the last few weeks, as the Democratic race for the nomination comes down to 2 candidates: 1 Black man, 1 White woman. Very interesting article the Boston Globe. Emphasis is mine.

Black man vs. white woman - The Boston Globe

Still, psychologists specializing in gender bias say that many studies have shown how strong a force gender stereotyping is.

In one particularly telling strain of research, called the Goldberg paradigm, two sets of participants are asked to comment on something, perhaps a resume or a speech or a work scenario in which a boss speaks with an employee. To one audience, the person involved is described as a woman, in the other he is a man. Time and again, male participants (and, in some cases, women as well) judge the resume more harshly if it is a woman's, or say the speech was strident if given by a woman but assertive if given by a man, or that the female boss was pushy while the male boss was concerned.

Women in these studies are typically judged to be less capable than men with identical qualifications, but it's not impossible for them to be seen as competent. The problem is that if they're understood to be capable, the majority of respondents also see them as less likeable.

"The deal is that women generally fall into two alternatives: they are either seen as nice but stupid or smart but mean," says Susan Fiske, a psychology professor at Princeton who specializes in stereotyping.

And unlike racial bias, there's little evidence that these attitudes are softening.

According to Eagly of Northwestern, the problem isn't that women aren't traditionally understood as smart, but that they traditionally aren't understood to be "assertive, competitive, take-charge" types. More than intelligence, she argues, this "agentic" quality is what we look for in leaders, and, as both surveys and experimental studies have shown, we find it deeply discomfiting in women.

"That's what Hillary Clinton is up against," argues Eagly. "She's had to show her toughness, then people turn around and say she's too cold."

Amy Cuddy, a psychologist at Northwestern, suggests that the durability of gender stereotypes stems in part from the fact that most people have far more exposure to people of the opposite gender than to people of different races. As a result, they feel more entitled to their attitudes about gender.

"Contact hasn't undermined these stereotypes, and it might even strengthen them," she says. "Many people don't believe seeing women as kind or soft is a stereotype. They're not even going to question it, because they think it's a good thing."

Tooby takes a more biological view. As he argues, in the prehistoric environment in which our brains evolved, race had no meaning -- no one could travel far enough to meet anyone who didn't look like them. Gender, on the other hand, meant a lot. It predicted what someone's status would be, what their priorities were, whether they were a potential rival or a potential partner.

Indeed, the only other trait that we notice as strongly as gender, Tooby points out, is age. Clinton is 60 years old, Obama 46. And no matter who wins the Democratic nomination, the face-off against the 71-year-old John McCain may introduce a whole new aspect to the identity politics of the campaign.

Drake Bennett is the staff writer for Ideas. E-mail drbennett@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.

Superdelegates

Postbulletin.com: Democrats woo superdelegates - Sat, Feb 16, 2008

This is how it's supposed to work.

Christianfascism is here

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.”

- Sinclair Lewis, It Can’t Happen Here.

Thanks to erynn999 for the heads up on this and to Gus. This is more of what I found and some important links to follow up on. This is truly chilling.

Religious freedom in military questioned - Yahoo! News

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Christian Fascism Comes to our military

The most disheartening thing I've seen recently. Follow the links and be assured of the dangers we face today.


Gus diZerega » The New Fifth Column

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Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you

How is it we have forgotten so much?

If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude             greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in             peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick             the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our             countrymen.

            - Samuel Adams