Consciously, I think that the main prejudice I have is relating to men and muggings. Being a teenage girl I generally don't feel very safe walking alone at night in St. John's Wood. I don't think it's fair to associate people of color with muggings and ignore the fact that white men steal just as much, especially in this area of London, so I wouldn't say that my prejudice is a racial one but rather a gender one based on personal experiences and stories I have heard. I have always been taught to stay cautious and aware of my surroundings, and I generally will become worried if I am by myself at night and there is a man on the street near me. I realize that this is a bad prejudice to have towards any group of people, but it is what I have grown up learning and I have confidence in the aspect of being safe rather than sorry. I am sorry to admit that I also have a prejudice towards girls and science. I have somehow convinced myself (perhaps due to influence or the society I am a part of) that boys are always going to be better at science. This is greatly represented at ASL; the students in the highest level math and science classes are almost all males. I think that this opinion I have may have effected my learning experiences in my math and science classes since I was in Middle School; I convinced myself that it was okay that I wasn't too good at math because I had strengths in other academic areas, primarily in humanities. I always wonder if the stereotype that boys are better at math and science didn't exist, would I enjoy math more and be better at it than I currently am.
This article talks of the stereotypes surrounding this prejudice.
How strong are your subconscious attitudes toward race?
“At a subconscious level, I would guess I have a neutral preference toward a group that shares my skin color.”“At a subconscious level, I would guess I have a mild preference against a group that has different skin color than my own.”
I think the prejudice toward men and mugging, with you living in the city, is probably not a terrible thing (as long as you don't act that way when you are in safe places).
ReplyDeleteThe math and boys prejudice is a big problem, and has been keeping girls all over the world from excelling in math and science. There is truth that boys can do math better than girls, yet schools or the media can perpetuate this. At ASL, we're troubled by the small number of girls in advanced math and science, but are not sure what to do about it.