Good Doll, Bad Doll, Black Doll, White Doll

[Sorcha]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SnWmbjSg7E

A very heartbreaking report. It's really sad how we all think things have changed, but they really haven't so much.

[HumanInfiltrator]

Here at home things are even worse. The strangest things keep on happening. For instance my mother had a little black boy in her grade 4 class who when the class drew pictures of themselves drew his legs and arms black, but his face the peachy colour the white children use.

Stories abound about this type of thing. It is changing, after all we've only been at it for 10 years. My gr. 9's just finished a project on "Who am I". The amount of children who have children of two or three different races as friends are astounding.

[LyannaWolfBlood]

Wow...that's devastating. I guess it's good that it's prompted debate, but I'd love to think people were past that by now. Kids shouldn't have to live with that level of negative perception about themselves.

[Liadan]

That's incredibly depressing that racism on this level still persists - everyone thinks that things have changed for the better, but it really hasn't... =/

[Turambar]

Hrm....

Well, first of all, this is a bit hard to interpret. The only thing I could conclude is that the desired skin colour in the United States is white - just as much as the criteria for a beautifull woman is solidified in the photo model. The only shocking thing is where children that age are already aware of this situation. What hasn't been analysed is whether the causes of this phenomenon have changed since the original test - 50 years ago. But then again, this paradigm only identifies the stigma - it doesn't so much for it's sources.

I've told myself not to react on racism anymore, as it's far too complicated to understand. The more you get to deal with it, the harder it becomes to understand. Indeed, I can see how people are brought to a sense of superiority, however false it might be. As soon as the economical cake isn't sliced evenly over different ethnic groups, people start to have a grudge towards those who deviate from the standard - especially when the aforementioned cake is shrinking (ie, not growing fast enough) - or not big enough to serve decent portions to begin with...

Indeed, the USA have a very peculiar history when it comes to different ethnic groups - as far as mingling allows for room to talk of such. And as to cultural dominance, I suppose none had a real chance besides the Euro-American culture. Now, I can't comment on the American culture and the friction between different cultural subgroups (whether ethnic or not), but as long as the "white" Cowboy and Photomodel culture is dominant, I suppose this "good doll/bad doll" phenomenon will stay...

[Bard]

That's really sad, I thought we were past that. I guess I was mistaken.

[Turambar]

yeah, that's what everyone's been saying in this thread.

Indeed, the result is similar to the experiment of 50 odd years ago, but are the reasons the same for the outcome? I hear no one talking about that... What would for instance happen if you put down a fat doll versus a skinny one? Would the result be any different? Would that experiment have had the same outcome 50 years ago? Would these children already have figured out that a big-breasted doll might come further in "life" then a double-A cup peer?

(I hope) American culture has changed over the past 50 years. It isn't all that long ago that people coloured other then white actually had less rights. However, it's legacy is that the stigma is still that black people generally are less sucessfull in life (leaving in the middle who's to blame). And that is reflected on TV. I don't really think it's a wild guess that particularly this medium contributes to the stigma...

And don't think America is unique to this situation. I can hardly think of a country where this isn't the case. Sadly. The word is Muslim (and everything that looks like it) where I live now. It's really sad, but for some reason there's hardly anything I/we can do about it...

[Bard]

I don't see that problem that much where I live, to be honest with you. I'm sure it's still out there, though, seeing as that video is pretty convincing. Something strange, Turambar, is that Muslims where I live don't really get treated differently than say you're average person.

[Turambar]

Well, my point is that for some reason, one group or another is maltreated in media and (thus) public opinion. Now, I'm not American, mind. It happens to be that I'm quite sure that Media advertise the subordinate state of the Muslim societies at the moment. That has to have at least some repercussion in social life, similar as to what can be observed in the video mentioned above...

[Bard]

Absolutely. I was just pointing out that it's kind of strange that Muslims get treated virtually the same where I live while black people who have lived here for all of their lives get treated like dirt.

I'm not saying that it should be the other way around, I'm just saying that they should both get equal treatment.

[Dwimmerlaik]

black people dont get treaty like dirt for no reason. most of them "thuggs and gangsta's" do something to get people mad at them.

[curunir's bane]

Originally Posted by Dwimmerlaik

black people dont get treaty like dirt for no reason. most of them "thuggs and gangsta's" do something to get people mad at them.

Yeah, it's wonder racism will never end. How could it end when people cling to steroetypes, and generalizations such as this?

[Dwimmerlaik]

Originally Posted by curunir's bane

Yeah, it's wonder racism will never end. How could it end when people cling to steroetypes, and generalizations such as this?

oh and the "stereotype", sorry if its true. people dont just really hate someone for now reason. that person, or persons, have to do something to piss the other one off.

[Mububban]

That's not entirely accurate. Where I grew up, we have a lot of trouble with our local "blacks", the Aborigines. They know nothing of their native culture and have massive drug and alcohol abuse problems, which result in crime.

I'm fully aware that if I see a group of them in certain areas, I'm a good chance to get my head kicked in. However I'm idealistic enough not to judge every single one of them, in every situation where I might meet an Aboriginal, by saying "they're all the same."

Racism or prejudice means that no matter where you meet someone, whether it's in a gang, in a store, working in an office, on tv etc, you look at them and think "They're all the same" when obviously they're all very different.

I agree that stereotypes don't exist without some sort of reason. I've met some dumb blondes and being part Asian, I know that there are a lot of bad drivers among them (some of them are my cousins!). However my mum is Asian and is a very good driver, and I know some extremely intelligent blondes. So to paint them all with the same brush would say more about me than those other people.

[Jendra]

The thing I'm wondering is how it's changing and where? My granddaddy grew up on a farm. A young black boy (about his age, I believe) lived nearby, and worked with them and just kinda hung around in their free time. (Kinda dispels the belief about the Southern US, huh? :P) Nobody thought anything of it.

Honestly, I'm the most suspicious of a group of guys walking with do-rags, tall tees and sagging pants. I'm also suspicious of people who look Arab in an airport, but it's usually the men. I am very suspicious of skinny blonds who wear high heels and let doors slam in my face.