This was very interesting. This also caused me to think and pops up three randomish thoughts
1. the show Better of Ted did an interesting a quite good episode that to me got this point across. On the episode the main show company had in an effort to decrease cost set up motion sensor lighting that did not recognize darker skinned employees. Or as one article put it, "the episode’s underlying premise is that the company has added light sensors to everything to save money, only it turns out the sensors can’t see black people. This isn’t racist, mind you, because “the company’s position is that it’s actually the opposite of racist because it’s not targeting black people, it’s just ignoring them. They insist the worst people can call it is indifferent.” These indifferent sensors lead the company to try several failed solutions which are ostensibly cheaper than just removing the sensors, like giving the blacks their own drinking fountains or having them each get their own “white shadow” to trigger the sensors for them"
2. I did a really interesting research paper once on how Colonizing countries used Hamatic beauty standards to "conquer and divide" native cultures and how that let to concepts of high yellow which are still seen prevalently today in the type of ethic actors and models used in media. (ie how becomes famous and not)
3. I like to use my husband of an example of how arbitrary the concept of race is. He will tell you he is white, I agree, and most anyone who has ever known him agrees. If his mother had stayed with his father he would be deemed by society as Hispanic. His mother is white Texan(she would be mad if I didn't include that); his father was a Mexican.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ninetydegrees
no subject
on 2010-03-02 12:48 am (UTC)1. the show Better of Ted did an interesting a quite good episode that to me got this point across. On the episode the main show company had in an effort to decrease cost set up motion sensor lighting that did not recognize darker skinned employees. Or as one article put it, "the episode’s underlying premise is that the company has added light sensors to everything to save money, only it turns out the sensors can’t see black people. This isn’t racist, mind you, because “the company’s position is that it’s actually the opposite of racist because it’s not targeting black people, it’s just ignoring them. They insist the worst people can call it is indifferent.” These indifferent sensors lead the company to try several failed solutions which are ostensibly cheaper than just removing the sensors, like giving the blacks their own drinking fountains or having them each get their own “white shadow” to trigger the sensors for them"
2. I did a really interesting research paper once on how Colonizing countries used Hamatic beauty standards to "conquer and divide" native cultures and how that let to concepts of high yellow which are still seen prevalently today in the type of ethic actors and models used in media. (ie how becomes famous and not)
3. I like to use my husband of an example of how arbitrary the concept of race is. He will tell you he is white, I agree, and most anyone who has ever known him agrees. If his mother had stayed with his father he would be deemed by society as Hispanic. His mother is white Texan(she would be mad if I didn't include that); his father was a Mexican.