Well hello there!
Let’s explore implicit biases. We all have them. These are biases of which, by definition, we are unaware. Yet they shape reactions and actions and thoughts. Implicit biases are usually learned from the dominant culture of exposure. This includes family-of-origin and the narratives and media you learned in that home. But it also includes the culture at large - school, friends, national discourse, etc.
Becoming aware of implicit bias can be shocking or painful - your biases may contradict your conscious beliefs and values. Becoming aware of one’s own implicit bias can motivate actions for change - in the individual and more broadly. For example, evidence for implicit bias is a key factor in calling for ‘blind’ auditions or applications - e.g. blocking decision makers from demographic factors and requiring the filling of positions to be based on merit or fit alone. When auditions/applications are blinded, underrepresented groups are selected more often. On the individual level, if you have an implicit bias that you do not want, you can work to unlearn or overcome it. For example, you can expose yourself to people in groups you have implicit biases against and consciously work to be calm, friendly, and kind. You can also be thoughtful about what information enters your mind - what narratives are you watching? what authors are you reading - and make choices to invite information that is counter-stereotypical.
Implicit bias is often thought of in the context of race, and it is hugely important in the work for racial justice in the U.S. However, implicit bias impacts our reactions to all kinds of human categories. Consider going to https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/selectatest.html to check your implicit assumptions around age, weight, gender, religion, etc etc etc. (They’ve even made one about presidents…) And I invite you to share your results in the comments - anonymously if you’d prefer - because I think it would help us to know we are not alone.
I’ll share mine in the comments, too!