Week 2 Hidden Bias Reflection

Something that interested me about the reading and my subsequent bias testing was the idea of the perpetuation of bias and its relationship with consciousness. It is clear that bias is perpetuated by most systems in society (most predominantly pop culture and media) and reflect a preference for the dominant discourse which is white, heterosexual, and male. However, something that may have come into play with my bias testing and others was 1) the consciousness that we’re being tested but also 2) the awareness that I didn’t want to fall into the expected rut of having a preference for the white, heterosexual, and male. That being true, my test-taking was imbued with a sense of caution and need for precision that wouldn’t have otherwise been there had this test been presented to me in a different way. There is a sort of counter-revolution in liberal communities like CalArts where the in-group is being actively redefined, and I think my proximity to that made me self-conscious of what my bias would probably be. I wouldn’t say I took active measures to steer my results in a different direction but I definitely knew why certain questions were being asked and what would indicate a certain preference over another. Because of this element of bias consciousness, I question the efficacy of what the test sets out to do. However, I do believe it was very effective at getting me to explore within myself where my biases live, and how I’d prefer to adjust them.