tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/stereotypes-7626/articlesStereotypes – The Conversation2024-03-10T06:42:33Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2241662024-03-10T06:42:33Z2024-03-10T06:42:33ZHappy smiling African children: why school tourism in Zimbabwe shouldn’t be encouraged<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578562/original/file-20240228-26-doqnyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Children will often sing and dance for visiting tourists.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pascal Deloche/GODONG</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A large, air-conditioned bus draws up outside a school. Tourists, most from Europe and the US, disembark, cameras at the ready. Some have brought gifts: packages of pens and pencils. They distribute these to the children, who spontaneously begin singing and dancing. </p>
<p>This scene and others like it play out in schools around the world. It’s called school tourism. It’s similar to <a href="https://theconversation.com/modern-slavery-and-tourism-when-holidays-and-human-exploitation-collide-78541">orphanage tourism</a> and so-called <a href="https://theconversation.com/slumming-it-how-tourism-is-putting-the-worlds-poorest-places-on-the-map-61320">“slum” tourism</a>, in which tourists visit orphanages or “slums” in poor countries to witness poverty and suffering. These sorts of tourism come with several ethical problems: photography of unconsenting children and adults, intrusions on people’s private lives, daily interruptions to children’s routines and issues of child protection.</p>
<p>Tourists visit a school for between two and three hours. They usually enter classrooms, photograph children and sometimes watch cultural displays like singing and dancing. These tours are generally part of an arrangement with a tourism company but exist in a multitude of forms globally. As an example, a school tour often sits within the itinerary of a tour of southern Africa, or alongside wildlife tourism ventures.</p>
<p>In Zimbabwe, schools have arrangements with tourism companies that enable funding for infrastructure and sponsorship of children. In Matabeleland North, close to Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls) and Hwange National Park, for example, 19 out of 20 companies <a href="https://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/26974">interviewed by researchers in 2012</a> provided some sort of support, sponsorship or infrastructure to schools in nearby areas. </p>
<p>These partnerships are often in conjunction with an exchange of philanthropic funding for access to their school. This phenomenon has also been reported in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09669582.2019.1643871">Fiji, Zambia</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738321000906">Kenya, Ethiopia</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13683500.2010.540314">Mozambique</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/zimbabwes-shattered-economy-poses-a-serious-challenge-to-fighting-covid-19-135066">Zimbabwe’s economic troubles</a>, including severe hyper-inflation, are <a href="https://theconversation.com/inflation-is-spiking-in-zimbabwe-again-why-high-interest-rates-arent-the-answer-187362">well documented</a>. Schools are poorly resourced and, in government schools, teachers are often unpaid or <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/africa_zimbabwe-teachers-reject-promised-salary-increase-far-too-low/6198233.html">earn below the poverty line</a>.</p>
<p>I am a Zimbabwean-born Australian woman and a trained secondary school teacher. In 2015, I was working with a school in Zimbabwe as part of my university degree and witnessed this tourism myself. In 2019, as part of my doctoral research, I spent one term at a school in Matabeleland North. It received 129 visits from tourist groups that year alone. </p>
<p>During my time there I talked with teachers, tourism workers and NGO staff. I also asked students to draw <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02508281.2022.2133812">pictures of their experiences of tourism</a>. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17508487.2023.2286230">a recently published article</a> I contribute to the growing field of research about how schools funded by tourism operate. I offer a critique of how an image of “Africa” is reproduced for the tourist gaze, and the fact that images shared by tourists after their visits further inculcate damaging tropes of the African continent as a place only of extreme poverty and neediness. Schools funded by tourism become a mirror of the tourism industry. </p>
<h2>The study</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17508487.2023.2286230">My research identified</a> the sorts of images involved in marketing of tourism that portray a static and cliched <a href="https://theconversation.com/ordinary-peoples-stories-can-change-the-worlds-views-about-africa-48597">image of “Africa”</a>. This includes landscapes filled with animals, extreme poverty, white women and men dressed for safari and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-00607-7">images of Maasai men</a> herding cattle. Smiling, happy children are another part of the image.</p>
<p>The tourism workers I interviewed tried to prevent the continuation of these images by presenting counter-narratives of how Zimbabweans live. But they were not always successful. This is partly due to the structured nature of mass tourism initiatives: tourists are sold an itinerary and this must be followed. Since the school tours are part of broader tours of southern Africa, the school and tourism workers felt a need to conform to a particular image – and this involved interactions with happy children. When teachers and schools feel a need to conform to a particular image, their actions and choices are constrained.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/changing-the-african-narrative-through-social-media-platforms-97097">Changing the African narrative through social media platforms</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The school I worked with had different arrangements with three tourism companies. One donated US$200 in cash on every visit. Another had promised to build one classroom block. The third company actually founded the school, providing teachers’ salaries and significant infrastructure development. Some tourists had also donated larger pieces of infrastructure, such as the materials for a borehole and electrical connections to the main grid.</p>
<h2>The findings</h2>
<p>The school tours are disruptive to students and staff. They are a diversion from the usual routines of the school. One teacher said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sometimes you may be called, maybe you did not know that there are visitors coming and they just want to come in at that particular time … Then you are called off the lesson and the time does not wait for you. It goes and that subject is being interrupted. Then you are no longer going to be able to move onto the next subject now. Since you had already introduced the previous lesson, you will not leave it in the air, you have to finish it, so the next subject now is being disturbed.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-close-up-look-at-what-happens-when-tourists-and-maasai-communities-meet-84095">A close-up look at what happens when tourists and Maasai communities meet</a>
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<p>The school in my study found it difficult to balance the perceived needs of the tourists and the institution’s needs. As one of the school leaders put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We have to look at it in the sense that, yes, it is taking time: it is probably asking the kids to do something that they would not just usually do when meeting someone. But you have to look at the guest side of things, and also think, these are the people who are helping us. Potential helpers, some are already helping, what are (the tourists) taking away?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The children were <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02508281.2022.2133812">highly aware of the need to please the tourists</a>, whom they saw as fulfilling a particular need. Tawanda, aged 10, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I would prefer to come to school which has visitors because they will be helping us. When there are no books, they will be paying, they will be giving us some money, and we buy some books. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Teachers worried that some groups would donate less if they weren’t able to interact with children.</p>
<h2>What should be done</h2>
<p>Ideally, school tours should not occur at all. However, due to Zimbabwe’s economic instability, schools are becoming increasingly resourceful to find avenues for additional funding. Although they are not a perfect solution, philanthropic partnerships need to exist.</p>
<p>My research does not suggest that people should avoid visiting Zimbabwe as a whole and I do not want to suggest that philanthropic funding of schools is necessarily bad. Rather, it is important to seek out tourism experiences that do not homogenise culture and cultural experiences. Tourists should also consider the itinerary of any tours they book and aim to avoid companies that offer school tours.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224166/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathleen Smithers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A school tour often sits within the itinerary of a tour of southern Africa, or alongside wildlife tourism ventures.Kathleen Smithers, Lecturer, Charles Sturt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2201212024-01-31T13:35:57Z2024-01-31T13:35:57ZHow Black male college athletes deal with anti-Black stereotypes on campus<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572017/original/file-20240129-23-pzkon0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Professors have lower academic expectations of Black college athletes compared with white college athletes, a study found.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/basketball-makes-me-fulfilled-royalty-free-image/1407119795">supersizer/E+ Collection/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In an effort to avoid stereotypes about Black male athletes, such as being labeled a “<a href="https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/jade/vol3/iss3/1">dumb jock</a>,” Spike, a college football player, says he wore athletic clothes to class as little as possible. </p>
<p>“I mean, granted, I’m a 6-foot-4, 240-pound Black kid on campus, so it’s kind of hard to get away from that,” he said. “But I didn’t want any, you know, significant confirmation that I was an athlete. So, I just wore like a collared shirt, jeans and nice shoes every day.”</p>
<p>Trey, a baseball player, refrained from speaking up or sharing personal information – even with his teammates. </p>
<p>He said he was often “outnumbered in opinion” as he was one of two Black athletes on a team of 40, which led to him “not even wanting to speak up” about issues that may cause conflict with others. “I’m a Black student-athlete and, like, that already makes me have to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2022-0108">carry myself</a> a different way,” he said.</p>
<p>I’m a professor of sport management who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902221082042">researches</a> the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902221082042">experiences of Black male college athletes</a>. During the 2020-21 academic year, I <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2022-0108">interviewed 16 Black male college athletes</a> at Division I colleges across the U.S. I wanted to know how they changed their behavior to navigate stereotypes about them. </p>
<p>I also asked participants, who competed in numerous sports – including football, baseball, cheer, diving, and track and field – to record audio diaries about the topic as part of the study.</p>
<p>I found that these college athletes, at times, went out of their way to change how they present themselves to others in order to avoid anti-Black racism and “dumb jock” stereotypes on campus. At other times, they pushed back against these stereotypes as a form of resistance.</p>
<h2>‘I don’t bring up that I am a student-athlete’</h2>
<p><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Presentation_of_Self_in_Everyday_Lif.html?id=Sdt-cDkV8pQC">Self-presentation</a> refers to how someone acts or behaves during social interactions in order to influence how others perceive them. For example, a person may change how they speak, or their word choices, depending on who is around them.</p>
<p>The Black male college athletes in my study altered their presentation in a number of ways, including their dress or clothing and their speech. They also limited how much information they shared, and at times they hid details about their identity.</p>
<p>Marc, another football player, reflected on how being a Black male college athlete affected how he spoke – both the frequency and delivery – during class. “You have to be, like, more engaged,” he said. “You got to assert yourself more and you got to be more analytic about things.”</p>
<p>These adjustments were not restricted to academic environments. Marc was also careful about what information he shared in various athletic settings, too. “You do not really <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2022-0108">talk about personal stuff</a> or anything like that,” he said. </p>
<p>Participants did not want their vulnerabilities used against them by their coaches or academic advisers.</p>
<p>Another strategy Black male college athletes used was hiding details about their identity – most often their athletic identity. Tyler, a track athlete, noted, “I try to make sure I don’t bring up that I am a student-athlete. I’m just trying to build my <a href="http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1623682148502463">identity away from the sport</a>.”</p>
<h2>Black students, white campuses</h2>
<p>Black men represent about <a href="https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/">6% of total college students</a> in U.S. four-year public institutions. Yet at Division I schools, the highest level of college athletic competition, they represent roughly <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/12/13/ncaa-demographics-database.aspx">45% of football players</a> and <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/12/13/ncaa-demographics-database.aspx">51% of men’s basketball players</a>. </p>
<p>Overall, Black men represent <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/12/13/ncaa-demographics-database.aspx">12% of all Division I college athletes</a>, excluding historically Black colleges and universities.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, at Power Five schools, where college football is a big-time business, as many as <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/madness-doesnt-end-march/">1 in 6 Black male students</a> are athletes, compared with 1 in 50 white students. </p>
<p>The vast majority of Division I schools are predominantly white institutions. Their athletic departments, including coaching staffs and administrators, are <a href="https://www.tidesport.org/college">overwhelmingly white</a>. For example, 78% of Division I athletic directors, 81% of head coaches, 68% of assistant coaches and 90% of head athletic trainers <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/12/13/ncaa-demographics-database.aspx">are white</a>. </p>
<p>Similar to their athletic experience, these athletes do not see many other Black people across campus. Faculty on these campuses are <a href="https://www.bestcolleges.com/research/diversity-in-higher-education-facts-statistics/#faculty-diversity">93% non-Black</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="College student wearing ear buds works on laptop on campus" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black college athletes often go out of their way to avoid ‘dumb jock’ stereotypes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/male-college-student-studying-online-on-laptop-in-royalty-free-image/1304983476">Maskot/Maskot Collection/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Racism and discrimination</h2>
<p>It is well documented that Black male college athletes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723513520013">experience racism and discrimination</a> while attending these predominantly white schools. This includes, for example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690208099874">unequal enforcement of school policies</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2016.1194097">less access to educational opportunities</a>. </p>
<p>They are discriminated against for being Black, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207307742">for being Black males</a> and for being athletes. Although touted for their physical prowess, Black male athletes are often <a href="https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/jade/vol3/iss3/1">labeled “dumb jocks”</a> – their intelligence somehow discredited by their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902221082042">physical stature</a>.</p>
<p>They are sometimes seen by students, faculty, staff and even fans as <a href="https://doi.org/10.17161/jis.v14i2.13606">lacking the intellectual ability</a> and motivation to succeed academically. They are characterized as illegitimate students who undermine the academic mission of the university and <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA163678994&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=01463934&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E5882e246&aty=open-web-entry">receive special treatment</a>. </p>
<p>One study found that professors and academic counselors had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723513520013">lower academic expectations</a> of Black college athletes compared with their white counterparts and that these athletes lacked autonomy in making academic decisions. Academic counselors often selected their courses, as opposed to the athletes registering themselves, which made the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723513520013">athletes feel powerless</a>.</p>
<p>Another study found that faculty members were more likely to attribute Black male college athletes’ success to policies, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.27.4.390">such as affirmative action</a>, instead of their merits, as they did for white athletes.</p>
<h2>Resisting societal pressure</h2>
<p>Not all the athletes altered their behavior or appearance to avoid anti-Black stereotypes. Keyvon, a football player, expressed that he presents himself authentically in predominantly white spaces as a way to “<a href="http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1623682148502463">apply pressure</a>” and force people to get comfortable with his Blackness. </p>
<p>Being a big-time college athlete indeed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902221082042">presents privileges</a>, such as a pseudo-celebrity status, which at times can shield Black male college athletes from the impact of stereotypes and anti-Blackness. However, this is often the case solely when Black males perform well in their sport. </p>
<p>Sport performance should not determine how people treat Black male college athletes. Nor should Black male college athletes be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/kr.2016-0039">placed in a box</a> when it comes to how they present themselves, or risk anti-Black discrimination if they express themselves authentically. Ultimately, Black male college athletes will present themselves in a manner they deem appropriate – whether that aligns with what society expects or not.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220121/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Howe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Black male athletes at Division I schools say they alter their speech, dress and other behaviors to gain acceptance in mostly white academic and athletic settings.Jonathan Howe, Assistant Professor of Sport Management, Temple UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2217892024-01-29T12:51:00Z2024-01-29T12:51:00ZOver half of charity campaigns for international causes focus on Africa – here’s why that’s harmful<p>The images used by charities and NGOs can become deeply ingrained in the memories of supporters, donors, development partners and the “beneficiaries” themselves. These stories colour what is generally known about global poverty and the developing world. </p>
<p>One of the most notorious examples was the media and charity coverage of the <a href="http://www.imaging-famine.org/papers/UK_Report_Section_1.pdf">Ethiopian famine</a> in the early 1980s. Powerful and disturbing images brought the reality of the famine into the lives of millions of British people and fast became the currency of the media and NGOs.</p>
<p>But there’s a problem with this. The use of such imagery seems to confirm rather than challenge traditional perceptions that Africa is underdeveloped and not capable of dealing with its own problems.</p>
<p>In 2021, I purchased 17 national newspapers in the UK every weekend over a period of six months. The aim was to explore whether charity adverts have changed in recent years and what kinds of characters are represented in fundraising campaigns. </p>
<p>After analysing a total of 541 fundraising images, one of the <a href="https://charity-advertising.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/charity-representations-of-distant-others-report-2024.pdf">major findings</a> was that Africa continues to be over-represented in charity adverts supporting international causes. Over half of the images (56%) focused on countries in Africa. And almost none of these images contain whole family units – rather they are set in rural areas and feature women and children.</p>
<p>But there is also evidence that charities are actively responding to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2018/jan/12/charities-stop-poverty-porn-fundraising-ed-sheeran-comic-relief">previous critiques</a> of using shock tactics, dehumanisation and employing images to evoke emotions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571441/original/file-20240125-21-l248se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A charity advert in a newspaper with a picture of women and children in rural Ethiopia." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571441/original/file-20240125-21-l248se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571441/original/file-20240125-21-l248se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571441/original/file-20240125-21-l248se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571441/original/file-20240125-21-l248se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571441/original/file-20240125-21-l248se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571441/original/file-20240125-21-l248se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571441/original/file-20240125-21-l248se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Example of an advert by EthiopiAid in the Guardian using images of women and children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Girling</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why does it matter?</h2>
<p>By constantly focusing the spotlight on African countries, charities reinforce historical stereotypes of underdevelopment that equate Africa with poverty. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/67684/public-attitudes-april10.pdf">report</a> from 2010 that was commissioned by the Department for International Development, for instance, found that the UK public view “developing countries” as synonymous with “Africa”. They associate Africa with poverty and misery, reflecting some of the representations used in charitable appeals. </p>
<p>The consistent portrayal of these depictions in various campaigns has promoted the view among the British public that there has been little to no progress in economic and social development across Africa since the 1980s. This has contributed to the belief that Africa is a “<a href="https://academicjournals.org/article/article1379931879_Andrews.pdf">bottomless pit</a>” in terms of charitable efforts and the constant need for foreign aid.</p>
<p>But, in reality, this is not the case. Africa is developing fast. It has the world’s <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/reimagining-economic-growth-in-africa-turning-diversity-into-opportunity">youngest and fastest-growing population</a> which, by the middle of this century, is expected to hit 2.5 billion.</p>
<h2>Addressing stereotypes</h2>
<p>Nevertheless, my findings do suggest that the sector is making strides towards decolonising narratives and addressing its use of damaging stereotypes. In 2016, a study found that 34% of all <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jid.3235">British charity adverts</a> used “pitiful images” that explicitly emphasised human suffering. </p>
<p>However, by 2021, only two out of the 27 charities that placed adverts used pitiful images in their fundraising appeals. This amounted to 11% of all adverts as these charities repeatedly used such imagery over the six month study period, but it still represents a significant decline.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571442/original/file-20240125-15-h61b6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A fundraising appeal by Sightsavers depicting an African child suffering from trachoma." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571442/original/file-20240125-15-h61b6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571442/original/file-20240125-15-h61b6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571442/original/file-20240125-15-h61b6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571442/original/file-20240125-15-h61b6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571442/original/file-20240125-15-h61b6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571442/original/file-20240125-15-h61b6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571442/original/file-20240125-15-h61b6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Image from a Sightsavers fundraising leaflet which was used 20 times during the six month period.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Girling</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Women and children continued to be the most popular characters in newspaper adverts. But, compared to similar studies from <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/representations-of-global-poverty-9780857722492/">2013</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jid.3235">2016</a>, there was a significant reduction in the use of images of children. In 2021, 21% of charitable campaigns featured images of children, down from 42% in 2013.</p>
<p>By 2021, 20% of all the images used in charitable campaigns were also of people characterised as professionals or leaders from developing countries. These people included doctors, nurses and other development workers, offering a more realistic view of people from Africa.</p>
<p>Several factors have prompted charities into reconsidering the potential damage of the representation they use and the stories they tell in recent years. One of the main factors is the need to decolonise narratives by reducing the use of negative stereotypes.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Lives-Matter">Black Lives Matter</a> protests in 2020 were a significant catalyst in charities rapidly adopting or updating their ethical imagery policies. The protests alerted people and organisations to the injustices of colonial histories. </p>
<p>The COVID pandemic was also instrumental in charities being forced to employ local photographers and filmmakers in the countries where they deliver programmes. Travel restrictions that were imposed during the pandemic meant charities were unable to fly in their own staff.</p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>Images have the potential to inflict damage. So communications professionals in the charity sector must strive to diversify the characters they portray.</p>
<p>But the public has a level of responsibility too. We all need to be careful about making assumptions of other countries and cultures when viewing charity images in newspaper adverts. Photographs may not always provide a complete picture.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221789/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Girling does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Charity advertising often reinforces historical stereotypes of underdevelopment that equate Africa with poverty.David Girling, Associate Professor and Director of Research Communication in the School of Global Development, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2202052024-01-23T13:25:57Z2024-01-23T13:25:57ZHow the word ‘voodoo’ became a racial slur<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570735/original/file-20240122-20-mdblis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C10%2C3607%2C2392&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An engraving from 1992 representing a voodoo rite in Haiti.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-voodoo-in-haiti-in-1992-engraving-representing-a-voodoo-news-photo/113929671?adppopup=true"> Nicolas Jallot/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For decades, it has been common for people to throw around terms like “voodoo politics,” “<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/voodooeconomics.asp">voodoo economics</a>,” “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/rejecting-voodoo-science-in-the-courtroom-1474328199">voodoo science</a>” and “<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/voodoo-medicine-time-to-s_b_11474550?ec_carp=6516617630977493781">voodoo medicine</a>” to reference something that they think is ridiculous, idiotic or fraudulent.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096071/">Horror movies</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0793707/">crime shows</a> often tell stories about evil “voodoo doctors” who terrorize their victims with black magic. Even Disney’s first movie with a Black princess, released in 2009, had a “voodoo doctor” as the villain. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, these shows and movies promote myths about voodoo that reinforce more than a century of stereotypes and discrimination. In my 2023 book, “<a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/46772">Voodoo: The History of a Racial Slur</a>,” I argue that voodoo is an extremely problematic term with a deeply racist history. </p>
<p>Most African diaspora religions, which are religions that have roots in Africa, have been mislabeled as voodoo at some point in time. This is especially true of Haitian Vodou – the religion that is most frequently stereotyped by outsiders as “voodoo” in the 21st century.</p>
<h2>Early uses of the term</h2>
<p>The term voodoo traces its roots back to a word in the Fon language in West Africa that means “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vodou">spirit” or “deity</a>.” The French adopted a version of this term, “vaudou” or “vaudoux,” to refer to African spiritual practices in their colonies in Louisiana and Saint-Domingue – modern-day Haiti. </p>
<p>Later, “vaudou” evolved into “voodoo” in the English-speaking world. It first became a household term in the U.S. in the 1860s and 1870s. When the U.S. public was <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/46772">first introduced</a> to voodoo, it was typically in newspaper articles and other publications that described African American spiritual practices in an exaggerated way, often retelling bizarre or even fabricated stories as if they were common practice. </p>
<p>Most of the time, the authors used these narratives about voodoo to argue that African Americans were unfit for citizenship, voting rights and holding public office because of their so-called superstitions. </p>
<p>In fact, the first time the term was widely used was after the Union forces seized New Orleans during the U.S. Civil War. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197689400.001.0001">Confederate supporters argued</a> that the popularity of voodoo in Union-controlled New Orleans showed the barbarity that Africans would return to if not under the control of white people. </p>
<p>Later, in the 20th century, claims about voodoo were used as one way to justify the U.S. colonization of Caribbean countries with large Black populations. In particular, fabricated <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/McClure_s_Magazine/RZZEAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=voodoo+cuba&pg=PA502&printsec=frontcover">claims that Black Cubans were</a> practicing the ritual murder of children as part of their voodoo practices circulated in the media to support sending forces to the island in the 1900s and 1910s.</p>
<p>Similarly, in the early 20th century, <a href="https://archive.org/details/whereblackrulesw00pric">journalists, travelers and others falsely claimed</a> that U.S. intervention was necessary because Haitians were engaging in cannibalism, human sacrifice and snake worship as part of their voodoo rituals. Historian <a href="https://people.miami.edu/profile/2d45ee761ea7c9776e6f13729f2ebea3">Kate Ramsey</a> writes in her 2011 book, “<a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo10454972.html">The Spirits and the Law: Vodou and Power in Haiti</a>,” that while U.S. Marines were occupying Haiti from 1915 to 1934, they persecuted and prosecuted devotees – arresting the people they found participating in ceremonies and burning their sacred objects. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, in the first half of the 20th century, references to voodoo continued to be a way to speak disparagingly about Black populations in the U.S. Even the founders of the <a href="https://ia904601.us.archive.org/19/items/the-voodoo-cult-of-detroit/The%20Voodoo%20Cult%20of%20Detroit.pdf">Nation of Islam</a> were stereotyped as a “voodoo cult” after an alleged member committed a highly publicized murder in 1932.</p>
<p>Allegations that Black Muslims practiced human sacrifice followed the group for decades, long after the person who committed the crime was determined to be legally insane and sent to an asylum. </p>
<h2>Prejudices linger</h2>
<p>This history has left a stain on public perceptions of voodoo that is difficult to wash away. The best example is the treatment of devotees of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-haitian-voodoo-119621">Vodou, a religion in Haiti</a> that can trace many of its beliefs and practices back to West and Central Africa. Vodou centers on honoring the ancestors and venerating spirits known as the Lwa. </p>
<p>Vodou was frequently labeled as “voodoo” in Anglophone newspapers and other literature in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and devotees were falsely accused of committing atrocities like cannibalism and human sacrifice during their ceremonies. Although Vodou has no ultimate source of evil in its cosmology, it is <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-haitian-voodoo-119621">often denounced</a> as devil worship. These myths have led to discrimination and violence against devotees.</p>
<p>In 2010, some Haitians and some foreigners blamed Vodou, which they often misspelled as “voodoo,” for the tragic earthquake and subsequent cholera outbreak that devastated Haiti. The most famous remarks came from the late <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/01/pat_robertson_blames_haitian_d.html">Pat Robertson</a>, an Evangelical minister and political commentator, who claimed that the earthquake was God’s retribution against Haitians for holding a Vodou ceremony. He described the Vodou ceremony as a pact with the devil to assist in their revolution against the French. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570737/original/file-20240122-19-uv5o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a wide-brimmed hat holds her hands up as she prays, with some other people in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570737/original/file-20240122-19-uv5o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570737/original/file-20240122-19-uv5o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570737/original/file-20240122-19-uv5o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570737/original/file-20240122-19-uv5o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570737/original/file-20240122-19-uv5o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570737/original/file-20240122-19-uv5o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570737/original/file-20240122-19-uv5o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An old woman prays in an earthquake-damaged church in the Ti Ayiti neighborhood Feb. 23, 2010, in Cité Soleil, Haiti, after a Christian mob attacked a Haitian Vodou ceremony for earthquake victims.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/just-paces-away-from-where-a-christian-mob-attacked-a-news-photo/96989923?adppopup=true%2A%2A%2A%2A">Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Within Haiti, some people <a href="https://haitiantimes.com/2020/01/12/vodou-was-once-blamed-for-the-haiti-earthquake-10-years-later-its-seeing-a-slow-revival/">committed acts of violence</a> against devotees and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934710394443">denied them the emergency aid</a> that was sent to quake victims. Later that year, violence escalated as some Haitians blamed Vodou for the cholera outbreak. In November and December of 2010, lynch mobs <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-12073029">violently killed</a> dozens of Haitian Vodou priests. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, discrimination and the violence perpetrated against Haitian Vodou and <a href="https://www.religiousracism.org/brazil">other African diaspora religious groups</a> often goes <a href="https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-1-64602-103-1.html">unpunished and unnoticed</a>. In fact, a recent survey suggests that a large portion of the U.S. public subscribes to the stereotypes about voodoo that led to these attacks.</p>
<p>With support from the Public Religion Research Institute, my fellow researchers and I <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/discrimination-against-voodoo-and-santeria/">asked 1,000 adults</a> living in the U.S. whether they used the term “voodoo.” Two in 10 respondents, or about 20%, said they had used or heard others use the term at least once a month. The survey found fewer than 1 in 4 considered voodoo to be a religion. </p>
<p>Further, approximately 3 in 10 respondents believed that followers of voodoo were more likely to be involved in criminal activity than the average person, and an astonishing 64% said they believed that followers of voodoo were more likely to practice black magic or witchcraft than the average person. </p>
<p>This survey shows the pervasiveness of these biases that developed to support slavery and imperialism. Therefore, I argue that when someone makes a statement like, “That just sounds like some ‘voodoo’ to me!” they are co-signing the long racist history of the term and promoting the idea that religions from Africa are primitive, evil and barbaric.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220205/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Boaz is a public fellow with the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). In this capacity, Dr. Boaz and three other fellows received a microgrant from the PRRI to conduct the survey mentioned in this piece. </span></em></p>Shows, movies and day-to-day language promote myths about voodoo that reinforce more than a century of stereotypes and discrimination, writes a scholar of Africana studies.Danielle N. Boaz, Associate Professor of Africana Studies, University of North Carolina – CharlotteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2170692023-12-01T13:40:04Z2023-12-01T13:40:04Z‘Wonka’ movie holds remnants of novel’s racist past<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562787/original/file-20231130-25-2x451e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C4343%2C1774&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A storyline in the forthcoming 'Wonka' movie is that the central character can change a dutiful young girl's life.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Warner Bros.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Several years ago, I made a visit to a local book sale and came across a rare 1964 edition of Roald Dahl’s “<a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/176964">Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</a>.” Popular in its own right, the novel has also served as the inspiration for a number of movies, including “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067992/">Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory</a>” – the classic 1971 movie starring the late Gene Wilder – <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367594/">a 2005 reboot</a> starring Johnny Depp, and “<a href="https://www.wonkamovie.com/">Wonka</a>,” the 2023 version.</p>
<p>As a child of the 1980s, I had voraciously consumed Dahl’s novels, so I knew the book well. But the illustrations in this particular edition looked unfamiliar.</p>
<p>Once I brought the worn and tattered book home and began to read it aloud to my kids, I realized that some passages looked unfamiliar as well. My voice faltered as the Oompa-Loompas – the pint-sized workers in Wonka’s chocolate factory – appeared and Charlie asked, “Are they really made out of chocolate, Mr. Wonka?”</p>
<p>To which Wonka replied: “Nonsense!”</p>
<p>“They belong to a tribe of tiny miniature pygmies known as Oompa-Loompas,” Wonka explains in this version of the book. “I discovered them myself. I brought them over from Africa myself – the whole tribe of them, three thousand in all. I found them in the very deepest and darkest part of the African jungle where no white man had ever been before.”</p>
<p>The accompanying black-and-white illustration of several dark-skinned Oompa-Loompas left me stunned.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562541/original/file-20231129-19-ndnz6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562541/original/file-20231129-19-ndnz6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562541/original/file-20231129-19-ndnz6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562541/original/file-20231129-19-ndnz6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562541/original/file-20231129-19-ndnz6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562541/original/file-20231129-19-ndnz6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562541/original/file-20231129-19-ndnz6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An illustration of dark-skinned Oompa-Loompas from the 1964 version of Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562542/original/file-20231129-23-7ta15v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562542/original/file-20231129-23-7ta15v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562542/original/file-20231129-23-7ta15v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562542/original/file-20231129-23-7ta15v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562542/original/file-20231129-23-7ta15v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562542/original/file-20231129-23-7ta15v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562542/original/file-20231129-23-7ta15v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An illustration of white Oompa-Loompas from a 2011 edition of Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dahl’s book is part of a long history of children’s books that feature racist stereotypes – a list that includes <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dr-seuss-books-racist-images-d8ed18335c03319d72f443594c174513">six Dr. Seuss books that were removed from publication in 2021</a>. Other children’s classics, such as “<a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/racist-history-peter-pan-indian-tribe-180953500/">Peter Pan</a>” and “<a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/246055/pdf">Mary Poppins</a>,” have also been criticized for perpetuating racism.</p>
<p>As an English lecturer who <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-course-examines-the-dark-realities-behind-your-favorite-childrens-stories-210329">specializes in decoding some of the hidden meanings and dark realities in popular children’s stories</a>, I looked deeper into the blatant racism in the 1964 edition of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” comparing it to a more recent copy from 2011. </p>
<p>Notably, the description of the Oompa-Loompa’s skin had been changed from “almost black” to “rosy-white.” And rather than coming from Africa, they came from “Loompaland.” I learned that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26362342?mag=roald-dahls-anti-black-racism&seq=2">these changes were made by Dahl for the 1974 edition after criticism by the NAACP </a> and others. Dahl’s response was to remove the Black characters altogether.</p>
<p>Yet as philosophy lecturer Ron Novy <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/roald-dahl-and-philosophy-a-little-nonsense-now-and-then/oclc/884017017">points out</a>, even the latest editions of the book still perpetuate racist and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=eiCO730AAAAJ&citation_for_view=eiCO730AAAAJ:9yKSN-GCB0IC">imperialist ideologies</a>.</p>
<h2>Parallels with slavery</h2>
<p>When Wonka describes how he “smuggled” the Oompa-Loompas into the country in “large packing cases with holes in them,” the image clearly recalls slave ships navigating the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-middle-passage.htm#:%7E:text=The%20Middle%20Passage%20itself%20lasted,15%25%20grew%20sick%20and%20died.">Middle Passage</a>. Wonka’s promise to pay the Oompa-Loompas’ wages in cacao beans, and the admission that no one ever sees them come in or out of the factory, reinforces the Oompa-Loompas’ subjugation to Willy Wonka, who plays the role of their “Great White Father,” as fourth grade reading teacher <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20193551">Katherine Baxter noted in 1974</a>.</p>
<p>Historian Donald Yacovone <a href="https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/roald-dahl-the-caribbean-and-a-warning-from-his-chocolate-factory/">has pointed out</a> that, even in its revised form, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” has long contributed to the perpetuation of white supremacist ideology. Not only do the Oompa-Loompas immediately appear – ready to obey – whenever Wonka clicks his fingers, but Wonka is also repeatedly dismissive of them. He calls them “charming” but tells his visitors not to believe a word the Oompa-Loompas say. “It’s all nonsense, every bit of it!” </p>
<p>Wonka even uses the Oompa-Loompas as experimental subjects. He feeds them gum that turns them into blueberries and fizzy drinks that send one unfortunate man aloft until he “disappeared out of sight” and was never seen again. These experiments seem a grotesque parody of the myriad cases of enslaved and free Black Americans who have been <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/185986/medical-apartheid-by-harriet-a-washington/">subjected to experimental surgeries, treatments and medical neglect</a>. </p>
<p>In both the book’s current version and in the original, he smuggles them into his factory and pays them in cacao beans because they were “practically starving to death” and cacao was “the one food that they longed for more than any other … but they couldn’t get it” on their own. </p>
<p>It’s an absurd assertion that this community of people, originally located in the heart of Africa, cannot access a crop that, while native to the Amazon, <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/709715326#goodreads">is primarily grown in West African countries</a>. That they need Wonka to give them access to the resources of their own land is a damaging colonialist fantasy – one which, as Yacovone notes, has historically buoyed, rather than diminished, the popularity of the novel and the 1971 and 2005 films.</p>
<h2>Maintaining the status quo</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, the latest <a href="https://www.wonkamovie.com/">Wonka</a> movie also engages in the type of implicit racism that remains in the revised 1974 version of the novel. The most prominent Black character, a girl named Noodle, played by the talented <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7412362/">Calah Lane</a>, takes a back seat to Wonka in the major events of the film.</p>
<p>The new Wonka almost broke from the tradition of having Wonka played by white men. Early in the new film’s conception, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/donald-glover-willy-wonka-movie-charlie-chocolate-factory-rumor-960382">Newsweek</a> reported that actor, comedian and musician <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Glover">Donald Glover</a> was under consideration for the lead role, a choice that could have at least begun to force a rewrite of the original novel’s racist narrative. </p>
<p>Instead, the film casts Noodle in the position of an unfortunate Black girl who can only hope for a ride on Wonka’s velvet coattails. </p>
<p>“I know things haven’t been easy for you,” Wonka says in the movie. “They’re going to get better.”</p>
<p>“You promise?” Noodle replies, hopefully, and he does promise, highlighting his role as her white savior. Another character in voice-over agrees: “You could change her life, Mr. Wonka. Change all their lives.” </p>
<p>I was initially hopeful about the prospect of a movie that moves away from the novel’s racist origins, yet still imparts the power of imagination on a new generation. Unfortunately, moviegoers may find themselves having to hold their breath and make a wish, as Gene Wilder <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVi3-PrQ0pY">stated in a song</a> from the 1971 movie, for a version that holds no remnants of its racist past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217069/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Meisha Lohmann does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The original storyline for Road Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” contained some stunning parallels to the trans-Atlantic slave trade.Meisha Lohmann, Lecturer in English Literature, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2147812023-11-09T08:31:14Z2023-11-09T08:31:14ZHow Balzac created the myth of the spinster<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551421/original/file-20230914-29-r0x6k9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C0%2C1994%2C1497&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dans cette édition illustrée de _La cousine Bette_ (1948), l'héroïne célibataire a les traits durs, la mine sévère et triste. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.edition-originale.com/fr/litterature/livres-illustres/balzac-la-cousine-bette-1948-39977">Editions Albert Guillot, Paris 1948.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You only have to hear the word <em>spinster</em> to conjure up the age-old <a href="https://www.editionsladecouverte.fr/vieille_fille-9782348072765">stereotype</a> of a woman in her forties, single and sexually inactive, living alone or with a few cats. Ideally, she will be quite ugly, a little bitter, if not downright nasty, recalling our representations of <a href="https://www.editionsladecouverte.fr/sorcieres-9782355221224">witches</a>. Feminist theorists have been questioning and criticising this figure for decades, whose presence in our collective imagination serves above all as a <a href="https://www.illustre.ch/magazine/feministe-ou-anticonformiste-la-revanche-de-la-vieille-fille-539866">threat to women who decide not to marry or refuse to become mothers</a>.</p>
<p>When we look at the history of <a href="https://theconversation.com/feminisme-dans-la-fiction-quand-bechdel-regarde-moliere-198252">these representations</a>, it’s hard to avoid Balzac and his colossal <em>Human Comedy</em> (in French: <em>La Comédie Humaine</em>), in which portraits of old maids intersect and resemble each other to the point of constituting a <a href="https://www.maisondebalzac.paris.fr/sites/default/files/dossier_portraits_enseignants.pdf">social type</a>. And were those patterns not incriminating enough, one of his novels is entitled <em>Spinster</em> (<em>Vieille fille</em>).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548337/original/file-20230914-1223-y31aks.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548337/original/file-20230914-1223-y31aks.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548337/original/file-20230914-1223-y31aks.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548337/original/file-20230914-1223-y31aks.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548337/original/file-20230914-1223-y31aks.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548337/original/file-20230914-1223-y31aks.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548337/original/file-20230914-1223-y31aks.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Johann Heinrich Füssli, <em>The Three Witches</em>, 1783.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Johann_Heinrich_F%C3%BCssli_019.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The spinster, public enemy number one</h2>
<p>Why did Balzac create a stigmatising “type” for unmarried middle-aged women? It would seem that the starting point was his pure and simple detestation of celibacy, a state he considered “unproductive” and “contrary to society”. He writes</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“By remaining unmarried, a creature of the female sex becomes void of meaning; selfish and cold, she creates repulsion. This implacable judgment of the world is unfortunately too just to leave old maids in ignorance of its causes. ” (Balzac, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7927/pg7927.html">The Celibates: The Vicar of Tours</a>; in French:’Les Célibataires – Le Curé de Tours’).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the preface to his novel <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierrette_(novel)"><em>Pierrette</em></a>, he goes so far as to recommend reviving a bill dating back to the Revolution that sought to impose an additional tax on unmarried people. Although he denies suffering from “singlephobia”, Balzac’s deep aversion toward those who were unable to found a family, and above all give birth, is striking. Also bear in mind that both men and women are targeted by his reproaches – and while the portraits of <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Cur%C3%A9_de_Tours">effeminate and ridiculous churchmen</a> or <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Rabouilleuse">bachelors driving their families to ruin</a>, are beyond the scope of this article, they are very much present in <em>The Human Comedy</em>.</p>
<p>But the figure of the old maid receives special satirical attention. Indeed, it appears that the deep empathy that the <a href="https://www.revuedesdeuxmondes.fr/balzac-feministe/">“women’s novelist”</a> usually shows toward women stops at those who do not fulfil themselves in marriage and motherhood.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
À lire aussi :
<a href="https://theconversation.com/relire-balzac-a-lere-des-humanites-numeriques-131090">Relire Balzac à l’ère des humanités numériques</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Of course, this rejection didn’t come out of nowhere, and the stigmatisation of celibacy wasn’t invented by Balzac, with the idea of an additional tax dating back to <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imp%C3%B4t_sur_le_c%C3%A9libat">antiquity</a>. However, it was Balzac who gave the figure of the old maid its letters of nobility – so to speak – through a series of portraits that show us several variations of characters linked to the stereotype of the single woman. In <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Vieille_Fille_(Balzac)"><em>The Spinster</em></a>, he light-heartedly pokes fun at the naivety of a woman so uneducated in the ways of love that she fails to marry; in <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Cousine_Bette"><em>Cousin Bette</em></a> (<em>La cousine Bette</em>), he describes the manipulations of an old maid prepared to do anything to ruin her own family, drawing from the aesthetics of the witch in no uncertain terms. Finally, in <em>The Vicar of Tours</em> and <em>Pierrette</em>, he paints an almost identical double portrait of two embittered, penny-pinching and ugly spinsteresses conducting those around them to their ruin. In the course of the novellas, the figure of the spinster as we know it today emerges as a woman who suffers from a laughable ignorance in all things sexual, a boring existence, and ultimately, vicious nature.</p>
<p>It is important to note there is a certain paradox in the way Balzac characterises these characters. On the one hand, he criticises celibacy as an unproductive and unnatural lifestyle choice. On the other, he seems intent on showing that this celibacy is not a choice, but stems from the profound nature of his protagonists, for whom celibacy is an absolute inevitability from which they will never escape. Here, celibacy appears less as a free choice than as a state of affairs <a href="https://theconversation.com/tout-le-monde-naime-pas-le-sexe-comment-lasexualite-devient-un-objet-detudes-184801">almost tantamount to asexuality</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
À lire aussi :
<a href="https://theconversation.com/le-feminist-gaze-quand-les-femmes-ecrivent-en-feministes-212586">Le « feminist gaze » : quand les femmes écrivent en féministes</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Now if Balzac detests celibacy, he equally detests the idea of a forced or unhappy marriage, whose disastrous effect on women’s health and psyche he denounces in his novel <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Femme_de_trente_ans"><em>The 30-Year-Old Woman</em></a> (<em>La femme de 30 ans</em>). It therefore appears strange to point the finger at celibacy, which is perhaps the only alternative to undesired marriage.</p>
<p>So why does the 19th-century writer view single women so harshly, framing them in parasitic terms? First of all, non-maternity is at issue:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“They grow sharp and peevish because all human beings who miss their vocation are unhappy; they suffer, and suffering gives birth to the bitterness of ill will” (Balzac, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1345/1345-h/1345-h.htm">The Celibates: The Vicar of Tours</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The absence of desire and love is also singled out, especially as Balzac sees desire as a powerful driving force in his novels, pushing his characters to fulfil their role as heroes. It is a lack of love in the broadest sense that characterises Balzac’s spinster daughters. Deprived of romantic or marital affection, they are also incapable of developing family love: Sylvie Rogron tortures her young cousin to death, Cousin Bette manipulates her entire family to plunge them into misery and achieve her ends. The message is clear: the single woman is a danger to the family, the structure underpinning traditional society. She is thus transformed into a terrifying, even monstrous figure, and often bestialised. What is most frightening about the spinster is her independence, her profound inability to be subject to a man.</p>
<h2>A disturbing absence of sex life</h2>
<p>It is this freedom, so unsuited to women as they were thought of in the 19th century, that Balzac demonises. Under his pen, old maids lose their femininity and almost systematically acquire a form of androgyny.</p>
<p>So a woman without a man or children, without the desire to be desired, appears to Balzac to cease to be a woman at all. The debate is far from over: in France, we think of Marie Kock’s essay, <em>Spinster</em> (<em>Vieille fille</em>) published in 2022, or the essay by the writer and former porn actress Ovidie, <em>Alas, the flesh is sad</em> (<em>La chair est triste hélas</em>) or <a href="https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/lsd-la-serie-documentaire-sur-vivre-sans-sexe-du-12-au-15-avril-sur-france-culture-2161159">her documentary series on national radio France Culture</a> on her life without sex. Not having a sex life, or even claiming it, for a short period or throughout one’s life, continues to disturb society.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548342/original/file-20230914-8719-zf28te.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548342/original/file-20230914-8719-zf28te.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548342/original/file-20230914-8719-zf28te.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=961&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548342/original/file-20230914-8719-zf28te.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=961&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548342/original/file-20230914-8719-zf28te.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=961&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548342/original/file-20230914-8719-zf28te.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1208&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548342/original/file-20230914-8719-zf28te.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1208&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548342/original/file-20230914-8719-zf28te.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1208&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Embittered, ugly, dry, sickly jealous of her cousin Adeline and her beauty, Cousin Bette sets out to make her unhappy.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When the Balzacian heroine is not possessed by a husband or lover, the forces are reversed, with male domination turned upside down. Mademoiselle Gamard, Sylvie Rogron and Cousin Bette subjugate the men around them in an unnatural ascension. Seen from this angle, the female celibacy portrayed in <em>La Comédie Humaine</em> takes on an anarchic, almost revolutionary quality, capable of threatening age-old institutions.</p>
<p>And while Balzac is at pains to show us his deep detestation of these dangers, we also sense a certain fascination with the profound immorality of his terrible bachelors. After all, one of his most delightful novels, <em>Cousin Bette</em>, is driven by its vicious, sapphic anti-heroine and her Machiavellian schemes, which he describes with obvious glee, making her, more or less in spite of himself, far more charismatic and memorable than her “respectable” peers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Loup Belliard ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>In his collection of stories, “The Human Comedy”, the French 19th-century writer Honoré de Balzac turned the shaming of single women into an art.Loup Belliard, Doctorante en littérature du XIXe siècle et gender studies, Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2140502023-10-08T17:14:29Z2023-10-08T17:14:29ZWhy do so few women take on scientific careers?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549417/original/file-20230608-25-g76o5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C4127%2C2373&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women are still in the minority in the laboratories.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/fr/photos/9dxalrR0xFI">National Cancer Institute/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There were around 8 billion human beings in 2022, 50% of them women. Although there are as many women as men, the former continue to be underrepresented in science.</p>
<p>The list of Nobel Prize laureates is a case in point: out of 965 winners, <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_des_femmes_dans_l%27attribution_du_prix_Nobel">only 64 (7%) are women</a>. Could the differences between men and women justify such a disparity?</p>
<h2>Natural differences?</h2>
<p>The first difference between the sexes can be observed at the level of chromosomes. Human beings are endowed with 23 pairs of chromosomes, the last pair differing according to sex: two X chromosomes for women, and one X and one Y chromosome for men. This difference accounts for the difference in genitalia, which are distinguishable from birth in over 99% of cases.</p>
<p>Gender, a social norm that defines how we should behave according to our sex, comes on top of these biological differences. Throughout history, gender expectations over how we ought to speak, sit, walk and dance have varied not only across time, but space: in 17th-century France, wealthy men wore shoes with heels, reflecting their high social status. Nowadays in Europe, with the notable exception of the Scots, few men wear skirts. In Asia, however, skirts are widely worn by men. Such variations show that when it comes to expressing gender identity, a person’s sex counts less than their social and cultural context.</p>
<p>Gender is also defined by stereotypes on skills, which as we shall see largely explain why women are so little present in science.</p>
<p>We know that, from the earliest age, boys’ and girls’ environments differ according to these stereotypes. And yet, by the time they enter first grade in France, <a href="https://www.education.gouv.fr/filles-et-garcons-sur-le-chemin-de-l-egalite-de-l-ecole-l-enseignement-superieur-edition-2021-322668">girls outperform boys</a> in French and are on a part with them in maths. Once in academia, however, only 22% of mathematicians are <a href="https://femmes-et-maths.fr/enseignement-superieur-et-recherche/statistiques/effectifs-a-luniversite/">women</a>.</p>
<p>What has happened in the meantime? Phenomena that affect not only the women on the receiving end, but also teachers, recruiters and parents – namely, stereotypes and gender bias.</p>
<h2>The power of stereotypes</h2>
<p>Stereotypes are character traits that are arbitrarily attributed to specific groups of people. Although they have no scientific basis, they nevertheless influence the way people behave.</p>
<p>Girls, for example, quickly take to the idea that they are not cut out for maths. Such gendered stereotypes are hardly new. During the Renaissance, a dark period for equality between men and women, women were excluded from the cultural, economic and political spheres. Then, during the Enlightenment in France, feminine names that existed for intellectual and artistic professions (author, painter, poet, doctor, etc.) <a href="https://editions-iconoclaste.fr/livres/les-grandes-oubliees/">were suppressed</a> by the Académie Française, legitimising the absence of women in these professions.</p>
<p>Research in the 21st century has continued to starkly expose such preconditioning. In 2009, researchers at the University of Aix-Marseille sought to test the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002210310900105X">mathematical skills of 12-year-old children</a> of both sexes, divided into two groups. In the first group, the children were told they were taking a geometry test. In the other, they were told they were taking a drawing test. The boys ended up outperforming the girls in the “geometry test” group, while girls not only beat them in the “drawing test”, but outscored the boys from the first group. Although the test was the same, the girls performed less well when told they were taking a geometry test. So, it is the mention of geometry that is an obstacle, not differences in ability, since in the “drawing test” instruction, they are better than the boys.</p>
<p>This is the stereotype effect: we observe a <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1997-04591-001">drop in performance</a> in situations where individuals fear confirming a negative stereotype attributed to the group to which they belong. This is known as stereotype threat. While the stereotype itself has no biological basis (at the cerebral level, <a href="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/prof-daphna-joel/gender-mosaic/9781913068011/">the brains of two men have just as many differences as those of a man and a woman</a>), it induces behaviour in those who are its target that conforms to it: women will be less self-confident, and feel less legitimate in disciplines from which stereotypes exclude them, such as maths, and science in general.</p>
<p>Stereotypes will also induce biases in those who teach, judge, evaluate and recruit. <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1211286109">One study</a> has shown that, for the same CV sent for a position of a laboratory manager in a university, a male candidate (boy’s first name) will be judged more competent than a female candidate (girl’s first name), and will be offered a higher salary. This is what we call gender bias: we treat people differently, not because of their skills or qualities, but because of their gender.</p>
<h2>The exclusion of women from scientific careers and its mechanisms</h2>
<p>Gender inequality, which is evident at the outset of scientific studies, is amplified throughout a career. Although their numbers are on the <a href="https://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/content_migration/document/Note_DGRH_N_4_Avril_2021_La_situation_des_femmes_universitaires_dans_l_enseignement_superieur_en_2020_1405949.pdf">increase, women are still in the minority among teaching and research staff</a> in all disciplines (40% in 2021 in France), but more pronounced in the sciences (at the same date, 34% of female lecturers and 19% of female professors in science and technology). This erosion is described and analysed in the documentary <a href="https://www.pictureascientist.com/"><em>Picture a Scientist</em></a>.</p>
<p>Because women are endowed with the same abilities as men, could it be that they have less of an appetite for the sciences?</p>
<p>It is significant to note the wide variations from one country to another in the proportion of women in scientific courses. Paradoxically, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/pourquoi-legalite-entre-les-sexes-nefface-t-elle-pas-les-segregations-dans-les-filieres-scientifiques-152272">more egalitarian the country, the more women are excluded</a>. Indeed, women who manage to study in countries where they have to fight to gain access have already made a transgressive choice, so their disciplinary orientation is freer. We can see that these variations are explained by context and, as mentioned above, not by natural gender differences. In countries where women’s access to education is not in question, stereotypes play a role in the choice of disciplines. It also has an overall impact on test results, according to the mechanism known as stereotype threat described above.</p>
<p>As a result, the percentage of women in France’s top scientific schools is very low, particularly at ENS-PSL (École normale supérieure), as described in the study: <a href="https://presses.ens.psl.eu/464-cepremap-filles-sciences-une-equation-insoluble.html">“Girls + Sciences = an Unsolvable Equation?”</a>. We were particularly struck to find how commonplace gendered appreciation was in teachers’ school reports. Specific teacher training is therefore desirable to limit these biases.</p>
<p>This phenomenon is not limited to studies. The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-019-0686-3">behaviour of promotion juries</a> at the Centre for National Scientific Research (CNRS) has been analysed by Isabelle Régner: it is not the implicit bias that is responsible for inequality in terms of women’s promotion, but its non-recognition by the jury.</p>
<h2>Why act and how?</h2>
<p>We need to work toward greater individual and social equity, which will in turn lead to greater efficiency. In academic research, but also in industry and education, <a href="https://online.uncp.edu/articles/mba/diversity-and-inclusion-good-for-business.aspx">several studies</a> have shown that mixed groups (gender, social origin…) perform better.</p>
<p>We need to capitalise on this observation on a global scale. Given the scientific challenges we face, we must not lose 50% of our brainpower.</p>
<p>We therefore need to inform and convince people of the deleterious effects of gender bias, which is more widespread than is generally believed. With <a href="https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/">Association Implicit Test</a>, the strength of this bias can be measured in the difficulty, via slowness, of associating the words <em>man</em> with <em>literature</em>, or <em>woman</em> with <em>science</em>.</p>
<p>A perverse effect should also be mentioned: while representation on university bodies is parity, which is desirable, there are also burn-out effects on women’s careers. Indeed, since the pool of female professors remains unequal, particularly in the higher positions (full professor, called “A rank” in France), women find themselves individually over-solicited for collective tasks that are not particularly rewarding in terms of their careers. The result is ultimately, and paradoxically, contrary to the objective of equity.</p>
<p>Instead, we should be looking at the foundations – that is to say, the conditions of access to university and research careers. Incentive measures could be envisaged to encourage laboratories to recruit young women by helping them at the start of their careers: welcome funding in addition to that already in place, award of a thesis grant within two years of taking up the position… Measures also justified by inequalities in terms of biological clocks. And above all, in order to objectify these issues of gender bias, we need to collect gendered data on careers and working conditions: Nancy Hopkins in the documentary <em>Picture a Scientist</em> shows that, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), laboratory space allocated to female professors was significantly smaller than that allocated to male professors. And, as Jane Willenbring says in the same documentary, it is important to make scientific universities a welcoming place for women.</p>
<p>In short, even if changes are moving in the right direction, they are still very slow. Should we carry on at the current pace, a <a href="https://cache.media.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/file/Charte_egalite_femmes_hommes/90/6/Chiffres_parite_couv_vdef_239906.pdf">recent study</a> by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research estimates that gender equality within the field of higher education and research won’t happen before 2068, despite being enshrined in law. Action is thus urgently needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214050/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>From primary school to academic positions, despite some progress, gender inequality continues to be rife.Clotilde Policar, Professeure, directrice des études sciences à l'ENS, École normale supérieure (ENS) – PSLCharlotte Jacquemot, Chercheuse en sciences cognitives, directrice du département d'études cognitives à l'Ecole normale supérieure, École normale supérieure (ENS) – PSLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2132952023-09-26T15:16:39Z2023-09-26T15:16:39ZHow stereotyping increases during economic crises<p>It’s been almost exactly 15 years since Lehmann Brothers declared bankruptcy, marking the height of the financial crisis. Since then, we’ve entered the era of the “<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/498398e7-11b1-494b-9cd3-6d669dc3de33">polycrisis</a>” – where several catastrophic events are happening at once. We’re dealing with the aftermath of a pandemic, a war in Ukraine, extreme weather events, rising inflation and a food and energy crisis.</p>
<p>These events can be described as economic “shocks”, though the consequences may be drawn out for years. The key point about a shock is that it puts us out of equilibrium. And as we show in our <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1834">recent paper</a>, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, such shocks often lead to an uptick in negative stereotyping – making life even more miserable for millions.</p>
<p>Economic shocks exacerbate poverty, inequality and economic uncertainty, sowing the seeds of societal instability and conflict between groups. This is why understanding economic anxiety is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-020-09593-7">important</a> for understanding the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/sciadv.abd4201">rise of populist movements</a> and the spread of <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.3.4.228">political polarisation</a> across the globe.</p>
<p>If we view other people as competitors for resources, and resources become scarce, our sense of competition will inevitably increase. If we view other people as close friends, who cooperate with us to mutually thrive, scarce resources will only <a href="https://academic.oup.com/oep/article/61/4/651/2362044">increase our sense of beneficial interdependence</a>. </p>
<p>Seeing people as competitors is not always bad. But who we view as competitors, and how we decide to treat them, is not usually the result of careful rational contemplation. Rather it’s a mixture of highly specific (and often unreliable) personal experiences and broad <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/palcomms201786">inherited cultural expectations</a>.</p>
<p>Stereotypes involve attributing a set of characteristics to an entire group of people at the expense of their individual identity. It’s a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-022-09780-8">mental shortcut</a> that’s hardwired in us to help us survive by making decisions quickly when we lack information – about, for example, whether or not we can trust a stranger. </p>
<p>This can (but doesn’t have to) be a very bad thing, leading in the extreme to dehumanisation of those who are not like us. But once we know details about individuals from another group, we often realise they are rather similar to us – and see them increasingly as individuals. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man surrounded by crowd holding a banner with a message about racism in a peaceful protest against racism" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548283/original/file-20230914-23-c0oy31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548283/original/file-20230914-23-c0oy31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548283/original/file-20230914-23-c0oy31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548283/original/file-20230914-23-c0oy31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548283/original/file-20230914-23-c0oy31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548283/original/file-20230914-23-c0oy31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548283/original/file-20230914-23-c0oy31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Racism can increase during hard times.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/palma-de-mallorca-spain-june-07-1751523881">AleFron/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The model</h2>
<p>To understand the evolution of stereotypes, we created a computer model tracking how stereotypes form through a process of learning and cultural transmission of attitudes. We started by creating an “in-group” of close friends and family members, and then assumed everyone else belonged to “out-groups”. </p>
<p>The idea is that when people lack experience of interacting with out-group members, they are forced to base their attitudes towards them on stereotypes. But those stereotypes can be more or less coarse. We could treat anyone who is not part of the in-group the same – or distinguish between them. </p>
<p>We modelled how both the content (seeing subgroups positively or negatively) and the coarseness of the stereotypes changed over time as people learned from their experience. We defined learning as people changing their willingness to cooperate with members of a group based on past cooperation received from them.</p>
<p>We found that while stereotypes might not be avoidable, their content need not be negative (a rich person might view the working class as more honest, for example). Fairly positive stereotyping was common, provided it was not too difficult to find accurate information about how members behaved. This fits with real data showing that people in more diverse communities, where they have first-hand information about other groups, <a href="https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/people_in_more_diverse_countries_are_less_prejudiced">are less prejudiced</a>.</p>
<p>We also showed that in the aftermath of a simulated economic shock, which reduced the income of everyone in our model, negative stereotyping of other groups emerged momentarily, even if positive stereotyping had been widespread before. </p>
<p>That’s because, when the world suddenly changes, our experiences and assumptions become outdated. We’re still working off assumptions based on how people behaved before. For example, people who suddenly find themselves poorer may be under increased stress or unable to contribute to their community in ways they had previously. If we don’t know them well enough to know their circumstances, we can develop an unduly negative impression of the sudden change.</p>
<p>If we were perfectly rational, we could all account for this and quickly find a new equilibrium that works for everybody. But if we are slow to react, there is a lingering mismatch between our stereotypical assumptions and the way people actually act. Our model shows that the consequence of that mismatch is to view people in an out-group more negatively. </p>
<p>This is bad because, in an era when more than one shock is being experienced at once, an exaggerated sense of conflict caused by one crisis can start to feed another. </p>
<h2>What to do</h2>
<p>When responding to a shock, the first challenge is to stop things from spiralling out of control. So we bail out banks, we go into lockdown. The second challenge is to figure out how to get back to an equilibrium. </p>
<p>Our work suggests that if we cannot stop the shocks, we must figure out how to get back to equilibrium faster. Negative stereotypes are exacerbated when we base our assumptions about how people will behave after a shock on faulty, outdated information. In the real world, this can be affected by things like echo chambers and misinformation. </p>
<p>Better information can allow us to adapt faster and dampen the negative effects of the shock. Part of achieving that means a shift in how we talk about each other, away from misinformation, vitriol and culture wars – and towards an overall improvement in the quality of our information systems. </p>
<p>This is not a simple answer, but we should be suspicious of simple answers to problems of the magnitude we currently face. </p>
<p>Ultimately, in these troubled times, we need to find a social equilibrium in which we view people unlike us as potential partners in cooperation rather than rivals for limited resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander J. Stewart receives funding from the John Templeton Foundation. </span></em></p>Research shows why people in more diverse communities tend to rely less on negative stereotypes.Alexander J. Stewart, Senior lecturer, University of St AndrewsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2126072023-09-22T01:25:31Z2023-09-22T01:25:31ZKids dressing up as older people is harmless fun, right? No, it’s ageist, whatever Bluey says<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548462/original/file-20230915-23-t7k9vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C0%2C997%2C640&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-cute-little-baby-cosplaying-old-2161560119">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A child once approached me, hunched over, carrying a vacuum cleaner like a walking stick. In a wobbly voice, he asked:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Do you want to play grannies?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The idea came from the children’s TV show Bluey, which <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ABCKidsCommunity/videos/bluey-grannies/468144817266668/">has</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ABCKidsCommunity/videos/new-bluey-episodes-the-grannies-are-back-abc-kids/371436135028190/">episodes</a>, <a href="https://www.bluey.tv/products/grannies-book/">a book</a>, <a href="https://www.discountmags.com/magazine/bluey-september-1-2023-digital">magazine</a> editions and an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialBlueyTV/videos/grannies-filter-bluey/5728362390510269/">image filter</a> about dressing up as “grannies”.</p>
<p>Children are also dressing up as 100-year-olds to mark their first “100 days of school”, an idea <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/old-people-s-home-for-five-year-olds-prep-students-don-senior-citizen-attire-20230801-p5dszb.html">gaining popularity</a> <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/cardigans-wigs-and-canes-why-kindy-students-are-dressing-up-as-100-year-olds-20230720-p5dpu8.html">in Australia</a>.</p>
<p>Is this all just harmless fun?</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1632154977664921600"}"></div></p>
<h2>How stereotypes take hold</h2>
<p>When I look at the older people in my life, or the patients I see as a geriatrician, I cannot imagine how to suck out the individual to formulate a “look”.</p>
<p>But Google “older person dress-ups” and you will find <a href="https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/dress-up-like-youre-100-years-old-100thdayofschool--15199717464361356/">Pinterests</a> and <a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Dress-Up-Like-an-Old-Person#:%7E:text=Dress%20in%20comfortable%2C%20loose%2Dfitting,older%20people%20may%20wear%20include%3A&text=Oversized%20sweatshirts">Wikihow pages</a> doing just that.</p>
<p>Waistcoats, walking sticks, glasses and hunched backs are the key. If you’re a “granny”, don’t forget a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialBlueyTV/videos/games-you-can-play-at-home-grannies-bluey/645964056227345/">shawl and tinned beans</a>. You can buy “old lady” <a href="https://www.spotlightstores.com/party/costumes-and-accessories/costume-accessories/wigs-hair-accessories/wigs/spartys-kids-old-lady-wig-with-curlers/80578132?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0vWnBhC6ARIsAJpJM6emZHoNxO72pUa80Wc8ihYYiq3AohZ_w72jmuWBBDlficdCMy_rsK8aAj47EALw_wcB">wigs</a> or an “old man” <a href="https://www.bigw.com.au/product/facial-hair-set-old-man-3-pieces/p/305026">moustache and bushy eyebrows</a>.</p>
<p>This depiction of how older people look and behave is a stereotype. And if dressing up as an older person is an example, such stereotypes are all around us.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548471/original/file-20230915-19-6zhh04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Older stylish couple sitting on sofa" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548471/original/file-20230915-19-6zhh04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548471/original/file-20230915-19-6zhh04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548471/original/file-20230915-19-6zhh04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548471/original/file-20230915-19-6zhh04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548471/original/file-20230915-19-6zhh04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548471/original/file-20230915-19-6zhh04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548471/original/file-20230915-19-6zhh04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What do older people really look like? I can’t see a walking stick or shawl. Can you?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-elderly-couple-sitting-on-sofa-2204006701">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-dont-grown-ups-play-like-kids-199176">Curious Kids: why don't grown-ups play like kids?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s the harm?</h2>
<p>There is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hypa.12170">some debate</a> about whether stereotyping is intrinsically wrong, and if it is, why. But there is plenty of research about the harms of <em>age</em> stereotypes or ageism. That’s harm to current older people and harm to future older people.</p>
<p>The World Health Organization <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/ageism#tab=tab_1">defines ageism</a> as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or ourselves based on age.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ageism <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/ageism#tab=tab_1">contributes to</a> social isolation, reduced health and life expectancy and costs economies <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/60/1/174/5166947">billions of dollars</a> globally. </p>
<p>When it comes to health, the impact of negative stereotypes and beliefs about ageing may be even <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/60/1/174/5166947">more harmful</a> than the discrimination itself. </p>
<p>In laboratory studies, older people perform <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4360754/">worse</a> than expected on tasks such as memory or thinking after being shown negative stereotypes about ageing. This may be due to a “<a href="https://www.simplypsychology.org/stereotype-threat.html">stereotype threat</a>”. This is when a person’s performance is impaired because they are worried about confirming a negative stereotype about the group they belong to. In other words, they perform less well because they’re worried about acting “old”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548465/original/file-20230915-23-lvzcr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Older man doing a jigsaw puzzle" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548465/original/file-20230915-23-lvzcr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548465/original/file-20230915-23-lvzcr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548465/original/file-20230915-23-lvzcr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548465/original/file-20230915-23-lvzcr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548465/original/file-20230915-23-lvzcr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548465/original/file-20230915-23-lvzcr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548465/original/file-20230915-23-lvzcr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Older people perform less well on some tasks after seeing negative stereotypes of ageing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/senior-male-hands-working-on-puzzle-1957542670">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another theory is “stereotype embodiment”. This is where people absorb negative stereotypes throughout their life and come to believe decline is an inevitable consequence of ageing. This leads to biological, psychological and physiological changes that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2927354/">create</a> a self-fulfilling prophecy. </p>
<p>I have seen this in my clinic with people who do well, until they realise they’re an older person – a birthday, a fall, a revelation when they look in the mirror. Then, they stop going out, stop exercising, stop seeing their friends. </p>
<p>Evidence for “stereotype embodiment” comes from studies that show people with more negative views about ageing are more likely to have higher levels of stress hormones (such as cortisol and C-reactive protein) and are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7182003/">less likely</a> to engage in health behaviours, such as exercising and eating healthy foods.</p>
<p>Younger adults with negative views about ageing are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2666386/">more likely</a> to have a heart attack up to about 40 years later. People with the most negative attitudes towards ageing have a lower life expectancy by as much as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12150226/">7.5 years</a>. </p>
<p>Children are particularly susceptible to absorbing stereotypes, a process <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-09385-010">that starts</a> in early childhood. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548464/original/file-20230915-25-k8hrpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Older woman dressed in modern clothes enjoying herself making hand signals" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548464/original/file-20230915-25-k8hrpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548464/original/file-20230915-25-k8hrpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548464/original/file-20230915-25-k8hrpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548464/original/file-20230915-25-k8hrpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548464/original/file-20230915-25-k8hrpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548464/original/file-20230915-25-k8hrpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548464/original/file-20230915-25-k8hrpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You don’t see many children dressing up like this older person. There’s a reason for that.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/funny-grandmother-portraits-senior-old-woman-1522642565">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-people-get-old-190142">Curious Kids: why do people get old?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Ageism is all around us</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/ageism#tab=tab_1">One in two people</a> have ageist views, so tackling ageism is complicated given it is socially acceptable and normalised. </p>
<p>Think of all the birthday cards and jokes about ageing or phrases like “geezer” and “old duck”. Assuming a person (including yourself) is “too old” for something. Older people say it is harder to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-06/senior-job-seekers-struggle-to-get-a-foot-in-the-door/102563144">find work</a> and they face discrimination in <a href="https://www.hcnsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Ageism-in-Health-Care_final.pdf">health care</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/giving-out-flowers-on-tiktok-is-this-a-random-act-of-kindness-or-just-benevolent-ageism-187064">Giving out flowers on TikTok: is this a 'random act of kindness' or just benevolent ageism?</a>
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</p>
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<h2>How can we reduce ageism?</h2>
<p>We can reduce ageism through laws, policies and education. But we can also reduce it via <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/ageism#tab=tab_1">intergenerational contact</a>, where older people and younger people come together. This helps break down the segregation that allows stereotypes to fester. Think of the TV series <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/old-people-s-home-for-4-year-olds">Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds</a> or the follow-up <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/old-people-s-home-for-teenagers">Old People’s Home for Teenagers</a>. More simply, children can hang out with their older relatives, neighbours and friends. </p>
<p>We can also challenge a negative view of ageing. What if we allowed kids to imagine their lives as grandparents and 100-year-olds as freely as they view their current selves? What would be the harm in that?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212607/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Mitchell is affiliated with the Australian Labor Party.
Opinions are my own and do not represent the views of my affilitated universities or health care employer. </span></em></p>Children absorb these stereotypes from a young age. And ageism is all around us.Lisa Mitchell, Geriatrician working in clinical practice. PhD Candidate at The University of Melbourne studying ethics and ageism in health care. Affiliate lecturer, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2106142023-08-23T12:26:45Z2023-08-23T12:26:45ZWhy somepeopletalkveryfast and others … take … their … time − despite stereotypes, it has nothing to do with intelligence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543736/original/file-20230821-17-z0kidy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">French, Spanish and Japanese are spoken faster than German, Vietnamese and Mandarin, with English somwhere in the middle.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/middle-age-woman-holding-stopwatch-isolated-royalty-free-image/1143706747">Aaron Amat/iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Pop culture abounds with examples of very fast talkers. There’s the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kem32fM24VU">Judy Grimes character</a> played by Kristen Wiig on “Saturday Night Live,” or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVNoWwzIiV0">that guy from the 1980s</a> who did commercials for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLP6oT3uqV8">Micro Machines</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeK5ZjtpO-M">FedEx</a>. Of course, there are also extremely slow talkers, like the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHKwnUa3txo">sloth in “Zootopia”</a> and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ntzFuFgXlM">cartoon basset hound Droopy</a>.</p>
<p>Real-life fast talkers are staples in some professions. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea7gn8hhEFA">Auctioneers</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyqLCS2LAbg">sportscasters</a> are known for their rapid delivery, though the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz9F07Mwaa8">slower commentary in golf</a> shows there is a range for different sports.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=0Ip912sAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">professors of English</a> who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=7wvy13gAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">study linguistic variations</a>, we know that how fast a person speaks is a complicated phenomenon. It depends on a range of factors, including the types of words used, the language spoken, regional differences, social variables and professional needs.</p>
<h2>Different countries, different speeds</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1017/S0954394509990093">Speech rate</a> refers to the speed at which a speaker verbalizes “connected discourse” – essentially anything more than a sentence. It is measured by counting segments of sound and the pauses in a specific time frame. Typically, these segments are counted as syllables. Remember clapping syllables in elementary school? SYL-LA-BLES.</p>
<p>Linguists have discovered that humans vary their speech rate within sentences across all languages. For example, most people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1800708115">slow their speech down before saying nouns</a>. Researchers have also found that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23011654">languages have different speech rates</a> when speakers read aloud. French, Spanish and Japanese were shown to have high average speech rates – with close to eight syllables spoken per second. German, Vietnamese and Mandarin exhibited slower rates – with about five syllables per second. English was in the middle, with an average rate of 6.19 syllables per second. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Actor John Moschitta Jr. used his motormouth in FedEx and Micro Machines ads in the 1980s.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is also global variation within the dialects of a language. In English, for example, one study found that <a href="https://pure.psu.edu/en/publications/speech-rates-of-new-zealand-english-and-american-english-speaking">New Zealanders spoke the fastest</a>, followed by British English speakers, then Americans and finally Australians. </p>
<h2>Stereotypes don’t hold up</h2>
<p>Many people have expectations and assumptions about different speech rates within English dialects. For example, there’s the <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9781351033824-4/southern-planets-paulina-bounds-jennifer-cramer-susan-tamasi">often-observed “drawl” of those living in the U.S. South</a>. The term drawl denotes a slower, drawn-out speaking pace. And, indeed, some research supports this perception. One study found that participants in western North Carolina <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S0954394509990093">spoke more slowly</a> than participants in Wisconsin. </p>
<p>Other research has demonstrated that some Southerners may speak more slowly only in certain contexts – for example, they may pause more often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-6393(94)90039-6">when reading aloud</a>. And <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137291448">certain elongated vowels</a> in southern American dialects can also slow down the speech rate. This can be heard in the pronunciation of “nice” as something like “nahhce.”</p>
<p>Some people assume that all Southerners are slow talkers who exhibit these features. This is perhaps due, at least in part, to the perpetuation of stereotypes and caricatures in popular media, such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7qhVJIPfck">Cletus, the stereotyped hillbilly</a> from “The Simpsons.”</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Cletus is a slow-talking and stereotyped hillbilly from “The Simpsons.”</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But it’s important to recognize that language also varies within regions, including the U.S. South. For example, a study involving North Carolinians found that speakers in western and central North Carolina <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137291448_5">spoke more slowly than those in the state’s eastern and southern parts</a>. And some North Carolinians spoke about as fast as Ohioans – suggesting the stereotype of the slow-talking Southerner doesn’t always hold up.</p>
<h2>Age, gender and other variables</h2>
<p>Sex and gender may also influence speech rates, although results have been conflicting here, too. Some research shows that <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S0954394509990093">men speak faster than women</a>, while <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2011.02.006">other studies</a> find <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08824099009359851">no significant difference</a> in speech rate between genders. </p>
<p>The demographic variable that seems to have the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137291448">most significant and consistent impact</a> is age. We speak slowly when we are children, speed up in adolescence and speak our fastest in our 40s. Then we slow down again as we reach our <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1121/1.3459842">50s and 60s</a>.</p>
<p>While geography, gender and age may affect speech rates in certain cases, context plays a role as well. For example, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/80176903/Drone_Prosodics_as_Tradeoff_for_Working_Memory_Resources_Evidence_from_Play_by_Play_Sports_Commentary">certain professions use oral formulaic traditions</a>, meaning there’s a framework script when performing those jobs. An average person can speak about as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500010381">fast as an auctioneer</a> – 5.3 syllables per second – when saying something they’ve said many times before.</p>
<p>However, auctioneers use certain patterns of speech that make it seem like they speak incredibly quickly. They have few pauses in speech and repeat the same words frequently. They also use unfamiliar phrasings and rhythms, which makes listeners have to process what was said long after the auctioneer has moved on to the next topic. And auctioneers have a constant rate of articulation – meaning they rarely stop talking.</p>
<p>While recognizing differences in speech rates can help people to better understand linguistic, cultural and professional identities, it also has technological and other applications. Think of how <a href="https://ijece.iaescore.com/index.php/IJECE/article/view/17795">computer scientists</a> must program Alexa and Siri to both produce and recognize speech at different rates. Speaking more slowly can also <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3587015">improve listening comprehension</a> for beginner and intermediate language learners.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most valuable takeaway when considering speech rate variation is the fact that linguistic perceptions don’t always match up with reality. This is a perspective <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Teaching-Language-Variation-in-the-Classroom-Strategies-and-Models-from/Devereaux-Palmer/p/book/9781138597952#">we often emphasize</a> in our own work because linguistic stereotypes can lead to assumptions <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Teaching-English-Language-Variation-in-the-Global-Classroom-Models-and/Devereaux-Palmer/p/book/9780367630256">about a person’s background</a>. </p>
<p>Recent studies of <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351033824">perceptions of U.S. dialects</a> confirm that, despite variation in speech rates within regions, people persist in labeling large regions of the South as “slow” and the North and Midwest as “fast.” Moreover, these evaluations are also typically associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137291448_2">negative stereotypes</a>. Slow talkers are often assumed to be less intelligent or competent than fast talkers, while very fast talkers can be seen as less truthful or kindhearted. </p>
<p>There is no inherent connection between the rate of speech and levels of intelligence, truthfulness or kindness. Language use differs for all sorts of reasons, and differences are not deficiencies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210614/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Language, geography, age and other factors can all affect how fast a person talks. But sometimes, these perceived differences are only in the listener’s head.Michelle Devereaux, Professor of English and English Education, Kennesaw State UniversityChris C. Palmer, Professor of English, Kennesaw State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2105182023-08-16T14:53:51Z2023-08-16T14:53:51ZWorld Wrestling Entertainment has long profited from racial stereotypes – it’s time for change<p>In April, former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) writer Britney Abrahams <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alfredkonuwa/2023/04/28/wwe-racial-discrimination-lawsuit-shocking-details-behind-alleged-racist-pitches/?sh=c479c2c203fb">sued the company</a> for alleged discrimination following her objections at racist and discriminatory storylines. The lawsuit also contains some damning examples, citing “offensively racist and stereotypical jargon used in WWE scripts”. </p>
<p>In June, the defendants in the lawsuit – executive chairman Vince McMahon, chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon and other WWE executives – requested an extension to the deadline to respond. </p>
<p>These claims come a year after an investigation revealed a USD$3 million (£2.3 million) <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-15/wwe-probes-3-million-ceo-paid-to-female-employee-journal-says#:%7E:text=World%20Wrestling%20Entertainment%20Inc.%27s,familiar%20with%20the%20board%27s%20action.">hush money settlement</a> payment was made by Vince McMahon to a woman he allegedly had an affair with, resulting in his voluntary resignation as executive chairman and CEO. Within six months, he had reappointed himself as executive chairman, resulting in further <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/01/wwe-vince-mcmahon-nick-khan-stephanie-mcmahon-paul-levesque-1235213126/">board resignations in objection</a>.</p>
<p>The above instances imply that the company’s board is seemingly in turmoil behind the scenes, yet to many, the claims of racist pitches should not come as a shock. Stereotypes have always been, and still are, a main component of WWE. </p>
<p>Many of these stereotypes merely regurgitate age-old offensive characterisations, which are repackaged by the sports entertainment company and distributed to a prolific audience. Its <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/6-indicators-of-wwe-s-popularity-analyzed">YouTube channel</a> has 55.5 million subscribers and has amassed almost 40 billion views.</p>
<p>WWE is shown in the UK on BT Sport as well as having its own global streaming platform, <a href="https://corporate.wwe.com/news/company-information">the WWE Network</a>, which is currently available in 180 countries in 25 languages. These images have a global reach but receive little criticism.</p>
<h2>Apollo Crews</h2>
<p>One of the examples cited by Abrahams is the character development of the American wrestler <a href="https://www.wwe.com/superstars/apollo-crews">Apollo Crews</a>. In early 2021, Crews debuted <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/why-apollo-crews-change-accent">a new iteration</a> of his character, claiming he was a descendant of Nigerian royalty.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Apollo Crews announces his new persona in 2021.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Alongside this claim, Crews now sported a stereotypical Nigerian accent, as well as entering the ring with a tribal spear. These aspects – alongside a more defiant and violent persona – evoke the stereotype of the “<a href="https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/brute/">black buck</a>”, or “brute”. This figure is seen throughout art, literature and film as a slave to his animalistic tendencies and a threat to the white man. </p>
<p>Crews’ development reinforces the derogatory aspects of the stereotype seen throughout the 19th century, instead foregrounding the “otherness” of non-white cultures. The idea of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/nov/08/us-vs-them-the-sinister-techniques-of-othering-and-how-to-avoid-them">othering</a> – situating another culture in opposite to your own – is a main component of the WWE. Many of the Asian athletes also suffer similar stereotypical aspects.</p>
<h2>Asuka</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.wwe.com/superstars/asuka">Asuka</a> – a highly successful Japanese female wrestler – uses an illegal move called the “<a href="https://www.theringer.com/2019/11/4/20947195/green-mist-kabuki-asuka-tajiri-gary-hart">Asian mist</a>”. This is where the wrestler sprays coloured liquid into the face of their opponent, causing various supposed effects from visual impairment to paralysis. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Asuka uses “Asian mist”.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This move, currently only utilised by Asuka in a show of causing partial sight loss, relies on the perceived mysticism of Asia. No explanation is given to how these liquids are created, or how their various effects are achieved. Bright colours are utilised (red, green, blue) to demonstrate their exotic quality. When it was first utilised in the 1980s the wrestler made a show of rubbing their throat, as if extracting the fluid from a secret, magical gland. </p>
<p>Not only this, but Asuka has also drawn criticism from WWE veteran <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/news-what-f-ck-going-this-veteran-questions-racist-connotations-recent-wwe-segment">Jim Cornette</a> for the way in which she communicated with another Japanese wrestler, IYO SKY, in their native tongue. Both women are shown shouting at each other, in an almost incoherent manner, screaming and sticking their tongues out, in a maniacal manner. </p>
<p>This stereotype can be seen as a manifestation of the ideas put forth by the post-colonialist author, Edward Said, most obviously in his seminal work Orientalism, in which he highlighted the way the west has misrepresented the east to situate themselves as superior and as a means to <a href="https://theconversation.com/orientalism-edward-saids-groundbreaking-book-explained-197429">justify colonialism</a>. The aspects of mysticism and poor communication skills demonstrate the backwardness and the perceived uncivilised behaviours that are key aspects of an Orientalist stereotype.</p>
<p>The WWE foregrounds the exotic, magical and mystical aspects of Asia, in opposition to the perseived norm of the west. During the pandemic, Asuka drew attention to the rise of <a href="https://etcanada.com/news/779953/wwes-asuka-details-her-own-experiences-with-racism-its-a-waste-of-time-to-be-hateful/">anti-Asian racism in the US</a>, but she is also arguably complicit in the continued perpetuation of stereotypical imagery through her WWE persona.</p>
<h2>Sheamus</h2>
<p>White characters also suffer from the stereotypical tendencies of the WWE. Take <a href="https://www.wwe.com/superstars/sheamus">Sheamus</a>, an Irish wrestler who made his debut 17 years ago. Celtic imagery has been a key component of his iconography throughout his career.</p>
<p>In an interview in 2006, he stated he wanted to <a href="http://www.sosofficial.com/fightingspirit.shtml">move away</a> from Irish stereotypes of “Guinness, leprechauns and Blarney Stones”, instead attempting to portray a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fianna">Fianna</a> – fierce warriors that are a main component of Irish mythology. However this distaste for stereotype seems to have waned. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Sheamus’s 2020 ‘bar fight’ video.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In 2020, Sheamus took part in a “bar fight” where he fought his opponent in a pub-like setting, smashing bottles over each other’s heads. Links can be drawn to the <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2017/03/12/drunkards-how-anti-irish-stereotype-began/SL1aTTvw18blEJZpWmYnjI/story.html">US anti-immigration campaigns</a> in the 19th century where stereotypes of Irish people were established, positing them as violent alcoholics. This is reflected in many images of the period, as well as the “<a href="https://academic.oup.com/jsh/article-abstract/49/4/829/2412883?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false">no Irish need apply</a>” campaigns.</p>
<p>Stereotypes of other cultures have pervaded in western media, but representation has improved in many industries, most noticeably within Hollywood. However it does not look like WWE will be changing the way it represents other cultures any time soon. </p>
<p>These few examples merely scratch the surface of the problem. This year the WWE also <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-wwe-ufc-merger-means-for-the-future-of-wrestling-and-mma-203595">announced a merger</a> with the Ultimate Fighting Championship creating a “live sports and entertainment powerhouse”. This raises multiple questions, but one area of interest is whether these stereotypes will continue, spreading naive representations of cultures around the globe.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Russell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stereotypes have always been, and still are, a main component of WWE.Andrew Russell, Lecturer, Faculty of Creative & Cultural Industries, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2045472023-05-24T02:15:27Z2023-05-24T02:15:27ZHallucinations in the movies tend to be about chaos, violence and mental distress. But they can be positive too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525545/original/file-20230511-23-cvjsjn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C2%2C994%2C663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/men-women-sitting-circle-during-group-1316330951">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hallucinations are often depicted in the movies as terrifying experiences. Think Jake Gyllenhaal seeing a monstrous rabbit in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246578/">Donnie Darko</a>, Leonardo DiCaprio experiencing the torture of <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/reel-therapy/201002/shutter-island-separating-fact-fiction">Shutter Island</a>, Natalie Portman in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/">Black Swan</a>, or Joaquin Phoenix as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/21/joker-mental-illness-joaquin-phoenix-dangerous-misinformed">Joker</a>. </p>
<p>Each character experiences some form of psychological distress. Scenes connect to, or even explain, a decline into chaos and violence.</p>
<p>Experiencing hallucinations can be distressing for some people and their loved ones. However, focusing solely on such depictions perpetuates myths and misconceptions about hallucinations. They also potentially perpetuate harmful stereotypes of mental distress. </p>
<p>Movies such as Joker use a broad, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/21/joker-mental-illness-joaquin-phoenix-dangerous-misinformed">arguably incorrect</a>, brush to connect hallucinations, mental health issues and violence. This reinforces the misconception that hallucinations always indicate mental health issues, when this is not necessarily true.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-jokers-origin-story-comes-at-a-perfect-moment-clowns-define-our-times-123009">The Joker’s origin story comes at a perfect moment: clowns define our times</a>
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<h2>What are hallucinations?</h2>
<p>Hallucinations are perceptions that occur without a corresponding external stimulus. They can involve any of the human senses. </p>
<p>Auditory hallucinations involve hearing things that aren’t there, such as voices or sounds. Visual hallucinations involve seeing things that aren’t there, such as lights, objects or people. Tactile hallucinations involve feeling things that aren’t there, such as a sensation of something crawling on your skin. Gustatory hallucinations involve taste and smell.</p>
<p>People often confuse hallucinations and delusions. The two can be related, but they are not the same thing. Delusions are false beliefs, firmly held by a person despite evidence to the contrary. A person might believe someone is following them (a delusion), and see and hear that figure (a hallucination).</p>
<p>Before the 17th century, hallucinations were commonly thought to be of <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00991/full">cultural and religious</a> significance.</p>
<p>However, between the mid-1600s and 1700s, hallucinations began to be understood as medical concerns, related to both mental and physical illnesses. This medical lens of hallucination remains. Now we know which <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2702442/">parts of the brain</a> are activated when someone has a hallucination.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-have-found-how-to-make-people-hallucinate-and-how-to-measure-what-they-see-66842">Scientists have found how to make people hallucinate, and how to measure what they see</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What causes hallucinations?</h2>
<p>Hallucinations can be a sign of serious mental health issues. The presence or experience of hallucinations is, for example, one of the criteria used to <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Practice/DSM/APA_DSM-5-Schizophrenia.pdf">diagnose schizophrenia</a> (delusions are another). </p>
<p>Hallucinations may also provide insight into mental health issues such as bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. </p>
<p>However, hallucinations can also be linked to other medical conditions.</p>
<p>Hallucinations can be caused by fever, as well as disease or damage impacting the brain or <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-charles-bonnet-syndrome-the-eye-condition-that-causes-hallucinations-122322">optic nerves</a>. Parkinson’s disease causes visual, auditory and tactile hallucinations <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7116251/">in up to 75% of people</a>. Epilepsy and migraine headaches are also linked to hallucinations, and can cause perceptual disturbances, sometimes for days. Substance use, particularly of <a href="https://theconversation.com/weekly-dose-ayahuasca-a-cautionary-tale-for-tourists-eager-to-try-this-shamanic-brew-73953">hallucinogenic drugs</a> such as LSD or ketamine, can also cause hallucinations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525554/original/file-20230511-27-l2mwz9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young man, thinking, hand in hand, on chin" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525554/original/file-20230511-27-l2mwz9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525554/original/file-20230511-27-l2mwz9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525554/original/file-20230511-27-l2mwz9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525554/original/file-20230511-27-l2mwz9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525554/original/file-20230511-27-l2mwz9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525554/original/file-20230511-27-l2mwz9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525554/original/file-20230511-27-l2mwz9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some people may experience hallucinations during times of extreme distress or grief.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/thoughtful-young-man-living-room-90697366">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hallucinations can also occur in people without any underlying medical conditions. For example, some people may experience hallucinations during times of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/article/46/6/1367/5939754">extreme distress or grief</a>. </p>
<p>Environmental factors such as <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00303/full">sleep deprivation</a> can cause a range of perceptual disturbances, including visual and auditory hallucinations. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4354964/">Sensory deprivation</a>, such as being placed in a soundproof room, can also cause hallucinations.</p>
<p>But still, the common image that hallucinations are connected only to mental health issues persists.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-peculiar-history-of-thornapple-the-hallucinogenic-weed-that-ended-up-in-supermarket-spinach-197014">The peculiar history of thornapple, the hallucinogenic weed that ended up in supermarket spinach</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Hallucinations can be frightening, but not always</h2>
<p>Hallucinations can be frightening for people, and their families. And the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020764016675888">stigma</a> and misconceptions surrounding hallucinations can have a significant impact on someone who experiences them. </p>
<p>People who have hallucinations may be afraid or embarrassed of being considered “bizarre” or “unsafe”, and therefore may avoid seeking help.</p>
<p>But hallucinations are <a href="https://www.intervoiceonline.org/voices-visions/voices-as-a-gift">not always scary or disturbing</a>. Some hallucinations can be neutral or even pleasant. People have been sharing on social media their positive and empowering experience of hallucinations. In the example below, we see one person’s positive experience of hearing voices. Yet we rarely see such depictions of hallucinations in the movies.</p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-853" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/853/9f702c4fefadeb810f9d64d7b4512b39a655a262/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/weekly-dose-ayahuasca-a-cautionary-tale-for-tourists-eager-to-try-this-shamanic-brew-73953">Weekly Dose: ayahuasca, a cautionary tale for tourists eager to try this shamanic brew</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How to support someone having hallucinations</h2>
<p>If you are with someone who is having hallucinations, particularly if these are new or distressing for them, here are several ways you can support them:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>ask the person if they want to talk about what they are experiencing and listen to them without judgment: “I cannot hear what you are hearing, can you tell me about it?”</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://tuneinnotout.com/videos/r-u-ok-ask-experts-nicholas-procter/">listen</a>. Don’t argue or blame. Acknowledge that hallucinations are real to the person, even if they are seemingly unusual and not based in reality: “I cannot see what you see, but I do understand you see it.”</p></li>
<li><p>empathise with how the person feels about their experiences. “I cannot feel or taste it, but I can imagine it would be a difficult experience. I can see how much it is concerning you.”</p></li>
<li><p>support someone to seek care. Persistent or distressing hallucinations should always be evaluated by a qualified health professional. Establishing potential causes is important: “I cannot hear it like you, but let’s talk to a health professional about it. They can help us understand what might be happening.”</p></li>
<li><p>encourage the person to <a href="https://www.intervoiceonline.org/national-networks#content">reach out to their peers</a> as well as to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01612840.2023.2189953?src=recsys">hearing voices groups</a> for ongoing support.</p>
<hr></li>
</ul>
<p><em>We’d like to acknowledge <a href="https://www.nswmentalhealthcommission.com.au/staff-profile/tim-heffernan">Tim Heffernan</a>, Deputy Commissioner of the Mental Health Commission of New South Wales, who contributed to this article.</em></p>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency dial 000.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204547/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How hallucinations are depicted in the movies perpetuates myths and harmful stereotypes, rather than encouraging people to seek support.Christopher Patterson, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, University of WollongongNicholas Procter, Professor and Chair: Mental Health Nursing, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2053782023-05-17T12:40:39Z2023-05-17T12:40:39ZBarbara Kingsolver’s ‘Demon Copperhead’ and the enduring devastation of the opioid crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526588/original/file-20230516-35975-5ps8gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=453%2C590%2C3095%2C2057&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Barbara Kingsolver's protagonist, Demon, is much more than his drug habit.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/child-lying-on-the-waterfall-royalty-free-image/537292087">SergioZacchi/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://barbarakingsolver.net">Barbara Kingsolver’s</a> literary honors range from the National Book Prize of South Africa to the PEN/Faulkner Award. </p>
<p>On May 8, 2023, she added a <a href="https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/barbara-kingsolver">Pulitzer Prize</a> to her accolades. </p>
<p>Her winning novel, “<a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/demon-copperhead-barbara-kingsolver?variant=40073146204194">Demon Copperhead</a>,” is more than just a reimagining of Charles Dickens’ “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/766/766-h/766-h.htm">David Copperfield</a>.” Casting an opioid-addicted Appalachian orphan as her protagonist, Kingsolver sheds new light on one of America’s greatest health crises. </p>
<p>Understandably, the COVID-19 pandemic eclipsed media coverage of and national concern over the opioid epidemic; nevertheless, opioids remain a massive public health problem, and I think the author’s attention to it is both welcome and necessary. </p>
<p>In taking up the topic, she joins artists with ties to Appalachia, such as bluegrass guitar phenom <a href="https://www.billystrings.com/">Billy Strings</a>, the late singer-songwriter <a href="https://www.johnprine.com/">John Prine</a> and photographer <a href="https://www.stacykranitz.com/">Stacy Kranitz</a>, all of whom have used their art to highlight the ravaging effects of these drugs on their region.</p>
<h2>How artists can reclaim a place</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.middlebury.edu/college/people/william-nash">As an American Studies professor</a> who teaches courses on both country music and images of rural America, I see this groundbreaking work through the lens of <a href="https://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/human_geography/cultural">cultural geography</a>, which explores the relationship between culture and place.</p>
<p>A region can inspire unique forms of art, music, literature and architecture, and the work of geographer <a href="https://www.aag.org/memorial/edward-w-soja/">Edward Soja</a> helped show how this work can push back against stereotypes. </p>
<p>In 1996, Soja published “<a href="https://geography.ruhosting.nl/geography/index.php?title=Thirdspace">Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and Other Real-and-Imagined Places</a>.” </p>
<p>In it, he argued that stereotypes of a region’s people and landscape could lead to damaging politics and policies. For example, outsiders’ views of “the inner city” as hotbeds for poverty, crime and broken families led to the implementation of racist <a href="https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/moynihan-report-1965/">public housing policies in the 1960s</a>.</p>
<p>Soja’s book was a call to arms for artists and the marginalized: In what he called “thirdspace” – a place that exists at the intersection of the real and the imagined – they can reclaim and reframe visions of their region, showcasing <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-black-poets-and-writers-gave-a-voice-to-affrilachia-155706">different identities and experiences</a>. </p>
<p>Appalachia is a region that, for generations, has been subjected to <a href="https://qz.com/1167671/the-100-year-capitalist-experiment-that-keeps-appalachia-poor-sick-and-stuck-on-coal">economic oppression</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/04/03/298892382/stereotypes-of-appalachia-obscure-a-diverse-picture">classist stereotyping</a> and environmental and medical recklessness. <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/assistant-attorney-general-brian-benczkowski-gives-remarks-west-virginia-and-appalachian">The pumping of opioids into rural communities</a> represents just another chapter in this story of exploitation. </p>
<p>Yet artists and writers like Kingsolver are able to show that the people in the region are more than just backward, powerless victims – that they are complicated people with the same goals, longings and fears as the rest of us. </p>
<h2>More than an addict</h2>
<p>Kingsolver, who was raised in rural Kentucky and who currently resides in Virginia, had a keen vision for Copperhead. She weaves the history of the economic fallout from the tobacco industry and coal mining into her protagonist’s backstory.</p>
<p>Her central concern, though, was always the opioid crisis. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/14/books/barbara-kingsolver-demon-copperhead.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare">As she told The New York Times in October 2022</a>, “I wanted to say, ‘Look, it’s still here, and this got done to us and we didn’t deserve it.’”</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526611/original/file-20230516-34052-cr44y0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Book cover of 'Demon Copperhead.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526611/original/file-20230516-34052-cr44y0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526611/original/file-20230516-34052-cr44y0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526611/original/file-20230516-34052-cr44y0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526611/original/file-20230516-34052-cr44y0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526611/original/file-20230516-34052-cr44y0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526611/original/file-20230516-34052-cr44y0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526611/original/file-20230516-34052-cr44y0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Demon Copperhead’ won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0570/7209/1326/products/33274BCF-6D06-40F3-B603-2C8F57086E36.jpg?v=1669761668">Black Bird Bookstore and Cafe</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s the story of Demon’s life. An orphan who experiences poverty, an abusive foster home and social isolation, he finds freedom and glory on the football field, only to experience a devastating knee injury. </p>
<p>Pressured by his coach and the townspeople to play through his pain, he blindly takes the OxyContin that the local Dr. Feelgood prescribes, only to find himself crippled physically, psychologically and emotionally by his addiction.</p>
<p>And yet, through all of that, Demon is much more than his habit. Kingsolver foregrounds his humanity, his humor and his potential for goodness in a way that makes him more than “just an addict.” </p>
<p>In doing so, Kingsolver uses her connection to the region, her empathy for its residents and her awareness of stereotypes about Appalachians and addicts to avoid what could have easily been a reductive portrayal. Instead, she crafts a realistic and still-not-despairing vision from the inside.</p>
<p>This approach – an example of Soja’s thirdspace – is, in my view, the most powerful tool that artists have at their disposal to counteract the impulse to move on from grappling with this ongoing epidemic.</p>
<h2>Filling the void</h2>
<p>What Kingsolver does in prose, Billy Strings and John Prine do in song. </p>
<p>Strings, whose breakout hit, “<a href="https://outsider.com/entertainment/music/country-music/billy-strings-dust-in-a-baggie-lyrics-story-behind-song/">Dust in a Baggie</a>,” is a portrait of methamphetamine addiction, takes on opioids in “<a href="https://americansongwriter.com/billy-strings-enough-to-leave-video-jason-isbell-tour-announcement/">Enough to Leave</a>,” a track from his album “Home.” </p>
<p>Written to commemorate two friends who overdosed on fentanyl-laced heroin within the same week, <a href="https://lyrics.lol/artist/1431433-billy-strings/lyrics/4694970-enough-to-leave">the song</a> is a <a href="https://jambands.com/news/2020/02/20/billy-strings-shares-in-studio-video-of-enough-to-leave/">haunting evocation of grief</a> for those left behind when addiction takes its toll:</p>
<pre class="highlight plaintext"><code> Enough to kill ya, enough to put you down
Seems like every way you turned was like a hard wind comin' down
Enough to leave me, enough to leave me here
And though the room is empty now I can almost feel you near
</code></pre>
<p>The same is true for Prine’s “Summer’s End,” a track from his last album, 2018’s “The Tree of Forgiveness.”</p>
<p>The video for that song, directed by West Virginia filmmakers Kerrin Sheldon and Elaine McMillan Sheldon, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/how-john-prines-summers-end-video-addresses-the-opioid-crisis-776514/">portrays an aging grandfather and his young granddaughter</a> going about the mundanities of daily life in the wake of their daughter and mother’s death. A single frame depicts a news headline about the opioid crisis, illuminating the source of their suffering without overshadowing the regularity of their routines.</p>
<p>The video brings to mind a line from Samuel Beckett’s 1953 novel “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Unnamable">The Unnamable</a>”: “You must go on. I can’t go on. I’ll go on.”</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nXbEFTv9zr0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The music video for ‘Summer’s End.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Upending a theory of ‘genetic decline’</h2>
<p>Words, music and pictures – all have become powerful tools in this thirdspace reading of opioid-afflicted Appalachia. </p>
<p>Like the Sheldons, Kentucky-born photographer Stacy Kranitz offers gritty, complex and beautiful photographic portraits of Appalachia.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.readingthepictures.org/2014/02/stacy-kranitz-the-rape-of-appalachia/">She has written</a> about how she wants her work to provide a corrective to the negative portraits of Appalachia penned by Kentuckian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Comes_to_the_Cumberlands">Harry Caudill</a> and New York Times reporter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer_Bigart">Homer Bigart</a> in the 1960s. </p>
<p>Caudill, who emphasized the economic exploitation of Appalachia, also came to embrace William Shockley’s <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-shockley">theory of dysgenics</a>, arguing that “genetic decline” among the people of Appalachia played a contributing role in the perpetuation of their suffering.</p>
<p>Their work brought Appalachia to the <a href="http://acsc.lib.udel.edu/exhibits/show/legislation/appalachian">Johnson administration’s awareness</a>. But it also amplified the national perception of the region and its people as backward, helpless and ripe for exploitation. </p>
<p>Kranitz’s engagement with Appalachia – particularly her refusal to let Caudill’s stereotypical views of its inhabitants as backward and regressive stand – offers a thirdspace revision of the region and its residents. Her series “<a href="https://www.stacykranitz.com/as-it-was-given-to-me">As It Was Given to Me</a>” juxtaposes a burning cross at a Klan rally with an image of a lovely, innocent girl holding a lit sparkler. Unafraid to illustrate the ugliness of the region, Kranitz is equally insistent on finding its beauty. </p>
<p>Like these artists and musicians, Kingsolver set out in “Demon Copperhead” to wrestle with the region’s complex history and its current social ills. </p>
<p>In that, she succeeded. </p>
<p>Hopefully the Pulitzer committee’s recognition of the novel will lead others to not only educate themselves about Appalachia, but also participate in the work needed to undo the damage that these drugs have done – and continue to do. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CQtOSdzMXDr","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205378/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Nash does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Pulitzer Prize-winning author is just one of many artists from Appalachia who are probing the crisis in their work, while taking pains to ensure that it doesn’t define the region and its people.William Nash, Professor of American Studies and English and American Literatures, MiddleburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2047682023-05-11T12:13:37Z2023-05-11T12:13:37Z‘The Diplomat’ negotiates expectations – and myths – about gender, power and politics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525469/original/file-20230510-14022-f4qqq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3594%2C1988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Keri Russell plays a a nonpolitical straight shooter in a political role that she grudgingly accepts.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/billboard-for-a-netflix-streaming-show-the-diplomat-on-a-news-photo/1252546268?adppopup=true"> Brian van der Brug / Contributor/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Few people would have predicted that a loquacious drama about a woman foreign service professional would have been Netflix’s next big hit. But <a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-diplomat-season-2-netflix-keri-russell-1235599216/">everyone is talking</a> about “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17491088/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_the%2520diplomat">The Diplomat</a>” – for good reason.</p>
<p>The series, starring Keri Russell as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/diplomat-lands-top-streaming-most-213223969.html">debuted at No. 1 on the streaming charts</a>. Critics commend the <a href="https://latinamedia.co/the-diplomat/">stellar performances</a>, <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/entertainment/tv/the-diplomat-netflix-cast-release-date-plot/779125">twisty plot</a> and “<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/the-diplomat-review-netflix-keri-russell-the-americans-tv-political-thriller-feminism-vp-rufus-sewell-1234715683/">wryly funny</a>” writing that comprise this “<a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-diplomat-season-2-netflix-keri-russell-1235599216/">gripping and propulsive drama</a>.” Even the official Twitter account of the U.S. Embassy in London <a href="https://twitter.com/USAinUK/status/1653336857789313024">tweeted</a> a playful and mostly laudatory video fact-checking the first episode.</p>
<p>With so many eyes on the latest TV iteration of a woman in a high-profile political position, its depiction of women’s leadership is significant. As a communication scholar who researches media <a href="https://www.tamupress.com/book/9781623495558/woman-president/">framing of real</a> <a href="https://www.peterlang.com/document/1056671">and fictional</a> women politicians, I am interested in how television and film shape our views of women politicians in the real world. </p>
<p>Although “The Diplomat” initially perpetuates a popular stereotype that the only women who can be trusted in high office are those who don’t want to be there, it thoughtfully portrays the ubiquity of everyday sexism in political culture.</p>
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<h2>Women and political ambition</h2>
<p>“The Diplomat” follows Russell’s character, Kate Wyler, the newly appointed ambassador to the U.K., and her husband, Hal, a former ambassador and the duo’s more politically ambitious half, played by Rufus Sewell. </p>
<p>The president needs to replace his vice president due to an impending scandal, and Hal has maneuvered Kate onto the VP short list – without her knowledge – by convincing the president’s chief of staff, Billie Appia, played by Nana Mensah, that Kate’s supreme competence and lack of political ambition is what qualifies her for the job. </p>
<p>Hal insists that “no one with the temperament to win a campaign should be in charge of anything.”</p>
<p>The assumption at the center of “The Diplomat” is that politicians make lousy leaders. There’s no doubt that for many viewers, that’s <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/07/poll-biden-congress-democrats-republicans-unfavorable/11622285002/">part of its appeal</a>. </p>
<p>Like “The West Wing,” – the series on which the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/showrunner">showrunner</a> of the “The Diplomat,” Debora Cahn, got her start – the show is part political fairy tale, envisioning a world in which people who can solve problems are actually empowered to do so. As she tries to convince Kate to consider the VP gig, Billie asks, “Can you imagine hiring someone for a key governing position just because you think they’d be good at it?”</p>
<p>This is tricky terrain to negotiate, however, and “The Diplomat” initially reinforces one of the most pernicious stereotypes about women politicians on screen and in real life: Women who have political ambition can’t be trusted. In series like “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1759761/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Veep</a>,” “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/list/ls085193267/">24</a>” and “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/borgen-s-bleak-view-of-women-in-power">Borgen: Power and Glory</a>,” ambitious women politicians turn out to be incompetent or corrupt.</p>
<p>Conversely, ethical and successful women politicians such as those in “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429455/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Commander in Chief</a>,” “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3501074/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Madam Secretary</a>” and, now, “The Diplomat” are public servants who have to be cajoled into participating in campaigning and partisan politics.</p>
<p>After Kate discovers that people have been scheming behind her back to install her as the vice president during a foreign policy crisis, she cements her status as a nonpolitical straight shooter by marching up to the president and announcing, “I am not cut out for this. I’m stepping down. The good news is, that makes me the one person in the world who isn’t trying to kiss your ass, but still knows a lot about Iran.” </p>
<p>Then, after schooling the commander in chief on the finer points of foreign policy, Kate asserts that his willingness to cooperate with the British prime minister’s request for a show of force is because “you’re scared your enemies think you’re too old and frail to put Americans in the line of fire.” </p>
<p>Because this is a political fairy tale, the president, played by Michael McKean, shakes her hand, tells her she’s doing great, and says, “Just knock off that ‘I resign’ shit. It really pisses me off. I don’t have that kind of time.”</p>
<p>The vision of a candid, nonpolitical woman who wins powerful men’s respect by exposing flaws in their logic and highlighting their weaknesses makes good TV. </p>
<p>But it complicates things when viewers become voters and are asked to support real women candidates who put themselves forward for public office and get punished for speaking their minds and asserting authority. Women politicians who express ambition are often <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07491409.2017.1302257">evaluated more negatively</a> by voters than their men counterparts, from whom political ambition is not just tolerated, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/03/why-ambitious-men-are-celebrated-and-ambitious-women-are-criticized/">but expected</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pmRJiZ4mFQU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Borgen: Power and Glory’ is one of a number of series in which ambitious women politicians, even those who began their careers as successful idealists, devolve into cynical political operators whose priorities harm their families, their parties and their nations.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Gender and power</h2>
<p>“The Diplomat” recognizes that likable women protagonists, like their political counterparts, can’t appear to be be power hungry. But it also resists the notion that the vice presidency is a powerless office. </p>
<p>As Billie and the U.S. embassy’s deputy chief of mission, Stuart Heyford, played by Ato Essandoh, try to persuade Kate to agree to be vice president, Billie emphasizes that the position would come with substantial influence. </p>
<p>“The VP spends more time in the Oval Office than anyone who doesn’t have a desk there,” she says, then promising, “We’d put you in the lead on foreign policy.” Stuart appeals to Kate’s sense of mission with a line that also reminds viewers that Kate isn’t inappropriately ambitious: “You’d be doing it for the country, not the power.”</p>
<p>The elaborate, and preposterous, chain of events that produces this conversation – in which the president’s chief of staff tries to persuade a rank-and-file foreign service officer to agree to be the vice president in the middle of a term – allows the show to remark on the absurd corrosiveness of political campaigns. After reminding Kate that she wouldn’t “have to survive a campaign,” there is the following exchange between Billie and Stuart:</p>
<p>Billie: “I mean, it’s bad for the guys, but for the women – f–k me. Is she pretty, but not too pretty? Appealing, but not hot? Confident, but not bitchy? Decisive, but not bitchy?”</p>
<p>Stuart: “Cute bitchy, but not bitchy bitchy.”</p>
<h2>Dressing the part</h2>
<p>Cahn explores this double standard visually as well. Although Kate prefers black suits, minimal makeup, undisciplined hair and shoes that allow her to power walk through her day, her impeccably coiffed staff urges her to adopt a more appealing, feminine and camera-friendly look.</p>
<p>Rather than presenting Kate as dowdy or oblivious and giving her a midseason glow-up, however, the show demonstrates that she is <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/the-diplomat-keri-russell-costumes-netflix-1234831239/">well aware of the image she is creating</a>. During a photo shoot for British Vogue, Kate tells the photographer, “I don’t want to make your job any harder than it already is, but it would be great if there weren’t any shots of me looking wistfully into the distance as I caress my own neck.” </p>
<p>“The Diplomat” wraps insights about sexism in politics in the packaging of a political thriller. Its popularity is a good thing. As the 2024 campaign season ramps up, voters need compelling reminders of the effect sexism can have on democracy – because patriarchal political culture is something we all have to negotiate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204768/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karrin Vasby Anderson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Although the series perpetuates the stereotype that politically ambitious women can’t be trusted in high office, it thoughtfully portrays the ubiquity of everyday sexism in political culture.Karrin Vasby Anderson, Professor of Communication Studies, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1974292023-02-12T19:09:09Z2023-02-12T19:09:09ZOrientalism: Edward Said’s groundbreaking book explained<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508527/original/file-20230207-17-affvx0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C11%2C1911%2C1287&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The original cover art of Edward Said's book was this Orientalist painting by Jean Leon Gerome: Le charmeur de serpents</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whether you’re conscious of it or not, you likely have a vivid mental image of what the Middle East looks and sounds like. You might envision a sparse landscape, the air warped by heat and yellowed with flurries of sand. You might hear the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osf1gckzf70&themeRefresh=1">plucking of an oud</a>, or a haunting voice singing in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faOWttnSx3A">double harmonic scale</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@rudyayoub/video/7138072436649774382">This viral TikTok video</a> captures just how salient these tropes are in our collective awareness and in popular media. Here, TikTokers collaboratively satirise features commonly found in Hollywood films about the Middle East, such as <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4669264/">Beirut</a> (2018), <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2179136/">American Sniper</a> (2014), and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024648/">Argo</a> (2012). </p>
<p>The video spoofs “the yellow filter”, a colour-grading style used when depicting places perceived as impoverished or rife with conflict. We also hear a crude rendition of “Arabic” music, and someone poses as a “lady in lots of fabric staring at the camera”, parodying the unsettling mystique attributed to Middle Eastern women. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shantaram-the-black-white-mans-burden-132173">Shantaram – the Black white man's burden</a>
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<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507795/original/file-20230202-15-g7bczh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507795/original/file-20230202-15-g7bczh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507795/original/file-20230202-15-g7bczh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507795/original/file-20230202-15-g7bczh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507795/original/file-20230202-15-g7bczh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507795/original/file-20230202-15-g7bczh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507795/original/file-20230202-15-g7bczh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507795/original/file-20230202-15-g7bczh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>These tropes form a part of what Palestinian-American intellectual and activist Edward Said called <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/orientalism-9780141187426">Orientalism</a>. His seminal 1978 book of the same name explores the ways Western experts, or “Orientalists”, have come to understand and represent the Middle East. </p>
<p>Said analyses a vast, organised body of knowledge on the Middle East, starting with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Pyramids-Egyptian-history">Napoléon’s 1798 invasion of Egypt</a>, for which a legion of scholars, writers and scientists were enlisted to collect as much information about Egypt as they could. Orientalism peels back the supposedly neutral veneer of scientific interest and discovery attached to such projects.</p>
<p>Said shows how Orientalist writings and ideologies actively shape the world they describe, and how they perpetuate views of Middle Eastern people as inferior, subservient, and in need of saving. As a result, these often racist or romanticised stereotypes create a worldview that justifies Western colonialism and imperialism. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508523/original/file-20230207-27-xkbhtk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man reads a book in front of bookshelves" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508523/original/file-20230207-27-xkbhtk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508523/original/file-20230207-27-xkbhtk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508523/original/file-20230207-27-xkbhtk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508523/original/file-20230207-27-xkbhtk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508523/original/file-20230207-27-xkbhtk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508523/original/file-20230207-27-xkbhtk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508523/original/file-20230207-27-xkbhtk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Edward Said shows how Orientalist writings and ideologies perpetuate views of Middle Eastern people as inferior, subservient, and in need of saving.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barenboim-Said Foundation (USA)</span></span>
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<h2>What is “the Orient”?</h2>
<p>According to Said, the Orient is a “semi-mythical construct” imposed on a set of countries east of Europe. While the term has been used to describe countries in East and South Asia, Said mainly focuses on how it’s used in relation to <a href="https://aapirc.ucsc.edu/swana/what-is-swana.html">Southwest Asia and North Africa</a>, or the Middle East. </p>
<p>Indeed, the Orient doesn’t have a stable set of geographical bounds. Orientalists might write about countries as varied as Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq with little distinction. Consequently, the geographical vagueness of “the Orient” works to conflate a vast and diverse array of landscapes, peoples and cultures into a single, unchanging unit. </p>
<p>Orientalists often describe parts of Southwest Asia and North Africa with the intention of representing the <em>entire</em> Orient, and a wide range of moral attitudes, religions, languages, cultures and political structures are folded into one. </p>
<p>As such, the idea of the Orient functions more as an abstract antithesis the West defines itself against than as an accurate descriptor of a region. </p>
<h2>Who are “the Orientals”?</h2>
<p>The term “Oriental” was often used to describe any person or group of people east of Europe, usually from Arab and/or Islamic countries. Like “the Orient”, this term reduces a variety of peoples to a discrete set of traits and temperaments. </p>
<p>In his book, Said observes a spate of harmful and sometimes contradictory stereotypes of so-called Oriental peoples, who are described as lazy, suspicious, gullible, mysterious or untruthful. </p>
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<span class="caption">The 2018 film Beirut was shot mostly in Tangier in Morocco: part of the reason it received backlash for its inaccurate, Orientalist depiction of the Lebanese Civil War and 1982 Israeli invasion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
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<p>Said argues that by minimising the rich diversity of Southwest Asian and North African peoples, Orientalists turn them into a “contrasting image” against which the West seems culturally superior. </p>
<p>The peoples of the Middle East are often portrayed as weak, barbaric and irrational. Westerners, in comparison, are made to seem strong, progressive and rational. This style of thinking, in which East and West, or Orient and Occident, are placed into a mutually exclusive binary, is central to Orientalist thought.</p>
<h2>What is an “Orientalist”?</h2>
<p>Said mounts much of his study of Orientalism on analyses of academic research. In his book, Said mainly focuses on academics working in philology and anthropology: those who wrote about the languages and cultures of Southwest Asia and North Africa. </p>
<p>He shows how these researchers fashioned their highly selective, biased observations into supposedly “scientific” findings, thus positioning themselves as objective authorities on Southwest Asia and North Africa.</p>
<p>But Orientalists aren’t exclusively tucked away in ivory towers. Said also explores the work of authors, poets, painters, philosophers and politicians, citing figures as varied as Arthur Balfour, Victor Hugo and Eugène Delacroix.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fVC8EYd_Z_g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Edward Said on Orientalism.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>More than “a mere collection of lies”</h2>
<p>It’s important to note that, for Said, Orientalism isn’t just a set of myths. He understood it as an <em>interconnected system</em> of institutions, policies, narratives and ideas. </p>
<p>Said referred to this as the interaction between “latent Orientalism” (the system of implicit ideas and beliefs about Southwest Asia and North Africa) and “manifest Orientalism” (explicit policies and ideologies acted upon by institutions). </p>
<p>What keeps Orientalism flourishing and relevant is its consistent and active traffic between a variety of fields. Findings in academia inform foreign and domestic policies. Portrayals in popular culture influence the framing of news about Southwest Asia and North Africa, and vice versa. Seeing the links between culture, knowledge and power is fundamental to understanding the reach of Orientalism.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-5-museum-objects-that-tell-a-story-of-colonialism-and-its-legacy-150642">Friday essay: 5 museum objects that tell a story of colonialism and its legacy</a>
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<h2>What does Orientalism do?</h2>
<p>Orientalism served as an ideological basis for French and British colonial rule. But Orientalist perceptions didn’t simply disappear after the colonial period. In fact, they continue to be used as justification for contemporary foreign and domestic policies. </p>
<p>And this, Said stresses, is how Orientalism sustains its power: through repetition. Orientalist ideas, stereotypes and approaches have been renewed and reiterated over the past two centuries, and we can still see them in circulation today. </p>
<p>For instance, we can see them at work in the ways the United States and European Union have endowed themselves with the authority to impose what a <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/11/1130427">2022 UN report</a> called “suffocating” economic sanctions against Syria. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507796/original/file-20230202-20-760nn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507796/original/file-20230202-20-760nn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507796/original/file-20230202-20-760nn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507796/original/file-20230202-20-760nn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507796/original/file-20230202-20-760nn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507796/original/file-20230202-20-760nn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507796/original/file-20230202-20-760nn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Justifications for sanctions in Syria (pictured, 2019) have roots in Orientalist ideas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hassan Ammar/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the US Department of State <a href="https://www.state.gov/syria-sanctions/">has justified</a> the unilateral sanctions as a means to “deprive [Bashar al-Assad’s] regime of the resources it needs to continue violence against civilians”, the sanctions have <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/09/28/u-s-sanctions-are-punishing-ordinary-syrians-and-crippling-aid-work-u-n-report-reveals/">disproportionately affected</a> the civilian population in Syria.</p>
<p>What’s more, these justifications contain the central assumption Said critiques in his book: that Southwest Asian and North African peoples need to be saved from themselves. The price of this so-called salvation is the agency and self-determination of these populations.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-how-the-west-betrayed-syria-194245">Friday essay: how the West betrayed Syria</a>
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<h2>A note on context</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507797/original/file-20230202-16-ry9pr5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507797/original/file-20230202-16-ry9pr5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507797/original/file-20230202-16-ry9pr5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507797/original/file-20230202-16-ry9pr5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507797/original/file-20230202-16-ry9pr5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507797/original/file-20230202-16-ry9pr5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1394&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507797/original/file-20230202-16-ry9pr5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507797/original/file-20230202-16-ry9pr5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1394&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Edward Said and his sister.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikipedia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many scholars note that Said’s lived experience offered him a unique perspective in writing “Orientalism”. Said himself acknowledged this. In his 2003 preface, he wrote, “much of the personal investment in this study derives from my awareness of being an ‘Oriental’ as a child growing up in two British colonies”. </p>
<p>His family was exiled from Mandate Palestine during <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/what-is-nakba-palestine-israel-conflict-explained-1948">the 1948 Nakba</a>, and he went on to live in Lebanon, Egypt and the United States. Educated in British colonial schools and elite US universities, Said linked the experience of being at once an insider and an outsider to the disparity he felt between his own identity as a Palestinian Arab and how Arabs are represented by the West.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-whitewash-is-a-scathing-hilarious-satire-of-asian-misrepresentation-in-hollywood-188466">The Whitewash is a scathing, hilarious satire of Asian misrepresentation in Hollywood</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why is Orientalism important?</h2>
<p>The impact of “Orientalism” is monumental. Said is <a href="https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/postcolonialstudies/about-postcolonial-studies/">often credited</a> with founding the field known as postcolonial studies, and his work has significantly influenced fields across the humanities: including cultural studies, anthropology, comparative literature and political science. </p>
<p>We can also attribute the growing awareness of Orientalist tropes to his book’s vast popularity. “Orientalism” has been translated into 36 languages (as of 2003) and remains a classic available in most bookstores. </p>
<p>While media literacy about Orientalism is increasing, these tropes remain as relevant as ever in the Western popular imagination. We should continue to challenge the ways Orientalism shapes our perception of Southwest Asia and North Africa countries and peoples.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197429/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cyma Hibri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Edward Said’s seminal 1978 book, Orientalism, explores how often racist or romanticised stereotypes create a worldview that justifies Western colonialism and imperialism.Cyma Hibri, PhD, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1984812023-02-08T18:43:39Z2023-02-08T18:43:39ZThe pandemic played into ageist stereotypes, but intergenerational contact and co-operation can overcome them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508476/original/file-20230206-13-t4itv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=63%2C40%2C3810%2C2532&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Stereotypes about the elderly having more than their fair share can be heightened during times of crisis when resources are seen to be scarce.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world, <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/statement/56348/enhanced-measures-to-protect-ontarians-from-covid-19">stringent public health regulations</a> were imposed to protect vulnerable individuals, with older people seen as a particularly vulnerable group.</p>
<p>In response, some argued the pandemic was just a problem for older people and that they should be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa102">locked away</a> so younger people could get on with their lives. Others showed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000699">increased concern</a> for older people, with dedicated shopping hours and food deliveries for seniors organized. </p>
<p>We are a team of researchers in psychology, sociology and political science with expertise in intergroup relations. Our research on ageism during the pandemic shows that the group-based beliefs and values people endorse have an impact on how older people are viewed. </p>
<p>This is important because it tells us what beliefs and values need to be targeted to create a more inclusive society, especially when facing a public health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>In August 2020, we <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/josi.12554">conducted a survey</a> to gauge the attitudes and opinions of Canadians and Americans who were 18 to 65+ years old. The survey relied on nationally representative samples of 2,110 Canadians and 2,124 Americans. The goal was to assess how North Americans perceived older people during the pandemic and what factors explained these perceptions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508434/original/file-20230206-23-8gea8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A younger woman and an elderly man in a wheelchair place their hands on a glass barrier separating them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508434/original/file-20230206-23-8gea8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508434/original/file-20230206-23-8gea8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508434/original/file-20230206-23-8gea8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508434/original/file-20230206-23-8gea8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508434/original/file-20230206-23-8gea8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508434/original/file-20230206-23-8gea8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508434/original/file-20230206-23-8gea8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People talk through a plexiglass barrier at Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver in July 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Intergenerational tension and its basis</h2>
<p>The survey results showed that younger respondents were especially likely to say that older people were using more than their fair share of societal resources, such as those related to health care. This was the case for both Canadians and Americans, and demonstrates <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032367">ageist consumption stereotypes</a>. These stereotypes can be heightened when resources seem to be scarce.</p>
<p>The degree of concern younger North Americans felt in terms of their own health and finances did not predict ageist consumption stereotypes. Instead, their beliefs and values about group relations were key.</p>
<p>Younger North Americans who endorsed the statement that some groups of people are simply inferior to other groups were more likely to endorse ageist consumption stereotypes. The same was true for those who held values emphasizing competition. In contrast, younger North Americans who valued collective goals and believed in personal sacrifice for the collective good were less likely to hold ageist consumption stereotypes.</p>
<p>At the time of the survey, social distancing measures were in effect, so we also asked survey respondents about their opinions about social distancing. We found that younger North Americans who believed social distancing carries too many problems were also more likely to endorse ageist consumption stereotypes.</p>
<h2>What can we learn?</h2>
<p>To reduce ageist perceptions of older people, we should encourage collectivist norms and the importance of acting for the common good, while downplaying competition and group-based dominance. This benefits all of us. First, it promotes social cohesion in society. In addition, most of us will be old people someday and would prefer not to experience ageism at that time. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508531/original/file-20230207-17-4dzrzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An elderly black woman with grey hair looking out of a window." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508531/original/file-20230207-17-4dzrzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508531/original/file-20230207-17-4dzrzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508531/original/file-20230207-17-4dzrzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508531/original/file-20230207-17-4dzrzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508531/original/file-20230207-17-4dzrzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508531/original/file-20230207-17-4dzrzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508531/original/file-20230207-17-4dzrzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">To reduce ageist perceptions of older people, we should encourage collectivist norms and the importance of acting for the common good.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the context of the pandemic and similar health emergencies, one way to do this is through public health messaging that emphasizes how people of all ages share both the risk of diseases such as COVID-19 and the responsibility for co-operating to overcome it. This way, the emphasis is on society as a whole and less on broad age categories.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa051">Another strategy</a> to reduce ageism is to encourage intergenerational contact to promote solidarity and relatedness across age groups. This could, for example, include more frequent quality contact between family members of different generations, personal contact with older neighbours and participation in volunteering programs that bring people of different ages together. </p>
<p>There is also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2020.1737047">evidence</a> that if intergenerational contact is coupled with education on aging, ageism can be successfully reduced. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12545">recent study</a> conducted during the pandemic found that exposure to online information that shows positive intergenerational contact and provides education that challenges ageist stereotypes effectively reduced ageism and perceived intergenerational conflict among young adults.</p>
<p>Intergenerational tension exists but it is not inevitable. To overcome it, we must understand where it comes from and implement a variety of strategies that bring together people of all ages in order to promote co-operation in solving common problems, rather than competition and dominance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198481/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victoria Esses receives funding from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. She has previously received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Choi receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick Denice receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alina Sutter, Joanie Bouchard, and Mamta Vaswani do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>To reduce ageist perceptions of older people, we should encourage collectivist norms and the importance of acting for the common good.Victoria Esses, Director, Network for Economic and Social Trends (NEST); Co-Chair, Pathways to Prosperity Partnership, Western UniversityAlina Sutter, Postdoctoral Associate, Network for Economic and Social Trends (NEST), Western UniversityJoanie Bouchard, Assistant Professor in Political Science, Université de Sherbrooke Kate Choi, Associate Professor, Sociology, Western UniversityMamta Vaswani, Postdoctoral Associate, Network for Economic and Social Trends (NEST), Western UniversityPatrick Denice, Assistant Professor of Sociology; Affiliate, Network for Economic and Social Trends (NEST), Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1976052023-02-06T17:49:31Z2023-02-06T17:49:31ZWhy do some brands change racist names and logos, but others don’t? Here’s what the research says<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507724/original/file-20230201-17339-ty73fg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=328%2C23%2C3423%2C2212&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 131-year-old Aunt Jemima brand name was retired in June 2021 and rebranded as the Pearl Milling Company because of racist stereotypes.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2020, against the backdrop of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/george-floyd-protests-timeline.html">global demonstrations against police brutality and systemic racism</a>, several famous food brands around the world, including <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/business/aunt-jemima-logo-change/index.html">Aunt Jemima</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/uncle-bens-name-change-1.5735203">Uncle Ben’s</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/06/business/eskimo-pie-name-change/index.html">Eskimo Pie</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-16/red-ripper-and-cheekies-the-new-name-of-allens-red-skin-chicos/12887278">Red Skins, Chicos</a>, <a href="https://www.just-food.com/news/nestle-to-re-brand-racially-insensitive-beso-de-negra-in-colombia/">Beso de Negra</a> and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-food-maker-knorr-to-rename-gypsy-sauce/a-54585292">Gypsy Sauce</a>, publicly acknowledged the racist origins of their brand names and logos and vowed to change them.</p>
<p>This change was long overdue. Some of these brands, like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/business/aunt-jemima-renamed-pearl-milling-company.html">Aunt Jemima</a> and <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3097573/gypsy-sauce-be-renamed-germany-because-racist-connotations">Gypsy Sauce</a>, have been around for over a hundred years. Despite activists and critics protesting the commercial co-optation of their cultures, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/06/24/besides-the-confederate-flag-what-other-symbols-should-go/can-we-please-finally-get-rid-of-aunt-jemima">and the racist connotations of certain branding</a>, over the years — <a href="https://www.change.org/p/pepsico-change-aunt-jemima-brand-name-to-nancy-green?redirect=false">especially online via petitions</a> — nothing changed for over a century. </p>
<p>The perseverance of racial slurs and stereotypes in brand names and logos is striking. How were these brands that employ racial stereotypes able to stay in business, despite calls for change? And how can racialized brands successfully terminate racist branding? </p>
<p>My <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/722694">recent study</a>, published in a special issue of the <em>Journal of the Association for Consumer Research</em>, set out to answer these questions by studying the branding change of Zigeunersauce (which means Gypsy Sauce in English), <a href="https://www.euromonitor.com/sauces-dressings-and-condiments-in-germany/report">a popular paprika-based condiment in Germany</a>.</p>
<h2>Eight years of public pressure</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A hand holding a glass bottle of red sauce that says 'Zigeuner Sauce' on the label" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507449/original/file-20230131-22-cgdblv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507449/original/file-20230131-22-cgdblv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507449/original/file-20230131-22-cgdblv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507449/original/file-20230131-22-cgdblv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507449/original/file-20230131-22-cgdblv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1054&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507449/original/file-20230131-22-cgdblv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1054&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507449/original/file-20230131-22-cgdblv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1054&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Knorr re-named the popular ‘Zigeunersauce’ to ‘Paprika Sauce Hungarian Style’ because of the brand name’s racist connotations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2020, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-race-and-ethnicity-international-news-lifestyle-business-c1d7921699b472e2574b0cd92efeedff">Unilever’s Knorr company re-named the popular Zigeunersauce to “Paprika Sauce Hungarian Style”</a> after years of pressure from activists to discontinue the brand name because of its racist connotations. Several of Knorr’s local competitors, including <a href="https://www.kuehne-international.com/sauces/zigeuner-sauce">Kuhne</a>, <a href="https://www.dw.com/de/knorr-das-dilemma-mit-der-sauce/a-54604457">Homann and Edeka</a> also renamed their sauces.</p>
<p>This change came eight years after a Roma and Sinti rights organization <a href="https://www.thelocal.de/20130815/51421">first publicly attempted to get the name Zigeunersauce changed</a>. In 2013, the Forum for Sinti and Roma sent an open letter to five major food manufacturers asking them to change the name, but the request was rejected.</p>
<p>The Roma are <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rom">a traditionally nomadic clan-based people</a> who travelled from Northern India across the European continent around the fifteenth century. <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2015/04/roma-in-europe-11-things-you-always-wanted-to-know-but-were-afraid-to-ask/">Roma subgroups differentiate themselves</a> according to their clan, language dialects and traditional occupations.</p>
<p>The term <em>zigeuner</em>, or gypsy, is a derogatory term for Roma or Sinti, depending on their subgroup affiliation. <em>Zigeuner</em> is <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Borders-and-Travellers-in-Early-Modern-Europe/Betteridge/p/book/9780754653516">derived from the Greek word <em>athinganos</em></a>, meaning heathen. Over the centuries, it has become loaded with negative racial stereotypes, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10253866.2018.1534733">like associating the group with thievery</a>. </p>
<p>To combat this racist denomination, the moniker Roma, along with a flag and an anthem, was <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/09a2dffd3b01abd39b1b2bdee391ec5b/1">created by the European Roma civil rights movement</a> in the 1970s. The Roma have consistently fought against <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115752">anti-Roma discrimination, hate speech and microagressions</a> over the years.</p>
<h2>What drives change</h2>
<p>Why did the first public attempt to get Zigeunersauce re-named fail? To understand why, and to understand why the name was eventually changed in 2020, I collected German newspaper articles from 2013 and 2020 that used the keyword “Zigeunersauce.”</p>
<p>I examined the ways German news articles either publicly praised or criticized brands that sold Zigeunersauce, paying particular attention to who was interviewed. I took a critical stance on language, meaning I also focused on the choice of words used.</p>
<p>I found that, in 2020, companies used two main arguments to justify re-naming the racialized brand: anti-racism and social tolerance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man with long, dark hair speaks into a megaphone while attending a protest" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508514/original/file-20230206-25-1ssapj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508514/original/file-20230206-25-1ssapj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508514/original/file-20230206-25-1ssapj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508514/original/file-20230206-25-1ssapj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508514/original/file-20230206-25-1ssapj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508514/original/file-20230206-25-1ssapj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508514/original/file-20230206-25-1ssapj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Philip Yenyo, executive director of the American Indian Movement for Ohio, leads a protest of the Cleveland Indians Chief Wahoo mascot before a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in April 2015 in Cleveland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The anti-racism argument was used to highlight how negative stereotypes were harming the Roma community. On Aug. 16, 2020, <a href="https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/politik-inland/wegen-rassismus-diskussionen-knorr-benennt-zigeunersauce-um-72409712.bild.html">a press statement from a Unilever spokesperson</a> was published in one of Germany’s top selling newspapers:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Since the term Gypsy Sauce [Zigeunersauce] can be interpreted negatively, we have decided to give our Knorr Sauce a new name. In a few weeks you will find this on the shelf as Paprika Sauce Hungarian Style.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The second argument, social tolerance, focused on the German people, arguing that Germans no longer found certain popular phrases, such as the word gypsy, acceptable.</p>
<p>In 2013, on the other hand, the racialized brand name was maintained using two different arguments: market dynamicizing and romanticizing. The first argument, market dynamicizing, argued that if shoppers were going to continue to buy Zigeunersauce, the brand name should remain unchanged.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/roma/zigeunersaucen-streit-31833572.bild.html">Unilever press statement from Aug. 14, 2013</a> said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We refer to the long tradition of the term [Gypsy Sauce] and see no negative connotation. There are more frequently purchased products that are named after areas or ethnic groups.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The second argument centred on the Roma people themselves. Brand spokespeople romanticized the visible minority group by evoking seemingly positive — but in reality, harmful — stereotypes and fetishization associated with the word gypsy, <a href="https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article119017549/Waere-Sinti-und-Roma-Sauce-denn-wirklich-besser.html?cid=socialmedia.email.sharebutton">such as exoticness and spiciness</a>.</p>
<p>These findings can help us understand why some companies with racist brands and logos change their branding and why some do not. It can also help us persuade these companies to finally change racialized branding to stand up for racial justice in the marketplace. </p>
<p>These findings also go beyond food products by shedding light on why organizations, like the <a href="https://www.vox.com/first-person/2020/2/1/21115858/super-bowl-chiefs-kansas-city">National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs</a>, still have racialized logos.</p>
<h2>True accountability</h2>
<p>The old adage of “stick and stones may break my bones, but words shall never hurt me” is not necessarily true. Words can indeed hurt. When cartoon-like, racist representations of marginalized minorities are made widely available through the marketplace, they cause harm. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx049">A study on the consumer behaviour of middle-class African Americans</a> found that marketplace stigma is often experienced as a deep assault on a consumer’s personal worth.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1308712716996050945"}"></div></p>
<p>Holding brands with racist logos and slogans accountable is an important step towards alleviating institutionalized racism in the marketplace. To this end, <a href="https://www.rimnetwork.net/">the Race in the Marketplace Network</a> research network has been created to study, produce and disseminate critical race-related work in the market.</p>
<p>Yet companies should not merely change racialized brand names without giving back to the visible minority communities they benefited from for decades. True accountability means making meaningful change.</p>
<p>Examples of more meaningful branding strategies include concrete corporate policy changes, community initiatives and financial donations to relevant nonprofit organizations. For example, PepsiCo, which owned the Aunt Jemima brand, has <a href="https://www.pepsico.com/docs/default-source/diversity-equity-inclusion/REJ_Black_Initiative_2022_Progress_Update.pdf">reportedly invested $22.3 million in Black-owned restaurants</a> as part of their <a href="https://www.pepsico.com/our-impact/diversity/racial-equality-journey/racial-equality-journey-black-initiative">Racial Equality Journey</a> initiative that was launched in 2020.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197605/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ela Veresiu receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). </span></em></p>A new study shows how brands can successfully change racist brand names and logos to stand up for racial justice in the marketplace.Ela Veresiu, Associate Professor of Marketing, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1956262023-01-11T21:34:04Z2023-01-11T21:34:04ZTo better address the needs of older populations, researchers and media should stop fussing over aging<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503690/original/file-20230109-7992-mvun5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C10%2C6873%2C4506&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Positive and negative stereotypes about aging have cultural and political implications that determine how societies care for their older generations.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world seems to be obsessed with aging. The media is plagued with articles about <a href="https://www.economist.com/films/2021/12/21/the-true-costs-of-ageing">the costs of growing older</a>, <a href="https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2021/02/06/ageing-can-be-cured-and-in-part-it-soon-will-be">the cure to aging</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/31/well/live/aging-advice.html">secrets to aging successfully</a>. Alongside these concerns, we strive to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/13/well/live/stupid-things-i-do-when-get-old-book.html">age gracefully</a> or become “cognitive super-agers” — people <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/cognitive-super-agers-defy-typical-age-related-decline-brainpower">whose brains function like those of a much younger person</a>. </p>
<p>Not everyone fears aging. There are also those who embrace it, and suggest that, instead of viewing aging as something to overcome, we should view it as “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/9534/composing-a-further-life-by-mary-catherine-bateson/">second adulthood</a>” — an opportunity in life after retirement, to complete, consolidate and share experiences of lives that were meaningfully lived. But even in embracing aging, we seem to be defensive about it.</p>
<h2>Aging stereotypes in media</h2>
<p>The media is largely responsible for creating and driving ageist stereotypes of older adults. An analysis of more than one billion entries in British and American media databases found that negative aging descriptions <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168822">were six times higher than the positive descriptions</a>. </p>
<p>The study found that negative descriptions of older adults tended to be physical, like portraying them as frail. On the other hand, positive descriptions tended to be behavioural, such as portraying older adults as caring.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003046790-6/visual-representations-older-persons-eug%C3%A8ne-loos-jo-thijssen">Visual representations of aging create good and bad stereotypes</a>. Images of active and happy older adults create positive ageist stereotypes, while images of vulnerable and frail older adults create compassionate ageist stereotypes that are patronizing. These positive and negative stereotypes have cultural and political implications that determine how societies care for their older generations.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="An older woman sitting outside reading a book" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503689/original/file-20230109-17065-qx6px8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503689/original/file-20230109-17065-qx6px8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503689/original/file-20230109-17065-qx6px8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503689/original/file-20230109-17065-qx6px8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503689/original/file-20230109-17065-qx6px8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503689/original/file-20230109-17065-qx6px8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503689/original/file-20230109-17065-qx6px8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Images of active and happy older adults create positive ageist stereotypes, while images of vulnerable and frail older adults create compassionate ageist stereotypes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Najmeh Khalili-Mahani)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, a study about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00914150211024173">how older adults were portrayed in news media covering disasters in Canada</a> showed a mismatch in communication between journalists and the older individuals whose stories were reported. </p>
<p>The media portrayed older adults on a spectrum from vulnerable to heroic. By focusing on narratives of the brave older adult fighting for their home, journalists diverted the attention from the real need for disaster relief. </p>
<p>COVID-19 exposed the consequences of media ageism as well. One study found that news coverage of older adults in New Zealand treated them as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2021.1884098">nameless, homogeneous group who were at risk and passive</a>. The consequence of such messaging became evident in high rates of insensitive and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fjgs.16508">stigmatizing comments about older adults on Twitter</a>. A cross-cultural study in the UK and Colombia showed that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fjosi.12538">older adults were also angered by the protective ageism exercised during COVID-19</a>. </p>
<p>Our own investigation of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05581-2_26">the reactions on the social media to mainstream media articles about how older adults were coping with COVID-19 stress</a> showed that older adults strongly objected to the writers’ assumptions about their coping needs. We also found a generational difference between parents and children in understanding older adult coping resources.</p>
<h2>‘Successful aging’</h2>
<p>The concept of successful aging can be traced back to researchers John Rowe and Robert Kahn. In their 1987 study on different types of aging, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.3299702">they defined two distinct types</a>: successful aging (high functioning and low risk for developing age-related deficits) and usual aging (healthy but high risk for developing age-related deficits). They called on other researchers <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/37/4/433/611033">to seek interventions that increased the likelihood of belonging to the successful aging group</a>. </p>
<p>Helping older adults age successfully is now a worldwide research initiative. In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a collaboration with the United Nations’ agenda called <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/decade-of-healthy-ageing">the Decade of Healthy Ageing</a> to improve the lives of older people and their communities. </p>
<p>According to the WHO, healthy aging means the ability to maintain mental and physical capacity for staying mobile and active, making decisions, building and maintaining relationships, and contributing to society.</p>
<p>At first glance, concerns with aging seem to be motivated by a good cause, but upon closer inspection these concerns can be problematic. By overemphasising healthy aging, those who are unable to age successfully are implicitly stigmatized.</p>
<p>As gerontologist Tracey Gendron argues in her book <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/700435/ageism-unmasked-by-tracey-gendron/"><em>Ageism Unmasked</em></a>, overstating the necessity of retaining independence and functionality in later years of life gives rise to ageism.</p>
<h2>The catch-22</h2>
<p><a href="https://aging.columbia.edu/about/robert-butler">Robert Neil Butler</a>, the founding director of the National Institute on Aging, coined the term <em>Ageism</em> in 1969. In his highly cited article <em><a href="https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article-abstract/9/4_Part_1/243/569551?redirectedFrom=fulltext">Age-Ism: Another Form of Bigotry</a></em> he wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We have chosen mandatory retirement from the work force and thus removed the elderly from the mainstream of life. Ageism is manifested in the taunting remarks about "old fogeys” in the special vulnerability of the elderly to muggings and robberies, in age-discrimination in employment independent of individual competence, and in the probable inequalities in the allocation of research funds.“</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ironically, to further emphasize the necessity of increasing funding for studying aging, Butler reverted back to highlighting the narrative of age-related deficit: "persons 65 years of age and over account for 25% of all public mental hospital admissions.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An older woman doing biceps curls with a resistance band" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503693/original/file-20230109-9407-l58nun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503693/original/file-20230109-9407-l58nun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503693/original/file-20230109-9407-l58nun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503693/original/file-20230109-9407-l58nun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503693/original/file-20230109-9407-l58nun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503693/original/file-20230109-9407-l58nun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503693/original/file-20230109-9407-l58nun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">By overemphasizing healthy aging, those who are unable to age successfully are implicitly stigmatized.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is the catch-22, or <a href="http://www.nlpuniversitypress.com/html/D48.html">the double bind</a> created by paradoxical messaging from the same source. Like Butler, most researchers that focus on aging justify their proposals based on age-related deficits. </p>
<p>In a recent <a href="https://aging.jmir.org/2022/4/e43564/">literature review of assistive information technologies for healthy aging</a>, we found that the narrative of aging as a vulnerability or impending cost dominated the rationales for conducting research. </p>
<h2>Mind the language</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ageing-and-society/article/expressions-of-selfageism-in-four-european-countries-a-comparative-analysis-of-predictors-across-cultural-contexts/8EA6817D98346A0AED4B3126D74E1CF1">multinational study of self-ageism</a> shows that self-ageism — internalized prejudices against one’s own age — is culturally grounded.</p>
<p>Yale health professor Becca Levy has <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/breaking-the-age-code-becca-levy">extensively researched the adverse effects</a> of self-ageism on both mental and physical health. Beliefs about aging shape all aspects of our lives.</p>
<p>Negative stereotypes of aging <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnv094">mean older adults are less willing to seek help when they need it</a>. Ageism and a lack of age-friendly communications <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/cts.2022.1">alienate older adults from participating in research about their health</a>. This makes them shy away from seeking care, or participating in research that can benefit them.</p>
<p>Those who study successful aging are well aware that age — as a generalizing variable — does not predict the capacities or needs of older study participants. But then why do we keep using age as a numerical or categorical index?</p>
<p>This catch-22 is a conflict in communication — the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01924788.2021.1992712">words researchers use to communicate their goals matter</a>. If researchers wish to address the growing needs of older populations in a meaningful way and create effective assistive care strategies, they should stop sampling by age and start sampling by needs instead. To lock individuals into the narrative of age as a vulnerability means inevitably creating ageist stereotypes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195626/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Najmeh Khalili-Mahani received funding from FRQSC.</span></em></p>Locking individuals into the narrative of age as a vulnerability means inevitably creating ageist stereotypes.Najmeh Khalili-Mahani, Researcher, Director of Media-Health/Game-Clinic laboratory, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1944052022-12-09T10:44:55Z2022-12-09T10:44:55ZWhy we need more Lehman Sisters: the significant benefits of female leadership<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499076/original/file-20221205-17-f2tyhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C15%2C5184%2C3406&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/fr/image-photo/silhouette-super-business-woman-look-somewhere-1024943923">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Establishing gender equality is one of the <a href="https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/principles-and-values/aims-and-values_en">founding values of the European Union</a>, yet women are still underrepresented in decision-making positions in Europe. According to the <a href="https://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/dgs">European Institute of Gender Equality (EIGE)</a>, women represent just 32.3% of presidents, board members and employee representatives, and 21.5% of CEOs, executives and non-executives of the largest listed companies in Europe. The situation is much the same in other sectors, including governments, financial institutions and national academies of science.</p>
<p>Beyond the importance of equal representation, our <a href="https://www.axa-research.org/en/project/paola-profeta">research at the AXA Lab on Gender Equality</a> shows gender-balanced leadership has many benefits. Given that women make up half of the earth’s population, ensuring that they’re equally represented among potential candidates for a leadership post results provides larger pool being available; this, in turn, leads to a higher quality of the person selected. Thus, when women are involved in leadership positions which were traditionally male-dominated, there is a higher probability to have more qualified leaders.</p>
<p>This has been empirically proved by research. For example, the introduction of <a href="https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4200">board gender quotas</a> in Italy not only increased the share of women on boards but raised the qualifications of all board members, male and female, because less-qualified men previously on the board were not re-appointed. This outcome depends on the status quo and becomes possible when qualified and competent women ready to be leaders are in abundant supply, as is the case today in many European countries.</p>
<h2>Imagining Lehman Sisters</h2>
<p>A second argument relates to the agenda and outcomes of institutions and organisations. The agendas of gender-balanced leaderships can include items typically neglected by a male-dominated groups, but that may be important for their organisations – for example, sustainability goals. There is evidence that the presence of women in political leadership is associated with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0176268020300446">higher childcare funding</a>, which are positively related to maternal employment. This creates a virtuous circle, with women’s greater representation in leadership leading to policies that reduce gender gaps in the labour market.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499072/original/file-20221205-24-dchtz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499072/original/file-20221205-24-dchtz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499072/original/file-20221205-24-dchtz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499072/original/file-20221205-24-dchtz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499072/original/file-20221205-24-dchtz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499072/original/file-20221205-24-dchtz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499072/original/file-20221205-24-dchtz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The president of European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, arrives for a hearing of the committee on economic and monetary affairs of the European Parliament in Brussels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.afpforum.com/AFPForum/Search/Results.aspx?pn=1&smd=8&mui=3&q=4823152774898244456_0&fst=christine+lagarde&fto=3&t=2#pn=1&smd=8&mui=3&q=4823152774898244456_0&fst=christine+lagarde&fto=3&t=2">Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Leadership style also matters. <a href="https://www.axa-research.org/en/news/barriers-to-women-in-employment-and-leadership">Research has established</a> that compared to men, women leaders tend to be more risk-averse and less competitive, more democratic and innovative, and that they have a longer-term horizon. These traits are not details: Christine Lagarde, former director of the IMF and current president of the European Central Bank, often noted that <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/ten-years-after-lehman-lessons-learned-and-challenges-ahead">if Lehman Brothers had been “Lehman Sisters”</a>, the 2007-2008 financial crisis might never have occurred. The reason is that if decision-making bodies do not have an equal number of women, an overrepresentation of men may lead to <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.0704025105">aggressive and overcompetitive behavior</a>. Given the global damage left behind by the financial crisis, a leadership of “brothers and sisters” has become a benchmark for organisations.</p>
<p>A more recent example is the Covid-19 pandemic. A 2021 study on 194 countries found that in the first quarter of the crisis, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13545701.2021.1874614">countries led by women experienced better outcomes</a> because they tended to impose lockdowns significantly earlier than male leaders did. This is in line with women’s being more risk-averse than men, even when they are in leadership positions. <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2012520117">Evidence also suggests</a> that women were more likely to perceive Covid-19 as a serious health problem, to agree with restraining public policy measures, and to comply with them.</p>
<h2>Shifting cultural stereotypes</h2>
<p>A major obstacle to gender-balanced leadership positions are well-established stereotypes. There is a general consensus that gender gaps are a matter of culture, and because culture changes slowly, policies and measures can accelerate the reduction of gender gaps, but we will need time to see real changes. How to measure gender culture and how to assess the progress is difficult. Scholars use data from the <a href="https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/">World Value Survey</a> to measure gender stereotypes.</p>
<p>These data show that explicit stereotypes have been declining over time, although differences across countries within Europe are still substantial. For example, the statement “Men are better business leaders than women” was approved by 15,8% of Italian citizens, yet only 4.6% of Swedes. Yet implicit stereotypes are everywhere stronger than explicit ones.</p>
<p>Recent research shows that implicit stereotypes, as measured by the <a href="https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/">Implicit Association Test</a> on gender and career, are well established in the workplace: for example, people tend to associate women with family and men with careers. Managers who make hiring and promotion decisions are found to share such stereotypes, similar to rates in the general population. How to counter and diminish them is a more complicated task, but an important one to reduce gender gaps in the workplace.</p>
<p>A clear successful policy which has promoted women’s presence in the workplace in Europe is childcare. Day-care services are not only important for child development, but they also help families with small children – and in particular women – to deal with their professional and personal life. How to see this policy implemented? We could start by having more women in leadership positions as politicians and in top business places, as suggested by results of the research at the AXA Research Lab on Gender Equality.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=158&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=158&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=158&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Created in 2007 to help accelerate and share scientific knowledge on key societal issues, the AXA Research Fund has supported nearly 700 projects around the world conducted by researchers in 38 countries. To learn more, visit the site of the AXA Research Fund or follow on Twitter @AXAResearchFund.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194405/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paola Profeta ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Women are still underrepresented in decision-making positions, yet research shows that gender equality can lead to more qualified leaders and better outcomes.Paola Profeta, Director of Axa Research Lab on Gender Equality, AXA Fonds pour la RechercheLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1932652022-11-29T13:35:33Z2022-11-29T13:35:33Z‘Y'all,’ that most Southern of Southernisms, is going mainstream – and it’s about time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497709/original/file-20221128-25-u3e61t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=113%2C24%2C5041%2C3580&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A sign encourages people to vote in Charlotte, N.C., ahead of the 2022 U.S. midterm elections.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sign-made-by-the-group-democracy-nc-reads-its-time-to-vote-news-photo/1244530643?phrase=y'all&adppopup=true"> Sean Rayford/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/233049240?accountid=11824&parentSessionId=kVHOP8EzU2pwO4y4LFLsjx0xdUKGkFopcW7QCWFFPPs%3D">Southern Living</a> magazine once described “y’all” as “the quintessential Southern pronoun.” It’s as iconically Southern as sweet tea and grits.</p>
<p>While “y’all” is considered <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-nonstandard-english-1691438">slang</a>, it’s a useful word nonetheless. The English language doesn’t have a good second person plural pronoun; “you” can be both singular and plural, but it’s sometimes awkward to use as a plural. It’s almost like <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0311/p18s04-hfes.html">there’s a pronoun missing</a>. “Y’all” fills that second person plural slot – as does “you guys,” “youse,” “you-uns” and a few others.</p>
<p>I’m interested in “y’all” because I was born in North Carolina and grew up saying it. I still do, probably a couple dozen times a day, usually without intention or even awareness. <a href="https://works.bepress.com/david-parker/">As a historian</a> who has researched the early history of the word, I’m also interested in how the word’s use has changed over the years.</p>
<h2>Like something a ‘hillbilly redneck’ would say</h2>
<p>“Y’all” might serve an important function, but it has acquired negative connotations. </p>
<p>Back in 1886, <a href="https://www.proquest.com/hnpnewyorktimes/docview/94432411/31D5C386FF6A456FPQ/1?accountid=11824">The New York Times</a> ran a piece titled “Odd Southernisms” that described “y’all” as “one of the most ridiculous of all the Southernisms.” </p>
<p>That perception has persisted. Like the <a href="https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=ling_etds">Southern dialect</a> in general, the use of “y’all” has often been seen as vulgar, low-class, uncultured and uneducated. As someone noted in <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=y%27all&page=2">Urban Dictionary</a>, “Whoever uses [y’all] sounds like a hillbilly redneck.”</p>
<p>In a more recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/magazine/yall.html">New York Times essay</a>, writer Maud Newton said that she associated the word with her father, who “defended slavery, demanded the subservience of women and adhered to ‘spare the rod and spoil the child.’” He also demanded that his children say “y’all” rather than “you guys.” She grew up hating the word. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Red and white-striped water tower featuring the text 'Florence Y'all.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497706/original/file-20221128-4861-6pnfb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497706/original/file-20221128-4861-6pnfb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497706/original/file-20221128-4861-6pnfb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497706/original/file-20221128-4861-6pnfb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497706/original/file-20221128-4861-6pnfb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497706/original/file-20221128-4861-6pnfb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497706/original/file-20221128-4861-6pnfb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A water tower in Florence, Ky., proudly displays the collective form of address long associated with the U.S. South.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/water-tank-with-florence-y-all-greeting-painted-on-the-side-news-photo/535788459?phrase=y'all&adppopup=true">Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>At a time when many Americans are calling for the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/23/970610428/nearly-100-confederate-monuments-removed-in-2020-report-says-more-than-700-remai">removal of Confederate monuments</a> and opposing the <a href="https://inclusivehistorian.com/lost-cause-myth/">Lost Cause mythology</a>, “y’all,” with its Southern overtones, might make some people uncomfortable – a misguided reaction, perhaps, but one that has been felt by both those who hear it and those who say it.</p>
<h2>Imagine ‘y’all’ with a British accent</h2>
<p>The word has not always had such negative connotations. </p>
<p>The etymology of “y’all” is murky. Some <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Old-English-New-Linguistics-Humanities/dp/0815310862">linguists</a> trace it back to the Scots-Irish phrase “ye aw”; <a href="https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/eww.14.1.03lip">others</a> suggest an African American origin, perhaps from the Igbo word for “you” brought over by Nigerian-born slaves. According to the “Oxford English Dictionary,” the word first appeared in print in 1856, and all of its examples are sources connected to the American South. <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9780807858066/the-new-encyclopedia-of-southern-culture/">Michael Montgomery</a>, a noted linguist, said that early use of the word “is unknown in the British Isles.”</p>
<p>But recently I used some of the new digital literary databases to search for older uses of the word, and <a href="https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/159662">I found over a dozen examples</a>. They were all in dramatic or poetic works dating back to the 17th century and published in London. The earliest “y’all” that I uncovered was in William Lisle’s “The Faire Æthiopian,” published in 1631 – “and this y'all know is true.”</p>
<p>My examples push “y’all” back 225 years before the citation in the “Oxford English Dictionary,” and they show that the word appeared first in England rather than the United States. </p>
<p>I think it’s important to point out that it originated in a more formal context than what’s commonly assumed. There are none of the class or cultural connotations of the later American examples.</p>
<p>I should also note that there is almost a centurylong gap between the last known usage of this British version of “y’all” and the first known usage of the American version. Scholars may well decide that these versions of “y’all” are essentially two different words. </p>
<p>Still, there it is, in an English poem written in 1631. </p>
<h2>‘Y'all means all’</h2>
<p>Ironically, at the same time that some people have shied away from using “y’all,” the word seems to have grown in popularity. An article on exactly this topic, published in the Journal of English Linguistics in 2000, was titled “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00754240022005045">The Nationalization of a Southernism</a>”; based on scientific polling, the authors suggested that “y’all” will soon be seen as an American, rather than Southern, word. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man walks by billboard with text reading 'love all y'all.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497701/original/file-20221128-20-uy7x4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497701/original/file-20221128-20-uy7x4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497701/original/file-20221128-20-uy7x4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497701/original/file-20221128-20-uy7x4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497701/original/file-20221128-20-uy7x4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497701/original/file-20221128-20-uy7x4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497701/original/file-20221128-20-uy7x4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There’s an inclusivity inherent to ‘y'all.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/july11-2017-storefront-sign-love-all-yall-photographed-on-news-photo/1145913265?phrase=y'all&adppopup=true">Bill Tompkins/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>There might be several reasons for this. One is that African American use of the word in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbDiiJv9_Qk">music</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Icons-African-American-Comedy-Greenwood/dp/0313380848">other forms of popular culture</a> has made it more familiar – and, therefore, acceptable – to those who didn’t grow up with it.</p>
<p>Second, “you guys,” <a href="http://survey.johndal.com/results/290/">another common alternative</a> for the second-person plural pronoun, is losing support because of its sexist connotations. Are females included in you guys? How about those who identify as nonbinary? </p>
<p>Maud Newton eventually came to embrace “y’all.” When she moved to Tallahassee, Florida, after law school, she found that “in grocery stores and coffee shops, on the street and in the library, everyone – Black and white, queer and straight, working-class and wealthy – used y’all, and soon I did, too.”</p>
<p>“Y’all means all” – that’s a wonderful phrase that seems to be popping up everywhere, from <a href="https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/52696104_10155844141826150_4218014470036783104_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=DVHP94pupXwAX8MRuB1&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.xx&oh=00_AfD9_-BRJfm2m3Y7RjeQN32t_9s_R4k8tg8nRmh4aoOEMg&oe=63A5C5F2">T-shirts</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Yall-Means-All-Emerging-Appalachia/dp/1629639141?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER">book titles</a> to <a href="https://www.syracuseculturalworkers.com/products/poster-yall-means-all">memes</a> and music.
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVW3ZXOrG4E&list=RDBVW3ZXOrG4E&start_radio=1">song</a> written by Miranda Lambert for Netflix’s “Queer Eye” beautifully captures the spirit of the phrase:</p>
<pre class="highlight plaintext"><code> You can be born in Tyler, Texas,
Raised with the Bible Belt;
If you’re torn between the Y’s and X’s,
You ain’t gotta play with the hand you’re dealt ...
Honey, y’all means all.
</code></pre><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David B. Parker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The use of ‘y'all’ has often been seen as vulgar, low-class and uncultured. That’s starting to change.David B. Parker, Professor of History, Kennesaw State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1803062022-10-14T12:19:46Z2022-10-14T12:19:46ZEvangelical college students often feel misunderstood – what helps boost understanding between students of all faiths?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460824/original/file-20220502-14-sn8m77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=52%2C45%2C4987%2C3309&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do students' views of people with different beliefs really change on campus?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/NerdWallet-Millennial-Money-Enroll-This-Fall/70126f085adb4d2a9d6b2fd8994ec01b/photo?Query=college%20campus&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=7438&currentItemNo=23">AP Photo/Darron Cummings</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://ehe.osu.edu/directory?id=mayhew.65">Our research team</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Y_dDF6oAAAAJ&hl=en">has studied</a> <a href="https://www.educationalleadership.msstate.edu/people/dr-christa-winkler/">college students’ attitudes</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-017-0283-8">toward evangelicals</a>, a topic that tends to prompt strong reactions.</p>
<p>Some liberals don’t see the topic as worthy of discussion – why study whether Americans appreciate a privileged group with <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/faith-in-the-halls-of-power-9780195376050?cc=us&lang=en&">strong influence</a> on society? Meanwhile, many conservatives <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10656219.2014.901932">are adamant</a> that evangelical perspectives are <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442224070/So-Many-Christians-So-Few-Lions-Is-There-Christianophobia-in-the-United-States?">not tolerated</a>, let alone welcome, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15507394.2005.10012355">on U.S. university campuses</a>.</p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.775303">our findings</a> about students’ attitudes underscore important lessons about fostering tolerance and appreciation on campus for any group. Views of evangelicals are particularly interesting, since they highlight the complexities of social privilege: how individuals <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/perceptions-discrimination-muslims-christians/519135/">can feel discriminated against</a>, even when their community as a whole is influential.</p>
<h2>Surveying students</h2>
<p>The Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey, <a href="https://www.interfaithamerica.org/research/ideals/">or IDEALS</a>, surveyed 9,470 college students from 122 institutions across the country at three times: the beginning of their first year, the end of their first year, and the end of their senior year, which wrapped up in spring 2019. As part of this project, conducted by a team of researchers from Ohio State University, North Carolina University and the nonprofit <a href="https://interfaithamerica.org/research">Interfaith America</a>, we asked students about their attitudes toward religious, spiritual and secular groups, including but not limited to atheists, Jews, Muslims and evangelicals. </p>
<p>We asked students to indicate their responses to four statements on a scale of 1, or “disagree strongly,” to 5, or “agree strongly”:</p>
<p>1) In general, people in this group make positive contributions to society.</p>
<p>2) In general, individuals in this group are ethical people.</p>
<p>3) I have things in common with people in this group.</p>
<p>4) In general, I have a positive attitude toward people in this group.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.775303">analysis</a> controlled for other variables – such as the institution’s type, selectivity and size, and students’ race, gender, sexual orientation, major and political affiliation – to home in on the specific ways the campus learning environment was related to students’ views about different religious groups.</p>
<p>Compared with their attitudes toward other religious groups on campus, students’ appreciation for evangelicals grew at a slower pace, but still grew. On average, students’ responses showed an increase of over 40% in appreciation toward evangelicals by the end of their first year. By the time students graduated, they demonstrated another 30% increase between the end of their first year and fourth year of college. </p>
<h2>Campus climate</h2>
<p>After seeing that students’ views of evangelicals improved, on average, we wanted to better understand why.</p>
<p>First, we looked at the experiences students said were related to their gains, such as whether they took a religious studies course. Then, we conducted 18 case studies at institutions of various sizes and affiliations to learn about campus culture and hear from hundreds of students in focus groups. In these groups, we showed students data on the gains reported by their peers on campus and asked them why they thought these gains were made.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.775303">We found</a> that appreciation increased for students on campuses they consider committed to inclusion for people of faiths, and people of no faith – regardless of whether the institutions were public or private, large or small, selective or not.</p>
<p>Some students talked about the impact of simply living and studying alongside people from different backgrounds. Many named the influence of interfaith and multifaith centers, spaces dedicated to bringing people from different religions together. </p>
<p>For example, a student at a Protestant-affiliated institution who identified as agnostic noted that she had “experienc[ed] a lot of toxic Christianity” growing up. She credited her interactions with a “progressive Christian” chaplain at her campus’s interfaith center with helping her understand that Christian beliefs and identities are diverse, and not limited to the type of faith she was introduced to as a child.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A crowd of students in a classroom, many of them with their hands up in worship, facing two singers at the front." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489284/original/file-20221011-18-yuizqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489284/original/file-20221011-18-yuizqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489284/original/file-20221011-18-yuizqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489284/original/file-20221011-18-yuizqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489284/original/file-20221011-18-yuizqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489284/original/file-20221011-18-yuizqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489284/original/file-20221011-18-yuizqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of a Christian group at California State University Long Beach worship in a lecture hall in 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/members-of-the-csulb-intervarsity-christian-fellowship-turn-news-photo/1034906064?phrase=intervarsity&adppopup=true">Scott Varley/Digital First Media/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Survey data also suggested that, on average, students whose views of evangelicals improved reported having at least two curricular experiences related to religion. This included many type of activities: for example, enrolling in a course specifically designed to enhance knowledge of different religious traditions; reflecting on one’s own religion in relationship to other perspectives as part of a class; and discussing other students’ religious or nonreligious backgrounds in class.</p>
<h2>Personal relationships</h2>
<p>How students related to one another was another important theme that often came up in discussions about views of evangelicals.</p>
<p>Evangelicals have to negotiate a seeming paradox: As Protestant Christians, who have long held influence in U.S. culture and politics, they belong to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.206">a privileged group</a>. Yet <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2007.0004">many evangelical students say</a> they <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/silencing-religious-students-on-campus/497951/">feel unwelcome</a> and misunderstood because of their beliefs.</p>
<p>Many non-Christian students who themselves feel marginalized because of their identities <a href="https://theconversation.com/university-can-feel-like-a-hostile-place-to-muslim-students-74385">wrestle with</a> how to make their evangelical peers aware of their relative privilege, and of how their beliefs and actions might affect other students.</p>
<p>For example, one student who identifies as atheist at a small, secular college recalled a Christmas tree put on their door by another student. “The person has literally no idea that that could possibly be upsetting,” they said, but added it was “a very sweet thing to do.” In other words, they believed that the other student was likely ignorant of why the Christmas tree could bother other students, but acting out of good intentions, tempering their anger about the unwelcome decoration.</p>
<p>Many students discussed developing empathy and humility. A Catholic student attending a Catholic college summarized, “Myself being a more liberal Christian, I’m not as accepting of the close-minded evangelical Christian … but that’s kind of being close-minded myself. … So I have to examine myself and be like, ‘I’m okay with them being them, even if I don’t agree with them.’ They’re saying, ‘All of these people are saying let’s accept everybody, but you’re not accepting me.’ And I said, ‘That’s absolutely right.’ … Even in political realms, too, I don’t agree with you, but I need to be okay with you.”</p>
<p>Finally, student gains in appreciation also seemed to stem from recognition that <a href="https://www.npr.org/2015/12/19/458058251/are-you-an-evangelical-are-you-sure">evangelicals are diverse</a>, not one homogeneous group – as with the student who appreciated her conversations with the Christian chaplain at her campus’s interfaith center. </p>
<p>As a research team, we found this project’s findings left us considering ways to address deep divisions in the U.S. today. Some principles apply to fostering respect in many other situations beyond religion, and beyond college, from our offices at work to the halls of Congress: intentionally but empathetically engaging with one another’s differences.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew J. Mayhew receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the United States Department of Education, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fetzer Institute, the Merrifield Family Foundation, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christa Winkler and Musbah Shaheen do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>College can be a time to interact with people with different worldviews, but meaningful exchanges often require intent.Matthew J. Mayhew, Professor of Higher Education, The Ohio State UniversityChrista Winkler, Assistant Professor of Higher Education Leadership, Mississippi State UniversityMusbah Shaheen, PhD student in Higher Education and Student Affairs, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1906312022-09-21T19:16:24Z2022-09-21T19:16:24ZFrom Canada to Europe, survey reveals the challenges facing women leaders<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485348/original/file-20220919-3936-3whk72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C997%2C571&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A study finds that stereotypes, systemic hurdles, and discriminatory policies and procedures persist more in European society than in Québec.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do women need to adopt male traits and behaviours to be successful in business? Are stereotypes still present and do they continue to disrupt women’s careers? How do leaders in Québec compare to those in Europe?</p>
<p>In early 2020, the <a href="https://women-initiative-foundation.com/etudes/">Women Initiative Foundation</a>, in partnership with Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business, the Stanford University Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab, and the <a href="https://www.centralesupelec.fr">CentraleSupélec of Université Paris-Saclay</a>, conducted a new study about stereotypes and discrimination in the business world. The study surveyed leaders from Europe and Québec, from seven large organizations in France, Germany, Italy, and Québec, with an international reach.</p>
<p>Together, we, the Dean of the John Molson School of Business and an expert in the challenges faced by women in the highest echelons of leadership, are sharing the results of this study with emphasis on the results from the Québec component, all while conducting an analysis of the synergies with the situation in Europe.</p>
<h2>Women have developed a unique style of leadership</h2>
<p>One of the objectives of this study was to determine if women are more difficult leaders than men in their way of managing people. Are they more severe towards their female colleagues? Are women more career-minded than men? Do they need to put their family life aside to achieve all of their professional aspirations?</p>
<p>In other words, referring to generally well known stereotypes, <a href="https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/women-leaders/">do women become more “masculinized” by adopting male traits and behaviours to succeed?</a></p>
<p>The study revealed that a low number of female respondents from Québec (24%) and male respondents (17%) think that female leaders become more masculine in order to progress in their careers. Conversely, in Europe, 46% of women and 47% of men share this belief.</p>
<p>This low feeling of masculinization of Québec women leaders is particularly important to point out, because it prevents certain leaders from becoming obstacles rather than role models for other women. Far from denying their femininity, the results of this study seem to indicate that women develop a leadership style that is unique to them.</p>
<h2>The stereotypes persist</h2>
<p>The comparison of the results on both sides of the Atlantic shows that stereotypes are still just as persistent and disturbing for the advancement of female careers.</p>
<p>It has been found that in both Québec and Europe, women have been stereotyped as having competencies that are typically associated with support roles (rigorous and attentive) whereas men are presumed to have traits associated with positions of power (politicians, leaders, careerists). More specifically with regards to leadership stereotypes, women are perceived as organized, leaders and rigorous whereas men are described as politicians, careerists, strategists, and leaders.</p>
<p>Once again, men are considered as those in the thick of the action and more focused on the advancement of their career (they are strategists and career-driven) while women are regarded as passive and less ambitious. These stereotypes largely explain <a href="https://hdr.undp.org/content/sticky-floors-glass-ceilings-and-biased-barriers-architecture-gender-inequality">the sticky floor and the glass ceiling</a> that women have faced for many years and the near absence of female CEOs in large Canadian organizations. The sticky floor is the theory illustrating the difficulty women face when they are seeking promotions at the start of their careers, and the slow climb of the ladder. As for the glass ceiling, this is the theory of the invisible barriers that stop women from being promoted into the upper levels of our organizations.</p>
<h2>Very different perceptions of inequalities</h2>
<p>There is a stark difference in the perception that women and men have regarding their employer’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.</p>
<p>Men do not seem as aware of the inequalities and discrimination that women can face in their work environment. As much in Québec as in Europe, men give their organizations a much higher ranking on the company’s values of diversity, the fight against discrimination, and inclusion initiatives.</p>
<p>Two interesting responses that illustrate this difference in perception are important to highlight: only 10% of the male participants from Québec believe that they are better paid than women who have equal competency levels, while 44% of female participants in Québec think the opposite. The male respondents are also half as likely to hear about sexist comments in the office.</p>
<p>However, if women in Québec have a more favorable perception of an equitable culture in the workplace than those in Europe, the study showed that nevertheless about half of respondents are likely to perceive a lack of equity in internal promotions and see the difficulty in accessing leadership roles. When asked specifically about the hardships of obtaining management roles, many women mentioned that institutional discrimination is what forces them to continuously prove their worth, and leads them to self-censure and devalue themselves.</p>
<h2>Men need to be more sensitive to inequalities</h2>
<p>This huge disconnect in perceiving sexist discrimination in the workplace raises some concerns, given that roles in the highest echelons of companies are more often occupied by men.</p>
<p>Given they are less aware of the difficulties faced by their female counterparts, these male leaders may be less inclined to put forward policies and strategies that can favour more equal access to leadership roles. It is therefore imperative that these men are made aware of the obstacles faced by women.</p>
<p>This study demonstrates that stereotypes, systemic hurdles, and discriminatory policies and procedures persist more in European society than in Québec. Nonetheless, there is still a very long road ahead. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs implemented by our Canadian companies and integrated in their strategy and development can make a huge difference to the advancement of women’s careers. <a href="https://www.hr-voice.com/communiques-presse/etude-europeenne-workday-diversite-et-inclusion-ou-en-sont-les-entreprises/2021/09/13/">Notably, in France, this approach is evolving</a>.</p>
<p>There is clear merit in continuing to encourage and reinforce these initiatives, given there is proof in the benefit of them, especially when we compare ourselves here in Québec to the Europeans. Québec women leaders, as Martine Liautaud, president of the Women Initiative Foundation, <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2022/07/26/egalite-femmes-hommes-pour-bien-agir-contre-les-discriminations-il-faut-avoir-une-vision-claire-des-stereotypes-de-genre_6136232_3232.html">wrote in Le Monde recently</a>, “are more combative than even their most determined European counterparts, they are prouder of their success, and all this without having to deny their unique traits.”</p>
<p><em>The authors would like to thank Shirin Emadi-Mahabadi, MBA and Director, Strategic Advisory Programs (Inclusive Client Interactions) at CIBC National Sales and Practice Excellence for her contribution to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190631/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>A survey on stereotypes and discrimination in the business world reveals major disparities between men and women.Louise Champoux-Paillé, Cadre en exercice, John Molson School of Business, Concordia UniversityAnne-Marie Croteau, Dean, John Molson School of Business, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1855042022-06-23T20:09:26Z2022-06-23T20:09:26ZHow young Black African Australians use social media to challenge anti-Black narratives and reclaim racial dignity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469966/original/file-20220621-18-4g1i30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C7951%2C5285&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For Black African young people in Australia, social media can be especially fraught – a place they witness footage of anti-Black violence, contend with an “othering” gaze and encounter racist trolling, posts or comments.</p>
<p>Despite these challenges, social media can offer Black African young people in Australia safe spaces to engage in positive expressions of afro-Blackness, as our new study shows. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.224">study</a>, published today in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/18394655">Australian Journal of Social Issues</a>, was an ethnographic study of the social media activity of 15 young people (16–25) who self-identify as African and live in Australia. </p>
<p>Participants consented to being followed and/or “friended” on social media so as to observe their online practises over a six month period. They were also interviewed about their experiences on social media.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.224">Our study</a> reveals how these young people are using social media to challenge anti-Black narratives and reclaim some of their racial dignity.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/battlegrounds-highly-skilled-black-african-professionals-on-racial-microaggressions-at-work-149169">Battlegrounds: highly skilled Black African professionals on racial microaggressions at work</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Racial dignity and anti-Black racism</h2>
<p>One of us (Gatwiri) has defined <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JME-11-2021-0205/full/html">racial dignity</a> as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>the immutable, unconditional worth of Blac/k people as human beings. To be racially dignified is to be seen through a humanised lens, and to be afforded basic respect, compassion and recognition in interpersonal and systemic contexts.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Anti-Black racism is a unique form of racism especially directed towards dark skinned Black people. </p>
<p>Research on <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2158244017720483">blackness</a> argues there is something particular and specific about the visibility of <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Q8ZuDQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Black+Bodies,+White+Gazes+-+Rowman+%26+Littlefield&ots=grKfUiyFe4&sig=ERpK8J66munyZZpNURuzIuUL1Ug&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Black%20Bodies%2C%20White%20Gazes%20-%20Rowman%20%26%20Littlefield&f=false">Black bodies</a> that triggers the imagination of white Australia. They are “read” as too un-assimilable, too different, too foreign, too dangerous, too visible, <em>too everything</em>.</p>
<p>Zuberi (age 25) also highlighted how anti-Blackness produces hyper-criminalisation of Black people. This results in over-policing by the community and the criminal justice system. He reflected on one example:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We were walking back to the train station, and we were topping up our Myki. And there were two inspectors, standing a few metres from us, on the side. And this was probably about 9pm, a bit late. and they were like “Those people are always up to no good.” And then my cousin’s like, “What? What do you mean?” Like he got very angry and I think in those kinds of moments you kind of question […] you question a lot of stuff.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Real world experiences of anti-Black racism can inform the way young African Australians experience social media and participate in racial discourse online.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470453/original/file-20220623-52323-zbzr0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470453/original/file-20220623-52323-zbzr0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470453/original/file-20220623-52323-zbzr0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470453/original/file-20220623-52323-zbzr0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470453/original/file-20220623-52323-zbzr0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470453/original/file-20220623-52323-zbzr0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470453/original/file-20220623-52323-zbzr0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470453/original/file-20220623-52323-zbzr0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many use social media functions – such as block, delete, mute and unfollow – to effectively bypass racism online.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our other <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/01634437221089246">journal article</a> from this study reported how Black African Australians used social media to spotlight and engage in positive expression of afro-Blackness. But they were also terrified of making white people uncomfortable, which could invite racial trolling or racial abuse online.</p>
<p>King (age 18) reflected on his attempts to separate himself from the “African gangs” label often attached to young Black African people in Australia. This informed the design of his online avatar and profile photo, curated to evoke a “friendly” persona: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>People sometimes they just look at your profile and they think you’re a bad person or a bad influence based on your picture. They’ll assume that you’re like other Black people they’ve seen in their life, they’ll assume you’re the same person.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When confronted with racist content on their newsfeed, most participants made deliberate choices to stay away from the comments section, colloquially considered a “cesspool of hatred”. Zuberi <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.224">explained</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>You do see things on social media but I try to not get involved with it as much […] And for that reason, I choose not to look at the comments.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Creating online boundaries and communities</h2>
<p>The young people in our study reported digital spaces were safer than physical, offline settings in the white-majority Australian context. </p>
<p>Many used social media functions – such as block, delete, mute and unfollow – to effectively <em>bypass</em> racism online. They also used the “close friends” and “private stories” features to share their racial experiences.</p>
<p>This allowed people to engage in the kind of self-representation they chose – including posting pictures of themselves or discussing their experiences – within a “safe digital space”. </p>
<p>Social media was also particularly useful in connecting Black African youth who are geographically separated from each other. Many reflected how useful these connections are, often noting they were the “only Black kid” in their school or neighbourhood. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470454/original/file-20220623-51080-yjaqlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470454/original/file-20220623-51080-yjaqlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470454/original/file-20220623-51080-yjaqlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470454/original/file-20220623-51080-yjaqlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470454/original/file-20220623-51080-yjaqlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470454/original/file-20220623-51080-yjaqlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470454/original/file-20220623-51080-yjaqlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470454/original/file-20220623-51080-yjaqlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Social media was also particularly useful in connecting Black African youth who are geographically separated from each other.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Social media therefore became a place where participants sought out connections that dignified and validated their experiences.</p>
<p>Nya (age 18) told us these communities helped her to form a positive sense of identity as a young Black woman in Australia: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve created a communal space on every single platform which has made me feel comfortable with myself […] I feel like I belong to the wider Black diaspora […] I actually didn’t grow up with Sudanese people, I grew up in (location removed for privacy) which is very white. So yeah, I created a community and I have connections and I like it.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Fear of racial trolling persists</h2>
<p>Human rights lawyer <a href="https://ethniccouncilshepparton.com.au/?p=6111">Nyadol Nyuon</a>, has said racial trolling is provoked by the belief that discussions about racism are a lack of gratitude “for the hand that fed you.” </p>
<p>Participants in our study also expressed awareness about the types of content they could and could not post, demonstrating how the fear of offending white people in digital spaces continued to shape their online practices.</p>
<p>As Mark (age 25) <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.224">said</a>, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I try to be quite careful in digital spaces because anything to do with race, you never know who is going to use that against you.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Using certain social media features allowed our participants to bypass traditional media and instead engage in self-presentations of their own making. This way, they were able to reclaim aspects of their racial dignity by developing positive pro-Black narratives online. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-power-of-no-simone-biles-naomi-osaka-and-black-womens-resistance-165318">The power of no: Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and Black women's resistance</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185504/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This story is part of The Conversation's Breaking the Cycle series, which is about escaping cycles of disadvantage. It is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Moran does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Social media can offer Black African young people in Australia safe spaces to engage in positive expressions of afro-Blackness.Kathomi Gatwiri PhD, Senior lecturer, Southern Cross UniversityClaire Moran, PhD Candidate, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1824632022-05-26T13:20:35Z2022-05-26T13:20:35ZGhanaian women in dance reality show challenge stereotypes about obesity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464300/original/file-20220519-13-a76q75.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Participants of the popular "Di Asa" show in competition. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since the debut of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2949828.stm">Big Brother Africa</a> in South Africa in 2003, reality television shows have become a common feature on television stations across the continent. They have helped the development of a host of television stations in the wake of the democratisation of the airwaves in the 1990s. This paved the way for private individuals or entrepreneurs to own television stations, creating an environment of competition for viewership. </p>
<p>The phenomenon of reality television has not been without criticism. </p>
<p>Some scholars <a href="https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=ho_pubs">argue</a> that the shows, particularly those that focus on obese individuals, objectify and – even worse – ridicule them for their body type and size. Other scholars on the continent, such as the famed Nobel prize winning author Wole Soyinka, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0163443707081691">are of the view</a> that reality television shows offer nothing of value to Africans. </p>
<p>These criticisms haven’t dampened demand or supply. Shows range from music to dance, cooking, weight loss as well as cultural education and promotion reality shows. </p>
<p>Shows like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15302054/">Young, Famous, & African</a>, and <a href="https://www.dstv.com/mzansimagic/en-za/show/date-my-family">Date my Family</a> are among the most popular reality shows engaging Africans on the continent and globally. Examples in Ghana include <a href="https://thebftonline.com/tag/ghanas-most-beautiful/">Ghana’s Most Beautiful</a>, a reality show that showcases the cultural values of the 16 regions of Ghana. </p>
<p>Missing in the various debates about reality shows has been the views of the participants. We sought to fill this gap by engaging with participants in a dance reality show in Ghana called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zhztnj-y8s">Di Asa (Just Dance)</a>. The show was designed exclusively for obese, low-income market women. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02589001.2022.2048808">findings</a> show that the women viewed their experiences as positive because they derived some benefit from participating in the show. They also had positive feelings about their size which they said they were using to their advantage with the help of family and friends. </p>
<p>The findings also indicate that television shows like Di Asa are not necessarily one-sided, seeking to exploit and shame the participants. They also challenge the notion that reality television is unAfrican, by demonstrating how family and friends supported participants targeting the ultimate prize in the show.</p>
<h2>The show</h2>
<p>The Di Asa reality show was <a href="https://diasa.show/">created</a> in 2017 by a relatively small Ghanaian media company, Atinka Media Village. It is privately owned with a TV station, radio stations, and an online presence. Atinka Media Village targets the Twi (one of the country’s major local languages) speaking population of Ghana. </p>
<p>The maiden edition began with auditions in markets around the country in which contestants were required to dance to earn their spot on the show.</p>
<p>What makes the show unique is the body size of the contestants. It only features obese women who compete for prizes based on their dancing ability. </p>
<p>The show became <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/2017-RTP-Awards-Full-list-of-winners-595135">popular</a> in a short period of time, winning the TV reality show of the year in 2017.</p>
<p>It is the first show in Ghana to feature plus size women. </p>
<p>In many African <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3869529/">contexts</a>, an overweight woman can be viewed favourably in terms of body size preference. However, there are limits beyond which a woman’s body size becomes socially <a href="https://www.scirp.org/html/100062_100062.htm">unacceptable</a>. In Ghana, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27313998/">derogatory terms</a> like “obolo” and “cargo” are used for individuals deemed to have crossed the limits of the “acceptable” body size. These words also carry the perception that plus size women are lazy and physically inactive. </p>
<p>The maiden edition of the show shocked Ghanaian viewers due to the unusual body sizes presented on television. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We drew on interviews with 19 of the final 20 participants in the very first season of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zhztnj-y8s">Di Asa</a> which run for 13 episodes.<br>
The participants were aged between 20 and 59.</p>
<p>The goal of the show was to identify the best female dancer out of a group of obese dancers. Evictions were carried out weekly using public votes. </p>
<p>The prizes at stake were a car for the winner, a mini truck for the person coming second and a motorised tricycle for the third. </p>
<p>Most of the women we interviewed said they had found participating in the show beneficial in ways that went beyond winning the top three prizes. </p>
<p>First was the fact that they earned an income. All the participants received the equivalent of US$50 for each week they remained on the show. This was a substantial amount given that a petty trader at the market doesn’t, on average, make that much. </p>
<p>The participants also received a range of products from the companies that sponsored the show. These included noodles, herbal energy drinks and cocoa products. </p>
<p>Most of the women said that they had become fitter due to their participation. The final set of participants had a trainer who worked with them routinely. They also had doctors discussing healthy eating options with them. </p>
<p>Financial management skills was another benefit from participation in the show. This was especially important given that most of the participants traded for a living and could parlay the lessons learnt from training sessions into growing and expanding their businesses. </p>
<p>Above all, the women became recognisable faces in their neighbourhoods and enjoyed the “celebrity” status that came with this. This boosted their self-esteem, something they all remarked on in the context of the body shaming that takes place in Ghana, including name calling.</p>
<p>Participating in the show also opened up new job opportunities. Some of the women were invited to dance at events for a fee, one had created a YouTube channel while others had been approached by advertising firms. </p>
<p>The owner of the TV station that sponsored the show also offered some employment opportunities in the pharmaceutical company he owned.</p>
<p>Given the advantages associated with participation in the show, friends and family members of the women were actively involved in their participation. In a number of cases women said they’d been alerted to the opportunity of participating in the show by family members or friends. Some went as far as to provide financial support to cover registration and participation. </p>
<p>In other cases family members and friends supported the women by campaigning for them and providing financial resources for people to vote for their contestant. </p>
<h2>Conclusions</h2>
<p>Our study shows that the participants of this particular show do not view it as a fat shaming exercise.</p>
<p>Rather, they saw it as providing them with opportunities such as making money and becoming celebrities that they otherwise would not have had. Hence the general support for auditioning and participation that they got from all and sundry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182463/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Akosua Keseboa Darkwah received funding from Mellon Foundation for this study</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rashida Resario received funding from Mellon Foundation for this study</span></em></p>Obese persons are regularly associated with laziness and inactivity in Ghanaian society.Akosua Keseboa Darkwah, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of GhanaRashida Resario, Lecturer, Theatre Arts, University of GhanaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1816622022-04-25T12:12:24Z2022-04-25T12:12:24ZThe Cleveland Indians changed their team name – what’s holding back the Atlanta Braves?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459145/original/file-20220421-24-ondbdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C8%2C2977%2C1854&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Atlanta Braves fans perform the 'tomahawk chop' during a playoff game in 2004.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/fans-of-the-atlanta-braves-do-the-tomahawk-chop-during-news-photo/51433584?adppopup=true"> Streeter Lecka/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In October 1995, as the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves prepared to <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1995_WS.shtml">face off in the World Series</a>, a group of Native Americans rallied outside Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to protest what they called both teams’ racist names and mascots. Some protesters carried signs, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1995/10/22/protesters-single-out-nicknames/5ca89d46-0ecb-46b3-a979-fbe6fa497af6/">including one that said</a>, “Human beings as mascots is not politically incorrect. It is morally wrong.”</p>
<p>They marched outside the ballpark, where some vendors were selling the foam tomahawks that Braves fans wave during the “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGuChxSvuh8">tomahawk chop</a>” – a cheer in which they mimic a Native American war chant while making a hammering motion with their arms. </p>
<p>It wasn’t until 2018 that the Indians <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22255143/cleveland-indians-removing-chief-wahoo-logo-uniforms">officially removed their logo</a>, a cartoonish Native American named Chief Wahoo, from their merchandise, banners and ballpark. In 2020 the owners agreed to change the Indians name itself. For the 2022 season, <a href="https://www.nbc15.com/2021/07/23/meet-guardians-cleveland-indians-announce-new-nickname/">they would begin using the new name</a>, the Guardians.</p>
<p>The Atlanta Braves’ owners, however, have dug in their heels, refusing to replace a name that many Americans – including Native Americans – find offensive and derogatory.</p>
<p>In July 2020 – in the midst of the nationwide protests around racism, sparked by the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police – <a href="https://wamu.org/story/20/07/11/the-racial-justice-reckoning-over-sports-team-names-is-spreading/">some Atlanta fans again urged the team to change its name</a>. In response, the Braves’ brass <a href="https://twitter.com/uniwatch/status/1282360397195075585?lang=en">sent a letter</a> to season ticket holders, insisting, “We will always be the Atlanta Braves.”</p>
<p>The insistence on preserving the team name – along with fan traditions like the tomahawk chop – is even more glaring given the city’s links to the civil rights movement.</p>
<h2>The road to Atlanta</h2>
<p>For many years, NFL football team owner Dan Snyder refused to change the name of his Washington Redskins – perhaps one of the more egregiously racist team names in any sport. But in 2020 <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/football-team/timeline-washington-football-teams-name-change-saga">he finally relented</a>, yielding to pressure from investors and corporate sponsors. The team played as the Washington Football Team for two seasons <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/06/1078571919/washington-commanders-name-change-native-americans">before becoming the Commanders</a> this year.</p>
<p>However, when professional sports teams do change their names, <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/football-team/pro-sports-teams-changed-their-name-without-changing-cities">it’s usually done for marketing reasons</a> rather than social ones. </p>
<p>The NFL’s Tennessee Oilers rebranded themselves the Tennessee Titans in 1999, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays became the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008 and the New Orleans Hornets turned into the Pelicans in 2013.</p>
<p>The Braves have had their own merry-go-round with team names.</p>
<p>The story begins in 1876, when Boston’s professional baseball team was known as the Red Stockings. In 1883, they became the Beaneaters and kept that name until 1907, when new owner <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1909/06/20/archives/baseball-president-dead-george-dovey-of-boston-passes-away-on-a.html">George Dovey</a> changed it to the Doves, a tribute to himself. In 1911, William Russell bought the team and renamed it <a href="https://www.baseball-almanac.com/mgrtmab7.shtml">the Rustlers</a>, also after himself. But a year later, James Gaffney, a New York City alderman, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/26/opinion/l-what-atlanta-braves-share-with-boss-tweed-980393.html">purchased the team</a>. </p>
<p>Gaffney was part of Tammany Hall, a New York City political club named after <a href="https://www.ustwp.org/government/boards-commissions/historical-advisory-board/chief-tamanend/">Tamanend</a>, a Delaware Indian chief. Tammany Hall used a Native American wearing a headdress <a href="https://bkskarch.com/2020/11/17/go-inside-the-new-glass-dome-atop-union-squares-tammany-hall/">as its emblem</a> and <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/atlanta-braves-team-name-origin">referred to its members</a> as “braves.” So Gaffney gave his team a new moniker. From thenceforth they would be known as the Boston Braves. </p>
<p>In 1935, <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bob-quinn/">Bob Quinn</a> purchased the Braves after a season in which they sported the worst record in baseball: <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BSN/1935.shtml">38 wins and 115 losses</a>. Hoping to give the team a fresh start, he renamed it the <a href="https://massachusettsbaseballhistory.com/2021/04/08/bostons-original-blue-and-yellow-team/">Boston Bees</a>, but the team continued to perform poorly. In 1940, construction magnate <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/17/archives/lou-perini-owner-who-took-braves-to-milwaukee-is-dead.html">Lou Perini</a> bought the team and changed the name back to the Braves. </p>
<p>In 1953, Perini moved the Braves to Milwaukee – the first team relocation since 1903. Nine years later, he sold the Braves to some Chicago investors led by <a href="https://www.ajc.com/sports/baseball/former-braves-owner-bill-bartholomay-who-moved-team-atlanta-dies/B43tnVnOAgQbjNhi3ptEGN/">William Bartholomay</a>, who quickly began looking to move the team to a larger television market. </p>
<h2>A commitment to improving race relations</h2>
<p>Atlanta Mayor <a href="https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/ivan-allen-jr-1911-2003/">Ivan Allen Jr.</a> courted Bartholomay. To lure the team, he persuaded Fulton County to build Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium <a href="https://www.todayingeorgiahistory.org/tih-georgia-day/atlanta-fulton-county-stadium">for US$18 million</a> – equal to $161 million today.</p>
<p>But Hank Aaron, the Braves’ biggest star, was reluctant to move to Atlanta. </p>
<p>Although it promoted itself as an enlightened place – the city had recently rebranded itself as “<a href="https://www.nps.gov/features/malu/feat0002/wof/ivan_allen.htm">The City Too Busy to Hate</a>” – Atlanta <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/2015/05/the-most-racially-segregated-cities-in-the-south.html">was still highly segregated</a>. It was the capital of a state represented by segregationist politicians such as long-serving Sens. <a href="https://faculty1.coloradocollege.edu/%7Ebloevy/toEndAllSegregation/ToEndAllSegregation-008.pdf">Richard Russell</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/22/us/herman-talmadge-georgia-senator-and-governor-dies-at-88.html">Herman Talmadge</a>. Aaron, a native of Mobile, Alabama, had no interest in returning to the Deep South racism of his birthplace. </p>
<p>The NAACP and Urban League asked Aaron to give the South a second chance. <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=6015125">Aaron met with Martin Luther King Jr.</a>, who convinced him that bringing the Braves to Atlanta would help the civil rights cause.</p>
<p>Before he would agree to join the Braves in Atlanta, however, Aaron insisted that Fulton County Stadium seating and facilities be desegregated. Mayor Allen shared that view. <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=6015125">The city and the Braves complied</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man wearing blue baseball jersey sits in a dugout bench." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Slugger Hank Aaron went along with the team to Atlanta only after some lobbying from Martin Luther King Jr.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/outfielder-hank-aaron-of-the-atlanta-braves-relaxes-in-the-news-photo/51455615?adppopup=true">Focus on Sport via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Jimmy Carter, who served as Georgia’s governor from 1971 to 1975 before being elected president, <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=6015125">recalled that</a> having a major league team in Atlanta “gave us the opportunity to be known for something that wasn’t going to be a national embarrassment.” Carter said that Aaron “was the first Black man that white fans in the South cheered for.” </p>
<h2>The chief and the chop</h2>
<p>As the Braves worked to mend relations with the city’s Black community, they didn’t seem to consider how their marketing efforts might offend Native Americans. </p>
<p>In 1966, the year the Braves moved to Atlanta, the team adopted a mascot, <a href="https://www.ajc.com/sports/baseball/whatever-happened-chief-noc-homa-levi-walker/ZoBlkrVjEyQbfa85BZbs8H/">Chief Noc-A-Homa</a>, who danced around a teepee behind the left field fence dressed in Native American garb and occasionally performed on the field.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man in Native American garb spreads his arms." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Atlanta Braves retired mascot Chief Noc-a-Homa in 1985.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-1983-file-photo-of-chief-noc-a-homa-the-atlanta-braves-news-photo/838580900?adppopup=true">Denver Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Under public pressure, <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1986/01/19/571286.html?pageNumber=352">the team abandoned</a> Chief Noc-A-Homa in 1985. But a few years later, Braves organist Carolyn King started playing the “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQOs0m3wTBY">tomahawk song</a>”
before Braves batters stepped up to the plate. By 1991, the fans had fully adopted the chop.</p>
<p>Today, many fans – not to mention many Native Americans – cringe at the music and the chop. To them, it reflects a stereotypical image of Native Americans as violent and uncivilized, <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/10/native-american-writers-urge-industry-to-make-amends-for-stereotypical-portrayals-inadequate-representation-1234595944/">similar to those</a> that appeared <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442229624/Native-Americans-on-Network-TV-Stereotypes-Myths-and-the-">on TV</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/481668">in movies</a> for many years. </p>
<p>In 2019, Ryan Helsley, a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and a member of the Cherokee Nation, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/05/cardinals-pitcher-calls-braves-tomahawk-chop-disappointing-disrespectful/">took issue with the tomahawk chop</a> after pitching against the Braves.</p>
<p>“I think it’s a misrepresentation of the Cherokee people or Native Americans in general. Just depicts them in this kind of caveman-type people way who aren’t intellectual,” Helsley told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.</p>
<p>“They are a lot more than that,” he said. “It devalues us and how we’re perceived in that way, or used as mascots.” </p>
<h2>A name that honors the region’s history</h2>
<p>The Braves are now owned by Liberty Media Corp., a $17 billion conglomerate controlled by Chair John C. Malone, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/john-malone/?sh=529309001505">who is personally worth $7.5 billion</a>. Only pressure from the Braves’ corporate sponsors, fans, other teams, and even some players will likely push Malone to make a change. </p>
<p>After Aaron died last year, <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/sports/mlb/atlanta-braves/atlanta-braves-name-change-hammers-hank-aaron/85-bc8ad39e-0199-4729-a024-0ea180929896">some Braves fans urged the owners</a> to change the name to the “Hammers” to honor the slugger who was nicknamed “Hammerin’ Hank” or just “The Hammer.” His boosters pointed out that it would be simple to put a hammer in place of the tomahawk, which now adorns all Braves uniforms and the team logo. Some version of the cheer could even remain, but with hammers, not tomahawks. </p>
<p>But I’d like to suggest a team name that would make an even bigger statement: the Atlanta Kings, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. King grew up in Atlanta, attended Morehouse College, and spent most of his adult life there. His childhood home, the church he served as minister and the King Center, an educational nonprofit, are all located in Atlanta.</p>
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<p>King understood the importance of baseball in American culture. He befriended and <a href="https://theconversation.com/jackie-robinson-was-a-radical-dont-listen-to-the-sanitized-version-of-history-179732">worked closely with Jackie Robinson during the civil rights movement</a>. And he helped bring the team to Atlanta.</p>
<p>I think it would be fitting for the Braves to become the Kings and replace the tomahawk with a crown. Or, in the spirit of inclusion, the team could be rechristened as the Atlanta Hammer Kings. And the team could adopt Pete Seeger’s easy-to-sing “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO39e5Uznu4">If I Had a Hammer</a>” as its theme song.</p>
<p>All it would take is some political courage.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181662/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Dreier does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The insistence on preserving the team name – along with fan traditions like the ‘tomahawk chop’ – is even more glaring given the city’s links to the civil rights movement.Peter Dreier, E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics, Occidental CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.