The study itself asks two questions: (1) does the IAT reliably predict discriminatory behavior and (2) does current research support the claim that most people posses a level of bias that would produce discriminatory behavior. correlations with other measures of implicit attitudes, etc. The issue is whether the IAT be validated by actual behavior vs. The same should go for sexism, homophobia, xenophobia or any sort of ideology that serves to split ordinary people apart. This is why the only way to handle racism is to FIGHT IT! Fight it in any way, whereever or from whomever it may manifest. But the ramifications have already become embedded into the fabric of society, planting the seeds for the next round of racism that will most likely be more intense. And if they are called out on it, they'll just simply issue a sugar coated apology. And now people, companies, and instutiions can basically get away with being racist all the time without any criticism. Some people actually go as far as justifying racism on more libertarian grounds saying that people should have the freedom to think what they want, therefore if you criticize someones racist thoughts then you are encroaching upon this person's freedom of expression and speech.īoth theories do nothing but create a atmosphere in which racism thereby flourishes uninhibited. If you draw too much attention to it you are simply fanning the flames or even worse - a racist yourself' The notion goes something like this: 'Racism is something of the past, and if it does exist today it exists in little pockets mostly concentrated in 'white trash hick towns' and it has no relevance today. It's this new 'color-blind'/libertarian racism. But this incident displays something about US society that's been going on for a while. It took public reaction for the company to capitualate. The company obviously didn't care enough at that time. Im almost certain someone did question this. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College.

UPDATE: Comments on this post have been closed. Images from here, here, and here, via Resist Racism. In any case, I think this raises an even more interesting question: Does the history of associating black people with primates, and I will refer you again to this post, actually make any product that does so problematic? Does the fact that the doll comes in white and Hispanic erase any concerns about the fact that the black doll exists?Īs usual, our readers are quick to ask difficult questions and this discussion is already well under way in the comments. I’m not sure why none of the media coverage I came across noted this. UPDATE: Commenters alerted me to alternative media coverage that made it clear that “Pretty Panda” and “Lil’ Monkey” dolls both came in black, white, and “Hispanic”: And also: “Can I say I’m sorry again? In addition to racist, we were profoundly insensitive to centuries of violent hatred… and it is simply not okay.” We are really bleeping sorry,” but with stronger curse words. We can’t fight racism unless we’re prepared to admit that we hold unconscious biases.īy the way, in my opinion, the proper response should have been: “Oh hell, we messed up bad. Their refusal to think about racism, in favor of a defensive reaction, is as racist as the doll itself. In fact, their defense actually makes things worse. Not thinking in that way consciously doesn’t mean that racism didn’t play a role in the manufacturing of a black Lil’ Monkey doll. The fact that we are all racist already, whether we like it or not, is the point that the manufacturer completely misses. (If you’d like to test your own unconscious biases, and see aggregate test results of others, I highly recommend Harvard’s Project Implicit.) Social psychologists have shown, robustly, that any given member of a society, even those who are the target of negative stereotypes, will hold pre-conscious stereotypical beliefs common in that society. We don’t operate in that kind of thinking.

The manufacturer of the dolls is claiming that there was no intention to be racist. Here is the white counterpart, the “Pretty Panda” doll: A peeled banana points at the child’s mouth.

This week Costco pulled the black “Lil’ Monkey” baby doll from its shelves, along with its white “Pretty Panda” counterpart, as a result of protests that it was racist.Īs you can see, the black doll has on a hat that says “lil’ monkey,” is surrounded by products that have monkeys on them, as well as a stuffed monkey. This associations continue to be propagated (e,g., here, here, and here). Associations of black people with monkeys and apes have been used for centuries to make them seem less-than-human and justify hatred and exploitation.

Hispanic and black baby