[speechlesstx]

Black-and-White TV: Nonverbal Racial Bias Found in Popular Television Shows

Facial expressions and body language may reinforce racism

Popular television shows that put black and white characters on an equal footing as doctors or detectives may still be transmitting racial bias nonverbally, according to a new study. Researchers found that in a selection of brief, silent clips from 11 prime-time television shows, white characters were consistently rated as behaving more positively toward other white characters than toward black ones, even when the black characters were deemed equal to their white counterparts in attractiveness, kindness and intelligence.

The study, published on Thursday in the journal Science , suggests one way racial biases could be propagated even when people are consciously on the lookout against racist stereotypes or remarks. "What this suggests is the media is one of the mechanisms of how we see people's true feelings and therefore how we form our own biases," says John Dovidio, a social psychologist at Yale University who did not take part in the study. "The nonverbal behavior really conveys what people are thinking and feeling, and that's why it's so potent."

Do we really need to look for every conceivable, remote possibility of an instance of racism, whether real or perceived? Or can we all just stop acting like damn fools around each other and move on? Doesn't science have anything better to do, like save the world, find a cure for cancer or fudge some data or something?

[spitvenom]

Did you see they way that baby was looking at that stethoscope on the link. I could tell it was thinking hey black guy what are you doing with this in your ears. And just from that picture I could tell the black guy was thinking crackerasscracker baby get your white devil hands off my stethoscope. Or I could be wrong.

[artlady]

Do we really need to look for every conceivable, remote possibility of an instance of racism, whether real or perceived? Or can we all just stop acting like damn fools around each other and move on? Doesn't science have anything better to do, like save the world, find a cure for cancer or fudge some data or something?

Ditto!

[speechlesstx]

You could be right, Spit. Better get those researchers on it right away. Oh wait, I think they've already covered racist babies.

[spitvenom]

You could be right, Spit. Better get those researchers on it right away. Oh wait, I think they've already covered racist babies.

Sweet merciful Magilacutty

[paraclete]

Black-and-White TV: Nonverbal Racial Bias Found in Popular Television Shows

Facial expressions and body language may reinforce racism

Let me speak plainly. I am not racist. However I have to admit that I have little interest in watching a program with someone with a thick African accent I can hardly understand or about subjects which affect a minority whom I am unable to directly help, nor am I interested in American black culture exported from the US under their equal opportunity provisions. If dark skinned people or for that matter any ethnic group are to be featured in a program then it should be relevant to the plot and the setting, Stark white skin is as much out of place in an African setting as the opposite is in northern Europe. So if there is bias it is not only non verbal but let's get real and stop pandering to minorities after all you will find bias in their countries