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batshalom -> RE: People here make me laugh (5/4/2008 1:24:53 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: chellekitty
just remember the word "ethnocentric"...people in the USA look at my skin color and assume i am hispanic, because that is the only possible way my skin could be the color it is...not possibly my father is from Sri Lanka and my mother is pure bread American Mutt Caucasian...and in the same train of thought your features are those of an Asian female (and Asian women are all really submissive and very desirable, dontcha know?), not noting the differences between Asian men and women...and of course all people with long hair are women and all people with short hair are men...when i had short hair, with my big butt, small waist, and big boobs, i got called Sir very often, by customer service people *eyeroll*...
People use heuristics, cognitive shortcuts, in order to take the load off working memory (which is only so big). We all use these rules of thumb all the time, in one area or another, and usually in many many many areas simultaneously. If we didn't use these heuristics, our brains would be so overloaded that we wouldn't be able to walk without thinking, "pick up leg, push foward, place foot on floor, pick up other leg ..." In fact, we are so good at using these shortcuts, the media and marketing firms bank on it - they employ psychologists just to give them the scoop on how people think and react to things.
Edited to add: Duh. I forgot to include the point I was trying to make.
Most people don't mean to be disparaging when, for example, they think the OP is female or think you are hispanic. It's quick and then they can move on to the next thing without wasting their mental resources.
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