Seeing and not seeing
Recently I ran into a demonstration about how things that are perfectly obvious can remain unseen if you're not tuned in to them. I don't think male scientists set out to ignore us, but sometimes that happens anyway. I feel like this video relates to "benign neglect" as a New York Senator named Moynihan once put it. The demonstration isn't about our issues at all, really, in some sense. The issues I'm thinking about are women's vs men's pay, whom to invite to speak or receive awards, and the way some people never seem to "hear" what women say in meetings.
Just for fun, go to this site (click here) and watch the video. You might want to read this blog posting on how our minds can fool us, this way and other ways, by Josh Kim (click here). Then come back and comment. Is it fair to compare this phenomenon with the way men in science sometimes ignore or don't see women's issues?
cheers,
Laura (actually being posted on Oct 10)
A I don't think this video has anything to do with why men don't pay attention to us.
B. I am not sure. It might be the same kind of process.
C. Yep, they don't see it because they are concentrating on themselves!
Okay, I see it now. I must be strange because the hidden image was clear to me from the start. So, I must pay attention to women in seminars? LOL. Okay, I agree that it could be the same kind of mental game as this exercise is meant to be, but I don't know what the men in seminars are focused on (which other men are passing the ball, I mean comment?).
Hi bewildered,
Scroll down through the comments to find the one with the YouTube URL, then paste that into your browser. Try it, it's fun!
cheers,
Laura
Hey Laura, The links take me back to this page. Where is the video??
What's with the gorilla, she looks like a girl? Okay, it must be a good model for why they don't see us in that case. I think they see the professor women better than the grad student and postdoc women. I see the seminar host looking out over the audience at the raised hands, and there is no way he will call on me. But a male postdoc or grad student at least has a shot at it.
B but this mechanism seems like too simple an approach and at the same time, it sounds a bit more intentional than I think male scientists are about doing this ignoring act. I think it's like, how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. How do you look through women? similar answer.
C I think it makes sense. Even if it's a habit or subliminal, they are focused on something (not on us, that's for sure).
This is funny. I am not sure it's the same thing as what makes men look through me sometimes, though. So, B for me. It seems more like habit than focus to me.
Oops, the Kim link is broken too. Here is the URL for the Josh Kim commentary on Inside Higher Education:
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology_and_learning/kim
cheers,
Laura Hoopes
The link seems to be broken. Try going to this site on Youtube to see the video in question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo
cheers,
Laura Hoopes
B I'm not sure. It might be the same. I almost would say what men do in meetings, especially with very few women present, is more subliminal, less focused. It's true they don't see or hear us, don't pay attention to us. But I'm not convinced it's the same mechanism as the demo video.
C I think this is a cool demo, have seen it before (I won't spoil it though). I do think it is similar. The men have already decided whom to pick, whom to pay attention to, etc, so we remain invisible.
