Thursday (day 74)
I haven't had much sleep as poor Mr Cee is suffering with hayfever. I'm assuming it's grass pollen, but that's odd as the grass is struggling with the lack of rain. Trouble is - it makes him snuffle in his sleep and it wakes me up. Between that and the hip pain that won't go away I'm a bit of a zombie today. Oh - and just to record here for the future - the numbers of Covid10 cases in the UK are going up again (I'm not shocked).
I've started reading a book by Dr Pargya Agarwal called Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias. It's very interesting (particularly at the moment) as it looks at our inherent and learned bias and how the world around us has influenced us to think in certain ways. Growing up in the 70's I had to unlearn a LOT of bias that I'd unconsciously taken in from my parents, TV and magazines/books when I started to work with children and adults. I hadn't realised how much bias had woven its way into my thinking. I found the book as my neighbour passed on one of those glossy magazines I never buy myself and there was an article in it there about it. There were four examples cited in the magazine article:
"1 Ageism bias
Older people are teased about their cognitive abilities and there is the assumption they have physical or mental problems. Stereotypes are reinforced in advertising and TV characters showing older people as frail or terrible with technology."
"2 Height bias
Height is associated with dominance, greatness, leadership and success and that bias affects who is appointed to certain roles. Taller people (according to statistics) make more money. It explains why women seek out taller men to date. It is linked to a time when height was a marker for fitness, but it's now of course redundant."
I must admit I have found being taller than average is a blessing and a curse - but mostly it has a lot of social advantages. Adults always used to assume I was the one in charge when I was at school with a group of friends ..
"3 Weight bias
Overweight and obese people can be marginalised and discriminated against because of their weight. Often on TV larger people are portrayed having to overcompensate for their weight with a jolly personality."
There's a lot of emphasis on losing weight too and how you're lazy if you don't try which I think is really unfair.
"4 Accent bias
Accents have different associations and we are more biased towards ones with negative connotations. For instance, people might assume northern accents represent less intelligence, or posh accents are a sign of private education. Of course, neither are true."
Goes for a South London accent too - people make an assumption that you're stupid.
It's an interesting read so far and I'd recommend it.
I shall be spending most of the day in the glass studio I think. I've got it set up in there with wifi so I can take my ipad in and stream something or watch something I've recorded on our Tivo in the house as it will connect to that. It's nice to be making something I don't have to make as the Etsy and friends orders have stopped for now *g* Youngest Cee might be over later too which will be nice.
Just time to cover the 365 question: 4. What item of clothing is your least favourite to shop for? Can I just say all of them? I'm not average in size - I have very long arms and legs and I'm tall so most things don't fit me in the right proportions. I have to shop online for trousers, jeans and most winter coats (thank goodness for Long Tall Sally!) as I just can't get things like the waist/pockets in the right places for me in shop bought garments. Shoes are difficult as I have wide feet but not that large (size 7 UK) and average widths are too narrow. It's just incredibly frustrating to try and get stuff, so I hate clothing shopping as a general rule. Although lately I'd like to go and browse around a clothes shop just for the hell of it *sigh*
I've started reading a book by Dr Pargya Agarwal called Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias. It's very interesting (particularly at the moment) as it looks at our inherent and learned bias and how the world around us has influenced us to think in certain ways. Growing up in the 70's I had to unlearn a LOT of bias that I'd unconsciously taken in from my parents, TV and magazines/books when I started to work with children and adults. I hadn't realised how much bias had woven its way into my thinking. I found the book as my neighbour passed on one of those glossy magazines I never buy myself and there was an article in it there about it. There were four examples cited in the magazine article:
"1 Ageism bias
Older people are teased about their cognitive abilities and there is the assumption they have physical or mental problems. Stereotypes are reinforced in advertising and TV characters showing older people as frail or terrible with technology."
"2 Height bias
Height is associated with dominance, greatness, leadership and success and that bias affects who is appointed to certain roles. Taller people (according to statistics) make more money. It explains why women seek out taller men to date. It is linked to a time when height was a marker for fitness, but it's now of course redundant."
I must admit I have found being taller than average is a blessing and a curse - but mostly it has a lot of social advantages. Adults always used to assume I was the one in charge when I was at school with a group of friends ..
"3 Weight bias
Overweight and obese people can be marginalised and discriminated against because of their weight. Often on TV larger people are portrayed having to overcompensate for their weight with a jolly personality."
There's a lot of emphasis on losing weight too and how you're lazy if you don't try which I think is really unfair.
"4 Accent bias
Accents have different associations and we are more biased towards ones with negative connotations. For instance, people might assume northern accents represent less intelligence, or posh accents are a sign of private education. Of course, neither are true."
Goes for a South London accent too - people make an assumption that you're stupid.
It's an interesting read so far and I'd recommend it.
I shall be spending most of the day in the glass studio I think. I've got it set up in there with wifi so I can take my ipad in and stream something or watch something I've recorded on our Tivo in the house as it will connect to that. It's nice to be making something I don't have to make as the Etsy and friends orders have stopped for now *g* Youngest Cee might be over later too which will be nice.
Just time to cover the 365 question: 4. What item of clothing is your least favourite to shop for? Can I just say all of them? I'm not average in size - I have very long arms and legs and I'm tall so most things don't fit me in the right proportions. I have to shop online for trousers, jeans and most winter coats (thank goodness for Long Tall Sally!) as I just can't get things like the waist/pockets in the right places for me in shop bought garments. Shoes are difficult as I have wide feet but not that large (size 7 UK) and average widths are too narrow. It's just incredibly frustrating to try and get stuff, so I hate clothing shopping as a general rule. Although lately I'd like to go and browse around a clothes shop just for the hell of it *sigh*