Does THIS Seem at all Sexist to Anyone?

[cthulu2016]

21. Not really sexist.

It is not sexist to have an impression unless the impression is based on a distinctly negative stereotype.

It is odd to announce the fact when you guess wrong. But we are always going to form impressions about anyone we interact with.

There is no way to have entirely neutral interactions. If a personality is not appranent we will fill one in.

That is not nessecarily a bad thing. If we were capable of pure-reason interactions with other humans we might be a bunch of sociopaths, or otherwise lacking in empathy.

When the APOLLO theater booked Buddy Holly the bookers assumed he was black from the sound of his music. That was an error, but not racist. To the bookers it was a compliment. And it was not an analysis of the musical potential of white people in a laboratory, it was informed by culture. Buddy Holly's music sounded more like one thing or another to the listener.

That's normal and not obviously detrimental.

Crossing the line is where the assumptions underlying the guess are themselves sexist or racist.

Mnay people have said that if women ran the world there would be fewer wars. That assumes something about the average traits of women, but is not nessecarily wrong or negative. When someone says "There was a brawl in this bar last night" we picture men. If we find out it was women braawling then we accept that, but why feel guilty about a reasonable impression?

There are some real group traits in aggregate--on average. We all acknowledge them while trying to be wise enough to not see a trend as a definition.

If someone guessed that Georgia O'Keefe was female after looking at her paintings I woud not assume anything bad was being said.

If someone said, "I guessed these were by a woman because they suck" that would be sexist.

That's my sense of these questions.