Exposing our hidden biases curbs their influence, new research suggests

Do you know the implicit biases you have? Here are some ways to find them out.

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  • A study finds that even becoming aware of your own implicit bias can help you overcome it.
  • We all have biases. Some of them are helpful — others not so much.
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23% of young black women now identify as bisexual

Among women, bisexuality is statistically on the rise.

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Since 1972, social scientists have studied the General Social Survey to chart the complexities of social change in the United States.

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Supreme Court to hear 3 cases on LGBT workplace discrimination

In most states, LGBTQ Americans have no legal protections against discrimination in the workplace.

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  • The Supreme Court will decide whether the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also applies to gay and transgender people.
  • The court, which currently has a probable conservative majority, will likely decide on the cases in 2020.
  • Only 21 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws effectively extending the Civil Rights of 1964 to gay and transgender people.
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What makes someone gay? Science is trying to get it straight.

Evolutionarily speaking, being gay is still something of an enigma

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  • Heterosexual people have been less interesting to scientists than gay people, in terms of where they come from, because, evolutionarily speaking, being gay doesn't lead to a higher "higher reproductive fitness" — meaning, it doesn't lead to more babies.
  • Across cultures, gay boys tend to be more interested in spending time with their mothers.
  • We still don't really know why gay people are attracted to each other.
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Americans have become less biased — in regard to race, disability, and sexuality — since 2004

The study suggest implicit biases can change significantly over a relatively short timeframe.

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  • The study examined the results of more than 4 million tests designed to measure implicit and explicit biases.
  • The tests measured attitudes toward groups defined by age, disability, body weight, race, skin tone, and sexuality.
  • All explicit biases decreased during the study's timeframe, while several categories of implicit bias diminished.
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