How To Avoid Unconscious Bias on Zoom.

by Dr Raelene Gunston.

Gidday, dumbshits. Dr Raelene fucken Gunston here, chair of The Department of Liberal Post-Gender Studies at the University of Wollongong. Now then. Let’s get straight down to brass tacks and discuss this highly-offensive patriachal media construct called “Zoom”.

Zoom is a platform which promotes unconscious bias. That much is obvious. It propagates prejudice and stereotypes that are extrapolated from language, symbolism and nonverbal cues. These cues reinforce normative social identities with respect to gender, race, sexual preference, cocks, balls, nutsacks and socioeconomic status. For a further community-based example of one of these cues, my husband Mr Wayne Gunston has a cock like a pool cue but let’s not go there right now.

For a working example of unconscious bias, when the virtual background of a Zoom meeting attendee has pictures of his or her wedding, it unintentionally reinforces the idea that marriage is most fitting between opposite sexes. Therefore, in order to not unconsciously offend minority Zoom participants, this wedding picture needs to be affirmatively action-balanced by the placement next to it of a photo of a 150kg lezzer bull dyke chick.

In fact, even a simple conversational icebreaker on Zoom can be a pathway for reinforcing dominant social norms and identities. In a recent video-conference, we were asked the ‘most fun thing you’ve done with your family during quarantine.’ Participant answers ranged from ‘gardening with my husband’ to ‘dance parties with my family’. While these experiences are valid they can crowd out the experiences of people with minoritized social identities.

Let’s use macro-passive agendered bullet points to notorize these indiscrepencies;

• Not all minorities have a husband.
• Not all minorities have a garden.
• Not all minorities can dance.
• Not all minorities have seen the film “Minority Report” starring Tom Cruise.

I could go on.

• Not all minorities are minors.

Okay, that’s enough for now.

Another working example of unconscious bias in the Zoom diaspora is asking about “fun family things”. Such a microaggressive leading question may prevent cisgender goth trannies on Zoom from publicly reaffirming their cisgender goth tranny identities. This can lead to feelings of isolation and exclusion for those currently identifying themselves as present in the cisgender goth tranny community.

So, what can we do?

Here are some tips on how to mitigate unconscious bias and improve inclusivity.

Use Inclusive Language.

Using inclusive language validates participants’ diversity of experiences, whether that be lezzer, or bull dyke, or mangina positive, or gash taco neutral.

Symbolism.

Be conscious about what your “virtual environment” might symbolize. While virtual backgrounds may be a way for participants to express themselves, it is important to understand who is being excluded and included with these types of actions. If you DON’T have a huge fucken nazi swastika flag behind you, how do you think that makes the local right-wing skinhead fascist community feel? Without their comforting iconography there to make them feel included, this societal subset may feel excluded from the Zoom community, which in turn could potentially lead to feelings of isolation for this particular marginalised cohort.

Okay, I hope these informative tips help you to avoid unconscious bias while you are using the highly fucken offensive patriachal media construct called “Zoom”.

Righto.

–Dr Raelene Gunston.