A Quick Thought Experiment To Identify Your Gender Biases
Are you gender-biased? Research shows biases start early and are hard to break.
There is a popular thought experiment that uncovers gender biases. If you sat through any entry-level gender studies course in college, you probably have been subjected to it.
It goes like this…
A child wakes up early to go fishing with his father. They cross a railroad track, and his father is hit by the train and killed. The child survives but is severely injured. The boy is rushed to the hospital and needs a life-saving operation.
The surgeon pulls back the curtain and proclaims, “I can’t operate on him. He is my son!”
You have only three seconds to answer this question. What is the surgeon’s relationship to the boy?
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Your answer…
Wait…the father was killed? How can he not operate on his son? Was your brain thrown into cognitive dissonance, or did you immediately think the mother was the surgeon?
I claim to be a good feminist, but I failed this test. My mind twisted into odd shapes. Was it the stepfather who died? Or maybe…
