Conversation

Aella
@Aella_Girl
Sometimes I notice myself anticipating things out of people based on associations around them - not even consciously, it just emerges out of commonalities of interaction. For example, girls with blunt bangs and short haircuts tend to be artistic and queer.
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
Was I told this? Did I consciously decide this was the association? No - I just noticed one day that I had this association. What are some totally unconscious associations you have about people? I'm particularly interested in negative associations, or ones you use to avoid ppl.
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
Interestingly they don't seem to be stereotypically consistent. I have a strong negative association with facial piercings and anybody who uses the word 'queer,' but neutral/slightly positive associations with trans people and cis men wearing women's clothes.
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Dr. Poop Muscles, PhD
@Space_Boy_Ben
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
it's also possible this "repeated reinforcement" is rooted in some sort of learned ignorance that you've been unconsciously carrying since before your original interactions with different kinds of people. the things we typically need to unlearn usually go pretty deep.
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
Replying to
@Space_Boy_Ben
Again - possible, but it doesn't feel like a complete or satisfying explanation. For every negative association I have, there's a bunch more positive ones that *started out* with a negative association with that type of person.
Dr. Poop Muscles, PhD
@Space_Boy_Ben
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
To answer your original question: Dude-bro type guys, there's a strong negative association (grew up with tons of them, most were bullies) but more recently I've been meeting more and more of them who are truly the nicest guys, next level accepting, loving, anti-bullying etc
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