This video is sponsored by CuriosityStream. Sign up today and you’ll also get access
to Nebula, a video platform built by and for creators. So I’ve talked a lot on this channel about
the many ways in which actions and words can be harmful to people of color and other marginalized
groups. These usually involve implicit biases or ignorant
perspectives that lead to mistrust or mistreatment of people, whether overt or subtle. But what about actions and words that seem
positive or complimentary? And I don’t mean insults disguised as compliments,
like when someone tells a black person they "speak so well” which often implies that
they didn’t expect them to speak so well. I mean genuine praise and enthusiasm shared
specifically towards marginalized people. Can that also be…problematic? You might have already guessed my answer due
to the very posing of the question. Hi, I’m T1J. [WEIRD VOICE:] Follow me! [T1J:] This video, like all my videos would
not be possible without my Members and Patrons, including homies like xiilnek, Zarina Castano,
carlydee, and Wendy_Bard. Big shoutouts to all the homies and, and if
you’d like to support the channel, you can become a homie yourself by clicking the join
button below the video or by checking out my page on Patreon. So I have mentioned the term “microaggression”
on this channel many times before, and I know that depending on how it’s used it can be
kind of a controversial buzzword. Some people claim the word is used to demonize
innocuous behaviors as racist or otherwise bigoted. And some zealous activists treat microagressions
as if they’re the same thing as hate crimes, which I think is a bit of an exaggeration. But the concept that the term describes is
definitely a real thing. That is to say, the subtle mistrust and disrespect
that marginalized groups face that doesn’t rise to the level of overt oppression, but nevertheless reinforces that marginalization
by constantly implying that certain groups of people aren’t worthy of the same respect
or the benefit of the doubt, that dominant groups may receive. Examples of microaggressions are often clearly
negative: things like a worker following a black kid
around a store to make sure they don’t steal anything, or when people use the word “gay”
as a synonym for “stupid.” Which I truly thought ended in like 2011,
but apparently people are still doing it. But there’s another very specific type of
microaggression, that could be confused for a compliment. That is, the utilization of so-called “Positive
stereotypes.” One of the most common ways that positive
stereotypes are used is within the realm of sex and romance. In this context, we can describe it as “racial
fetishizing.” “Fetishizing” is really hard to say by
the way. So I’m gonna try to keep that to a minimum! Now the concept of sexual fetishes can get
really complicated and that is not what this video is about, so I’m not gonna go too
deep into that. But it’s almost certainly true that racial
fetishism is rampant in modern relationships. I touched on this a little bit in my video
about racial dating preferences. While that video focused on how many societies
have been conditioned to uphold Eurocentric standards of beauty, I did also bring up how sexual attraction
can be based just as much on racial stereotypes as on physical appearance. Often this is negatively perceived, such as
stereotypes about black women being mean and angry, or Asian men having small penises. But sometimes sexual attraction can be derived
from quote-unquote positive stereotypes such as Asian women being submissive and obedient,
or Latin-American people being fun and exotic. And again, this can be genuine enthusiasm,
but the issue is that in these cases, the people in question are being treated as...ot
people. They’re being stereotyped. They’re being objectified and treated like
an idea, rather than a human being. And I also would like to point out that this
can happen to anyone, even white people. Objectifying people, whether positively or
negatively, is probably a huge cause of many relationship issues across the board. People fetishize white people too. There are sometimes stereotypes about white
women being more promiscuous or sexually available than other women, for example. I’ve read that in some Asian countries,
white people are sometimes fetishized as symbols of wealth and power. And this generalization is just as unfair
to them. They’re also just people, with flaws and
strengths, and different thoughts and feelings about different subjects. But when it does happen specifically with
regard to minority stereotypes, I’d argue that it has a doubling affect. In those cases, it’s not just rude on a
personal level; it also helps to reinforce those stereotypes in a systemic way, and ultimately contributes to the ongoing
treatment of already marginalized groups as something other than just people. But, this idea is not limited only to sex
and dating. The “otherizing” of people of color through
a specific fixation on their race can manifest in all kinds of ways. One example is kind of touched on in my last
video—the idea of “the black friend.” Some people enjoy the idea of having a black
friend, not because it increases the diversity of thought in their friend group, or even
necessarily because they like theperson. Sometimes they simply associate some kind
of novelty and excitement with the idea of blackness. Which again, is ultimately disrespectful,
because it ignores this person’s individuality as a human being, and just makes them a stand-in
for their race as a whole. And of course there are all of the common
“positive stereotypes” that we’ve heard so many times before, that usually relate
to some kind of skill or ability. Asian people are good with math and technology,
black people are strong and athletic, Latin-American people can cook and dance. These seem like harmless compliments, but
ultimately they normalize a connection between race and skill. And if you’re saying that someone’s race
can make them better at something, then who’s to say that someone’s race can’t make
them worse at something? In fact, if you take a closer look at a lot
of these positive stereotypes, they often have a subtle negative implication as well. When you emphasize that you think black people
are naturally athletic, you’re at the same time undermining other skills, such as intelligence. And this can go the other way as well, Asian
people are often expected to be smart and tech-savvy, but this can undermine other skills
like athletic and social skills. Meanwhile, white people can be smart, good
at sports, or good at cooking, or successful in relationships, and it’s all good. No one’s surprised at any of that, because
white people are more likely to be assessed on an individual basis, rather than being
a stand-in for their entire group. And this can be damaging to people for a variety
of reasons. Obviously the assumption that being a certain
race naturally makes you better or worse at something is just another example of dehumanization. This continues to encourage people to show
prejudice towards groups of people as a whole rather than judging them as individuals. But these expectations can also affect the
confidence and self-esteem of people of color themselves sometimes. Sometimes when we don’t or can’t live
up to these stereotypical expectations, we feel like there’s something wrong with us,
and we might even get treated as such by people in our own communities. If a Latina woman never learns to cook, for
example, she may be ridiculed by her friends and family, which could cause her to feel
like a failure. And sometimes, even if we do meet these expectations,
we may not even get credit for them. If we meet an Asian person who’s a math
genius, we might be like, "well that makes sense, they’re Asian." But that completely belittles all the studying
and dedication that person probably put in to reach that level. This video focuses on race, but there are
definitely so-called "positive stereotypes" about LGBTQ people, women, and people from
all kinds of groups. And these things have become so ingrained
into our culture that sometimes we don’t even realize when we’re doing it. But as with everything else, I want to encourage
people to constantly reexamine what they say and I do and put everything they think they
know under scrutiny. It’s kind of exhausting I know, but it’s
also kind of the only way we continue to grow and evolve as human beings. DAS JUS ME DOE. What do you think? By the way, did you know that you could watch
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