Reply #75: Bias in advertising

[Brewman_Jax]

I open my monthly credit union statement, and there is a flyer for mortgage services. On the front is a young (20-something) white couple on the porch holding each other. Okay, no big deal. Opening the flyer, there's a pic of another young white couple unpacking boxes. On another page, there's an older black couple (salt and pepper hair on both is a dead give-away) at a table reading a folder.

I'm sure to most, there wouldn't be any problem, but why aren't there any young black/asian/other couples that appear to be buying/moving/packing/unpacking?

Why is that a problem? The general population doesn't get to see non-whites doing everyday things, thus, non-white doesn't become normal/familiar/the usual/okay. As long as white stays the default norm, then discrimination continues to be okay because not-white remains different/not normal, along with the mental images that creates.