Google is Judging Me. : (

I consider a Utopia to be a place where there are no presumptions about a person's character, and people learn about each other as individuals. I'd like to say that I never make a judgment of a person based on their gender, race, sexuality, or ethnicity. But, I'd be lying. Pretty much everyone holds some sort of presumption about other people's characters, and I'm no exception. I wouldn't even be allowed in my own Utopia.

Consider Google. Google is not a person, it is a slightly sinister company, but it still makes a very good example of the effects of presumption. Google collects data on people's search histories and then uses it to try and tailor adds to fit their personal preferences.

(You can view your own add profile here if you want: http://www.google.com/ads/preferences )

You might not believe me, but Google's add preferences can be a source of wonderful entertainment. My favorite game to play on them is something I call Gender Add Grab Bag. You play by telling Google you're the opposite gender that it has you listed as. Then, you go browsing to see if the adds that pop up are any different from what you normally get. Then, switch back, and visit the same websites. Even though all of the data that Google has collected on you except for your gender stays the same, the changes are often striking.

While listed as a male, I usually encounter lots of adds for home improvement, alcohol, and cars. Listed as a female, I encounter far more adds for shoes, purses, and diets.

As a special treat, here's the most uncomfortable add encountered while I was listed as a female:

                                              (She's way too happy about all of this.)

And here's the even more uncomfortable add encountered while I was listed as a male:

                                                          (I can't even.)

I don't know why Google even needs to tailor my adds based on my gender, considering that it's already collected enough info to know that I like juice, rock and pop music, reptiles, and biological sciences. But, apparently it is still absolutely vital to know which parts I happen to possess, so that Google can also make judgments that are based on stereotypes rather than search history.

I think that the world would be a much better place if everyone was judged on what they did and said, without any presumptions being made about them. Of course, if I tell Google they need to stop being so presumptuous they are probably going to ignore me, because I am a tiny little person, and they are only a few technicalities away from being considered a world power. I can't change the world right away. But, I can change myself.

There are three main steps to the process:

1. Admit that you hold prejudgments and prejudges, because it's very hard to change something while pretending it isn't there.
   
   
2. Fight them at every opportunity. 
   
   

                    (If it doesn't feel like this, you aren't trying hard enough.)

3. Repeat for the rest of your life.
   
   
   I think that if everyone tried their very best not to prejudge people,  the world would be a much, much better place.

(Images belong to Tampax, orientbrides.com, and Paramont Pictures, respectively. )