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Picture Source : Location of Malaysia |
The range of beliefs, attitudes, etc., considered acceptable at any given time. It was named after Joseph Overton (1960-2003) who proposed the idea. Earliest documented use: 2003.
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Chart Source : Our World in Data |
Social media platforms have helped fuel political polarization and incitements to violence across the globe, from the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar to the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. This is because algorithms consistently select content that evokes anger and outrage from its users to maximize engagement. And sometimes, those extreme emotions turn into extreme actions.
Hate groups, conspiracy theories proliferate on social media targeting women, minorities, immigrants, etc. Social media giants have grown so large, they can no longer effectively moderate content that is being uploaded very fast and in huge quantities.
Facebook, for example, is used worldwide - nearly two thirds of its users use languages other than English. So it struggles to moderate and that failure has had tragic consequences.
Please don’t forget the world is a friendlier place than the Internet or the news would make you think.
"We teach critical thinking across several subjects. For example in math classes we look at how statistics can be manipulated," explains Marika Kerola, a teacher in the northern city of Oulu. "In art, a typical project would be for children to create their own versions of a shampoo advertisement. It may be a picture showing that hair is not as shiny or radiant as it's been promised on the bottle."In language classes they will compare the same story written as fact-based text and as propaganda, she says. In history, they will compare war-time posters in Nazi Germany and the United States, for example.
Reputable news sources always label Opinion articles as such but not every media source is so scrupulous about biased write-ups. See these media bias charts - by Allsides and AdFontesMedia - for additional information to help determine if a particular news source you read is biased and in which direction.
You do not have to be a biologist to see that nature is very diverse and varied. We humans vary in many ways - for example, the color of our skin, eyes, hair, height, shapes of noses, ears, handedness, age, sexualilty and gender identity, etc. None of us have any choice in the genetic roll of the dice.
There are many Overton Windows for some human features. Some are culturally based. Aging is a normal part of life. Yet how old people are perceived varies between the East, where they are generally more respected,valued and cared for, and the West, where youth culture dominates, where ageism is prevalent and the elderly are treated poorly and sometimes neglected.
Another difference that I never knew existed until I left South East Asia where black hair is universal, is the prejudice against redheads especially in the UK. This hair color is uncommon and those who have it are easy targets for bullies. Social media can intensify the bullying.
"Race" is a social invention which has had a negative impact on so many people for centuries. Biologically, there are no races - we are all humans. Our species is Homo sapiens. We all have near identical DNA. The color of the skin is just like hair, has many variations. Racism is fundamentally about one group attempting to exert dominance over another. Yet, if we go back far enough, we are all "mixed" with common ancestors. This is due to a great deal of migration and mingling over millions of years as our species slowly moved out of Africa.
The Overton Windows for a number of other human traits are changing or have totally changed with time, depending on where one is. Take handedness for example. Most people are right handed, about 10%, more or less, are left-handed and about 1% are ambidextrous. Today, in the West, nobody cares a hoot about which hand is your dominant one.
Historically, the left and thus left handedness had loads of negative overtures. For example, the English word sinister came from the Latin adjective sinister/sinistra/sinistrum meaning left but evolved to mean evil. In Sanskrit, an ancient South Asian language, the word for left and wicked is the same.
Until fairly recently in the West, left handed children were forced to use their right, sometimes cruelly so. Their left arms might be tied behind their backs or schoolteachers would hit them for using their left hands.
Some cases of stuttering have been attributed to the enforced use of the right hand. An oft quoted example is Britain's King George VI (1895-1952), a natural left hander. He apparently did not stammer until he was forced to switch hands when he learned to write.
Scientist, Dr Howard Kushner, who researches handedness and other aspects of neuroscience, explains more in this short video : King George, His Speech and Left Handedness. The movie he refers to is The King's Speech, starring Colin Firth. Studies in the 1930's showed that when left handed stutterers were switched back to their dominant hand, their speech improved. When left handers are forced to use their right hands, the motor function for writing switches to the right side of the brain but the language function remains where it is, on the left. Hence, there is a disconnect and the brain stumbles in processing speech. The scientist explains why the King's therapist did not try this but opted for other methods to help the King.
The chart below shows the rate of left handers in the US. The rapid rise of left handers born from about 1915-1945 does not mean there was a sudden increase in left handers. This was the "coming out" of left handers as they were no longer being suppressed. The plateau shows what the natural percentage of left handers in the US is (just under 12%) once this group was totally free to be what nature dictated.
Similarly, the Overton range for how natural human sexuality variances (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual etc) are perceived, has slowly shifted in some parts of the world but is still deeply rooted in prejudice in others.
An example of how this range changed in one country over time can be seen in the case of Alan Turing. He was the brilliant English mathematician and cryptologist who led the successful effort to break the Nazi's Enigma Code. Some historians believe it was the single most important Allied victory during World War II as many enemy attacks were foiled.
He was prosecuted in 1952 under Victorian-era homosexuality laws and forced to undergo chemical castration. His death in 1954 was ruled a suicide. Britain did not decriminalize homosexuality until 1967. The government did not formally apologise for his treatment until 2009. Queen Elizabeth II finally signed a full pardon in 2013, 59 years after his death. See the movie, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
Gender variance is also not new. Gender variance, the recognition of more than two genders, has been acknowledged in many cultures around the world throughout recorded history. Just like the rapid rise in the numbers of left handers a century ago did not mean people chose to be left handers, the increase numbers of transgender people today just shows people recognizing their own variances and are no longer hiding what they were born as. It is not a fad.
New scientific research is changing our previously held assumptions about gender and gender identity. Work has shown the brain is actually a varying mixture of traits rather than a strictly "male" or "female" brain. These genetic complexities of gender determination results in variations of gender identities and expressions.
Just like enforced right hand use for left handers, attempts to change a person's sexuality or gender identity don't work either and can do great harm.
It took some effort and time, but in 2021, Canada formally banned conversion therapy (Bill C-4). Conversion therapy is the widely discredited practice aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. More countries around the world are also passing legislation banning it as it "may constitute fraud and has been described by experts as torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and contrary to human rights norms."
The noticeable pattern to all discriminatory human trait Overton Windows is the focus on minorities - people who easily stand out physically or are starting to coming out as different from what some societies judge as "normal". Instead of being curious about someone different and asking questions to learn more, a lot of people are just straight out judgmental. An easy thing to do because it involves no thinking at all.
Humans evolved as small hunter-gatherer groups or tribes who shared common identities and often reject those not like themselves. We no longer live in such societies so our ingrained tribalism is also something we have to understand and overcome.
There are also Overton Windows in the jewelry world. Years ago, I came across a young woman who bemoaned the fact she had almost no earlobes for earrings. Fortunately, the Overton Window for where you can wear earrings have changed. There are also some nifty ear cuffs as alternatives to traditional dangles. I hope that person eventually found some!
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Many younger people have also taken to other piercings and plugs, body modifications which can also be seen in other cultures around the world. These styles have existed for thousands of years.
This snug Septum Nose Ring is from eleven44jewelry. It's a huggie for the nose.
This plug earring is also from eleven44jewelry.
Men as well as women have always worn jewelry throughout history although what they wore could defer in style and quantity. Then the Regency era dandy, Beau Brummell came along. He dictated the style and fashion for men and reset the Overton Window for Western men's fashion and jewelry, or lack of, for some 200 years. Men started to copy him and wear only plain and darker colors and avoided most jewelry. But that Overton Window is changing as men have returned to wearing jewelry.
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Beau Brummell (1778-1840) |
For years pundits reckoned online sales would really take off but didn't because many people were not comfortable buying online. But that Overton Window for online shopping changed abruptly when the pandemic hit. 2020 was a banner year for anyone selling online including craft suppliers and finished jewelry makers, as people had nowhere else to buy from. Those without an online presence rushed to create one.
Long yes, but contained so much valuable information. I'll probably have to read it again. Thanks Pearl ❤️❤️❤️
ReplyDeleteTo Pearl, with deep admiration and great thanks. You are a true gem!
ReplyDeleteπ₯
Your blog is excellent & it has held my interest these many years - thank you for your dedication!
ReplyDeleteAfter 16 years of daily blogging, you never cease to amaze me, Pearl! This post was fascinating to read, from beginning to end, with so many topics, carefully researched, relevant links and all beautifully linked with your superb writing style. I knew back when I found your blog that I had indeed found a gem and now, sixteen years later, I am even more convinced. Wishing you countless more years of discovering, creating, writing and sharing.
ReplyDeleteNahed Squires
Happy Blogiversary, Pearl! I am so glad I found your blog early in my jewelry making journey, I've learned so much thanks to your mission! Today I was contemplating on blogging vs. more dynamic and superficial media but your analysis is much deeper. Also, you seem more optimistic about people asking questions before sharing whatever info - I hope you are right, it's for the good of mankind :) Keep blogging and inspiring us!
ReplyDeleteWow! lots of food-for-thought there, I'll have to digest it. thank you, and happy anniversary!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary, Pearl! Here's to many more years of your wonderful blog. πΎπ₯
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pearl, for another wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteAnother blogversary Pearl?! How time is just zipping along! And - as you say - the Overton Window is shifting constantly. Some days I hide from the way the world is because of all the negativity online. I'm a twitter user/fan and these days it's simply too much to take all the hate.
ReplyDeleteThis red head who is married to a left-hander just asked him the other day if he was forced to write with his right hand when he was young. As there is a huge discrepancy in our ages he told me no. However I remember quite clearly watching the teacher admonish with a hard slap of the ruler any poor soul in my classroom who was writing with his natural hand! Times indeed are a changing!
As does your blog.
Thank you for being open about what our society is struggling with. Misinformation and hate circle the world at the push of a button. Influencers push lies and expect to get everything free. Our Chief Medical Officers of Health have sided with the ruling parties and lied to us about a virus that kills indiscriminately and cruelly. The people in power tried to force us to believe that they knew more about a deadly virus than the scientists and forced us to follow their point of view and often with major deaths and long -term disasters.
Just yesterday I was confronted by someone trying to push their conspiracy theories on me. My new job is to block the liars - but first I must poke some holes in their lies before tapping the block button.
We have all changed since the pandemic began. Some of us are more home bodies now due to being highly immumosuppressed - raising my hand - while others are sticking their bare chins out and growling at the world that this is a hoax as they watch millions and millions die. In America you might make it through but be totally bankrupted due to having long-Covid.
Change is what we've always done as a society and what we always will do. It's part of growing up isn't it?
Thanks again my friend. My coffee went cold but it was worth the read!
Happy Anniversary Pearl. I still miss the little online jewelry group we were in.
ReplyDeleteWonderful, and informative read. Many things you've mentioned in this post has given me things to think about. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMy son is left-handed, red headed, and freckled. I have a unicorn over here for a child.
ReplyDeleteOh and PREACH SISTER! Love you Gem! I actually read your whole blogs. ;)
Just a quick note to let you know how much I appreciate what you do. I look so forward to seeing your email in my inbox every day. It is always interesting and of great value to me as a jewelry artist. I have been not working for 3 years and your emails helped keep those creative thoughts going. Thank you!Judy Parnell TommeFromme jewelry
ReplyDeletePearl, you have been such a blessing to me for so many years. I have learned so many new jewelry designers and techniques, as well as world history from reading your blog! Looking forward to many more years of this journey with you!
ReplyDeleteThis post was a pleasant and informative surprise! Congrats on 16 years of blogging.
ReplyDeletePearl thank you for the time you've put in to your blog. Your blog is the only that I have followed since I found you. I lost interest with all the others. You really take pride in your blog and its content ,which in turn has kept your followers interested. I will continue to follow as long as you have this blog. You are truly a gem!!
ReplyDeletePearl Happy Anniversary!! I thoroughly enjoy your blog!! I look forward to receiving each & every one of them.
ReplyDeleteHappy Blog Anniversary Pearl. You were my inspiration to start blogging and 16 years later you are still an inspiration. This is a fantastic article. I think that a portion of it could be elaborated, titled "Zeitgeist and the Overton window" and published as a scholarly article. I am going to recommend it to my trend studies students and discuss it with them.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your kind words! And I am humbled by readers like Divya who have read my blog for years. My little anniversary post is so not worthy of a scholarly article but I am pleased to be able to share a range of worldly issues that will provide some food for thought.
DeleteCongratulations and thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with us!
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