Virtual Reality Experiment Wants To Put White People In Black Bodies

Molly McHugh (3774987) writes with an intriguing use of VR technology: "It's as simple as making a light-skinned person feel connected to a virtual, darker skinned self—a thought experiment pretty much impossible without the immersive potency of VR. The effect is achieved by outfitting participants in VR headsets with built-in head-tracking and motion capture capabilities that sync actual movement to virtual experience." From the article: Evolving from cruder methods, VR is a natural extension of research examining the ways that people think differently when made to feel like they are part of a meaningfully different social group, known as an outgroup. ... What’s most exciting about this channel of research is that it gets at the kind of complex, subtle prejudices that most people can’t even articulate if asked directly.

Comments

1960 "Black Like Me" experiment

[peter303]

Journalist took this drug than made your skin dark and wrote a best-seller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me) of his experiences. I remember the book influencing the civil rights debate.

Re:Tired of this shit

[sycodon]

Or, people being accused of being racists every time they turn around.

Believe it or not, the vast majority of people are decent people. They'll help you when you are down and they'll cheer you when you succeed.

But I can understand the AC's point. They have been broad brushed as implicit racists simply because of the color of their skin. And while your first response is probably "welcome to the club", realize that you are being just as racist and bigoted as those you accuse.

Re:Stop it with this crap.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Virtual Reality Experiment Wants To Put White People In Black Bodies"

You play as Little Mac, a white dude. You fight Tyson at the end.

Re: Easier method

[ClioCJS]

But if your kids were black, they would be 21X more likely to be shot by police during an encounter when compared to whites, so it would be 21X more important for you to say it. Your anti-anti-racism makes you a racist even if you don't realize it.