mu24-hobbies-and-dei

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

Project Background

First, gonna go ahead and explain what this is. For my COMP-104 course, we did a big research project over the semester on any subject, and the delivery method, rather than a paper or something like that, was to be on some social media platform.

I ended up writing way more than I originally expected, so while I was initially going to go somewhere else, it ended up being, "Oh, Tumblr's probably the only place anyone would actually take the time to read this." So here we are!

Intended Post Order:

Introduction

The Righteous Mind

Scapegoating

What's a TTRPG?

What is Cosplay?

What are Furries?

The Fallacy of Composition

Erm, What the Stigma? (I had our top scientists working overtime to come up with this title)

Why Hobbies Matter in the Workplace

Hobbies and Personal Growth

The Coddling of the American Mind

Addressing the Problem at WashU

Diversity in a Workplace Environment

Hobbies in a Work Environment

Ideological Intolerance and Furries

Scapegoating and Obscure Hobbies

Thank you for reading!

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

Scapegoating and Obscure Hobbies

[CW: References to bestiality, zoophilia]

According to Jonathan Haidt in his book The Righteous Mind, we tend to prefer members of our groups over individuals not in our groups, even to the point of bias or outright excusing unfavorable behavior for cohesion. 

Another side effect of this trend is scapegoating, where blame for some problem is placed on some group unrelated to that problem. Because of groupishness, it’s reasonably easy to pick a group generally seen unfavorably in a community and pin other issues on that group. The CEPR article showcases a geopolitical example of this phenomenon outside this project's scope, but the principles are there.

Applying these concepts to hobbies might feel like a stretch, but there’s a clear example with the furry fandom regarding zoophilia and bestiality. A group (the majority of the world population, reasonably assumed) blames a problem (zoophilia) on a vaguely similar but unrelated minority group (furries). In reality, zoophilia and bestiality are vehemently rejected in the broader furry community, though there will always be individuals who proclaim membership to both. Any overlap between them–unrepresentative as it may be–and the fandom’s existing taboo in mainstream media makes it easier to fabricate a connection. 

This effect can hit literally any niche group for literally any reason. Some may be legitimate, but most are not. As an individual, please remind yourself to view these groups as a collection of other individuals with a wide range of beliefs and ideas. It is valid to criticize an individual for their specific misdeeds, but lumping innocent others in with said individual over some commonality is unacceptable in all contexts.

Sources - The Righteous Mind, CEPR on Scapegoating

(note for instructor: Synthesis)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

Ideological Intolerance and Furries

Haidt and Lukianoff found that overshielding young minds from different/opposing views ultimately damages the minds and the educational institutions that often foster this same shielding. These institutions (especially of higher education) are meant to provide a space for the free and open exchange of ideas. Still, Haidt and Lukianoff cite many examples where this hasn’t been the case.

But, in Student Life’s 2023 article, we see an obvious example of WashU doing the opposite: promoting the free and open exchange of ideas, including those still facing mass public scrutiny, such as furries. Maryville University has this same mindset to the extent of a selection of required first-year courses with different themes, all dedicated to introspection on personal beliefs, where they come from, and how they shape our relationships with the world.

So, are Haidt and Lukianoff wrong? Well, no. The many instances of violent reactions to ideological challenges that they reference throughout the book, most notably those at UC Berkley in 2017, very much did happen. There are several vital pieces of context to account for this. For one, the book was published in 2018, with most of its references coming from between 2012 and 2017, with the latter few years being particularly politically heated. Additionally, Haidt and Lukianoff focused primarily on political ideas, which tend to draw much stronger reactions than hobbies despite the potential impact of similar divisive base-level effects on each.

A more reasonable conclusion would be that these problems are fairly large–with their core psychological bases applying to politics AND “less serious” topics such as niche fandoms–but they aren’t fully global, nor are their effects entirely similar in scale. There will be universities like WashU and Maryville that push back against these trends to effectively prepare their students for the world ahead of them. These institutions set a positive example for others that may still struggle with these issues to start pushing for change.

Sources - The Coddling of the American Mind, "Everything you know about furries is wrong" - Student Life

(note for instructor: Synthesis)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

Hobbies in a Work Environment

Though it may first sound silly, hobbies impact workplace dynamics, so addressing this problem is vital. According to a TED Talk by Joan C. Williams, hobbies listed on resumes impact hiring. In a study with two identical resumes other than listed hobbies, one candidate received 12 times as many callbacks as the other.

If we go back to Haidt and groupishness in The Righteous Mind, this makes sense. If the people in charge of hiring share more in common with one candidate, they’re likely to prefer that candidate if performance and experience are otherwise equal. 

This bias is problematic. According to Peter Cardon in Developing Leaders for a Networked World, groupthink is a significant threat to the workplace, which brings phenomena such as peer pressure and self-censorship. However, one of the best ways to combat groupthink is by embracing diversity. Cardon cites that organizations that embrace inherent (age, gender, ethnicity, etc.) and acquired (experiences, interests, etc.) diversity are significantly more likely to grow and reach new markets.

In summary, while DEI is excellent for the workplace, it has to expand to the hiring process and protect acquired diversity, too. Failure in this regard is not only adversarial to individuals but to companies as well.

Sources - The Righteous Mind, Developing Leaders for a Networked World (pp. 77-78), Joan C. Williams' TED Talk (4:36)

(note for instructor: Synthesis)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

Diversity in a Workplace Environment

Many forms of diversity impact workplace dynamics, including a person’s generation, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, mental health, physical disabilities, and neurodivergence (relating to neurological conditions like ADHD and autism). Even your occupation itself can impact how you interact with others. 

With all these different variables, it’s likely that some form of conflict may arise, which could be detrimental to workplace cohesion. There are ways to foster understanding, however. Focusing on the person rather than the attributes goes a long way. What are their experiences? What are their strengths? Shifting focus to positive and personal aspects rather than labels helps foster empathy and cooperation.

This is a genius approach, and these same principles can also be applied to interests. If someone has a hobby you find weird, don’t focus on labels, as these tend to lead immediately to stereotypes and misconceptions. Instead, focus on the person and their experiences and go from there.

Publisher Link (pp. 117-129)

(note for instructor: Analysis)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

Addressing the Problem at WashU

Journalists Natalia Jamula and David Ciorba from Washington University in St. Louis’s independent student-run newspaper, Student Life, report interviews between the university’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion with three students who are also members of the furry fandom, a group bound by a shared interest in anthropomorphic or cartoonish animal characters (explained more in-depth in one of my previous posts). The interviews provide insight into many parts of the fandom, including many misconceptions.

There are no prerequisites for being a member of the furry community other than simply saying that you are.

The furry identity is not central to members’ personalities, nor is sexual activity a core component for all members. This is exceptionally uncommon to be done in fursuit, with a broad consensus among members that this would be extremely unpleasant and impractical.

Levels of participation vary from person to person. Some members do cosplay of their fursonas, while others focus more on artwork. None of these are required nor expected.

Adult themes are undoubtedly present, but this is true for all fandoms.

Stigmatization has a significant impact on the furry community, to the point that physical assault response protocols have been drawn up (immediately removing a costume head in the event of an attack, for example).

At WashU, students in the furry community have tended to stick to online spaces, and there isn’t really a physical presence on campus. However, events in the St. Louis area, such as “Gateway FurMeet,” a furry convention hosted annually, help give the furry community a physical presence in St. Louis.

Diving into taboo topics like this can be challenging, but WashU has done an excellent job here. Rather than focusing on sensationalist media accounts, it went directly to its student base to gain firsthand accounts. Not only does this approach inherently filter out a lot of accumulated media bias, but by seeking input from its community, WashU can best make changes relevant to its student body.

Source - "Everything you know about furries is wrong" from Student Life

(note for instructor: Analysis)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

The Coddling of the American Mind

With a title like that, you might be a bit skeptical about what I've written here, but hold on a second and bear with me.

Trends of anxiety and intolerance to different (not dangerous) ideas have been on the rise in America, especially in colleges and universities. Researchers Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff set out to investigate why this is happening, claiming in their book (see post title) that it comes down to a few primary factors, namely a misunderstanding of the strength of young minds, as well as tendencies towards emotional reasoning, confirmation bias, dichotomous or black and white thinking, and tribalism.

Young minds, specifically children and teens, are often considered fragile, requiring protection from the “dangers” of the real world (ideas that are often considered to be “harmful” where they were previously only “different”). In reality, these minds are antifragile–resilient to these challenges and dependent on them to function correctly in that same real world. Haidt and Lukianoff liken this comparison to a candle and a bonfire. While the candle can be put out by a small gust of wind, the bonfire grows brighter.

This poor preparation–good intentions and bad ideas–worsens the impact of the other aforementioned psychological pitfalls, which all together snowball into the increased levels of anxiety faced by young people today.

Instead, Haidt and Lukianoff claim we should “prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child.” Instead of trying to keep conflicting or confusing ideas and situations away from children, we should encourage them. I decided to read this book over the summer before my first semester of college, as I figured it’d be interesting, considering I’m part of the group it’s discussing. I was initially skeptical that some of the language might be “kids these days” type talk (in retrospect, I should’ve known that wouldn’t happen given the authors), but upon reading, I agreed. 

In many cases, kids these days aren’t presented with healthy challenges to their belief systems. I say healthy because there are still things like drugs that children should be shielded from. These experiences are different from ideas in that they are far more likely to negatively impact a young developing mind. They aren't challenging the existing structure, they are reshaping it directly.

And even still, kids need to learn about these things and how they work. Fully "protecting" kids from these sorts of "dangerous topics" makes them ill-equipped to responsibly navigate an unguided encounter with them in the future and more likely to make poor decisions that could lead to addiction.

Overcoming these fears and normalizing (for lack of a better word) obscure and different ideas in general conversation help make people more resilient to environmental stressors because they are equipped to handle them effectively.

Publisher Link

(note for instructor: Analysis)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

Hobbies and Personal Growth

Researchers Amanda Barany and Aroutis Foster conducted two case studies on members of the Kerbal Space Program (KSP) community, utilizing a “Projective Reflection” framework (centered around shifts in specific knowledge and interests, as well as self-organization and self-control patterns) to analyze how the subjects of their studies learn and grow in their personal identity through their experience with KSP discussion forums. 

The first individual, referred to by their username “LowRider,” is initially very interested in constructing and showcasing technically interesting ships. This interest shifts over time towards aesthetics and creative expression, including roleplay narrative to accompany their screenshots and a greater focus on the photography itself. Their participation in these online spaces shifts to be more reflective once they lose inspiration for their previous creative endeavors. 

The second case study for an “AdmiralHalsey” shows an interest in game modding and develops deep technical knowledge of the game over time. They engage in a fair bit of discourse regarding controversies in the game’s modding scene (such as using the Steam workshop versus external modding sites) and ultimately appear to renounce the game entirely, claiming they “wasted their hours” on their Steam profile.

In both cases, we see how individuals change over time as they learn about themselves through some hobby. LowRider was originally a very technical player but leaned into creative expression through photography and later shifted to a curator role. AdmiralHalsey was captivated by some of the most technical aspects of the game. Still, perhaps all of the drama that came with it just wasn’t for them and had the unfortunate side effect of putting a sour taste in their mouth for anything to do with KSP. 

All fandom and hobby enjoyers learn about themselves during their time as members. One of the best parts about doing something you love is that unguided learning can lead you to discover things you weren’t even looking for. This is especially true of the three hobbies mentioned in my previous posts, as all three have strong roots in creativity and self-expression.

The whole paper is an incredibly novel approach to education research. It has components beyond the scope of my research that I haven’t covered here but are nonetheless very interesting. If you’ve got the time, I recommend giving it a look!

Source - Context, Community, and the Individual: Modeling Identity in a Game Affinity Space.

(note for instructor: Analysis)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

Why Hobbies Matter in the Workplace

Individual biases can and do impact workplaces all the way down to the hiring process. In her TED Talk, Joan C. Williams cites a study that showcases this issue.

In the study, two completely identical resumes were created and used to apply for jobs.

The resumes differed only in their listed hobbies and interests.

One resume listed interests like polo and sailing.

The second resume listed interests like country music and college counseling.

The first resume (polo) received twelve times as many callbacks as the second.

The rest of Williams’ TED Talk references the more common focuses of DEI, like race and ethnicity, ultimately claiming that businesses should tackle this problem the same way they do any other problem: gather data, take action based on that data, evaluate, repeat. The whole talk is fascinating and definitely worth checking out!

Source - Joan C. Williams: Why corporate diversity programs fail -- and how small tweaks can have big impact | TED Talk (4:36)

(note for instructor: Summary)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

Erm, What the Stigma?

A stigma is a public negative judgment of some group based on some real or imagined shared characteristic, typically at a large scale. There are many kinds of stigma, but they all tend to subject victims to anything from isolation to physical violence. Stigmas tend to arise from labeling (determining something to be “good” or “bad” without thoughtful reasoning), social identity (in-group vs. out-group division), and terror management (fear leading to victim blaming). 

Though some stigmas have negative impacts specifically relevant to the nature of the stigmatized condition, all types of stigma can make social relationships and employment harder to find and maintain to the point of social isolation or exclusion. In all these cases, support networks are critical for affected persons to seek out among similarly affected peers. It is also crucial for others to understand that stigma is inaccurate and support friends and colleagues when they notice withdrawal in this manner.

The source I used references primarily stigmatization of medical conditions; however, the definition and general effects remain comparable regardless of the context.

Source - What Is Stigma? Examples, Impact, and Coping

(note for instructor: Summary)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

The Fallacy of Composition

The Fallacy of Composition is a logical fallacy or pitfall where the traits of some part of a whole are incorrectly ascribed to the whole as well. This form of logic is a fallacy because it doesn’t always follow that a collective will always have the properties of its parts (in other words, if there’s an emergent property that comes from the more complex whole). 

Here’s an example: A brick isn’t that heavy, so if a house is made of bricks, it must not be that heavy either. 

If a trait being extrapolated is absolute, the parts of the group it’s being applied to can’t be distinguished from each other, or there’s an emergent property in the whole, then this form of logic is valid. Otherwise, it may be an application of the Fallacy of Composition.

Source - Fallacy of Composition | Definition & Examples

(note for instructor: Summary)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

What are Furries?

The furry fandom is a community of people with a shared interest in anthropomorphic (often bipedal) or cartoonish animal characters. Many community members create a “fursona” (or multiple!)‒an alias character to represent themself.

The fandom revolves primarily around creative expression in just about any form of media you can think of–artwork, music, stories, games, and costumes (called fursuits), which community members create or commission for their characters. The furry fandom has a strong presence in many online spaces, but there are also many in-person events worldwide, ranging from community meet-ups to larger conventions.

The furry fandom is generally the most peculiar of these three groups in the public eye and has faced significantly more public disapproval to this day, anywhere from bullying and ostracization to the formation of hate groups and physical violence. 

Due to this tremendously strong reaction, it will be the primary hobby I reference in this project, as it has many clear-cut examples of stigmatization. I showcase TTRPGs and cosplay to show how tremendously similar in function the furry fandom is to these two other, less heated groups, begging the question: Why are they generally treated so differently?

Wikifur provides an extensive database of just about anything related to the furry fandom from the perspective of its members, generally free from sensationalized media bias. I recommend checking out more of this and their other articles if you’re curious about different aspects of this community.

Source from WikiFur

(note for instructor: Summary)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

What is Cosplay?

Cosplay, being a combination of the words “costume” and “play,” is precisely that: costuming as a particular character for fun. Typically regarding fictional characters, cosplayers often show their work (many costumes are hand-made or created from existing wardrobes) at events such as conventions and movie premiers. 

Cosplay has become incredibly popular, but the performative elements combined with a traditionally “nerdy” connection can give it an unwarranted negative connotation in some contexts.

Source - What is Cosplay? | Alachua County Library District

(note for instructor: Summary)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

What's a TTRPG?

A tabletop RPG or role-playing game is a type of cooperative game where a group comes together in person to experience a story, typically led by one member, with various options for progression and exploration (one of the most popular being Dungeons & Dragons). 

Each player creates a character, and while most of the game's action is left to the imagination, information like character statistics and environment positions are tracked physically as well. 

There’s often a lot of creativity in tabletop RPGs, from player character backgrounds to environment interactions. The roleplay elements may be expressed to varying degrees, from no outward display to using a different voice to putting together a costume. Sometimes, these roleplay elements are taken so seriously that they may seem “weird” or “cringe” to outside observers. This has been a (relatively light) stigma of the genre in the past but has become largely normalized.

Source - What Exactly is a Tabletop Role-Playing Game Anyway?

(note for instructor: Summary)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

Scapegoating

Scapegoating occurs when some unaddressed problem in a majority group gets pinned on some innocent minority group. Scapegoating of different cultures and ethnic groups may be caused by crises such as war. It can also occur when issues taken by some individuals snowball into a group reaction.

According to this study, people are much more likely to place blame on a scapegoat (that is, an individual who can, in some way, be associated with some adverse action, even when they aren’t actually associated–a passive bystander, for example) when that person is “outside” than when they share the same group.

The source I used for this definition refers to geopolitical themes outside of the scope of this project, an interesting read nonetheless.

Source from CEPR

(note for instructor: Summary)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

The Righteous Mind

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt discusses the likely causes and effects of division caused by political and theological disagreement from the lens of evolutionary biology (as in, “Okay, we have these traits, but why? What purpose in human development would things like religion serve if they are something that just inherently happens in society, in its many forms, as we have observed throughout history? Where do they come from?”). 

The righteousness inherent in our minds can be likened to an elephant and its rider. Once your elephant has a path set (a belief), it’s pretty hard to change course, but there are ways to appeal to other people’s elephants. As the elephant's rider, there are ways for your rational mind to start gaining better control over how the elephant reacts to things it may not like.

Haidt claims one primary source of this division is the groupish nature of the human species and all that entails, and how that and the “hive switch,” or the ability for humans to function well both in groups and individually by flipping between two different states of mind, likely came to be. Haidt also introduces the concept of “moral matrices,” or the varying interconnected value systems that build global culture, based on different combinations of six moral foundations (Care/harm, Fairness/cheating, Loyalty/betrayal, Authority/subversion, Sanctity/degradation, Liberty/oppression). Different groups may utilize these moral foundations differently and to various degrees, often leading to conflict and heated division.

Haidt provides many great insights for dealing with division that I have found incredibly useful daily. I highly recommend reading the book yourself if you get a chance!

Publisher Link

(note for instructor: Summary)

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

Introduction

Hobbies and fandoms are excellent, harmless tools to find community. Still, many more obscure interests face public scrutiny, to the point of stigmatization, which is a problem on its own but can become more harmful at universities and businesses. Stigmatization is more or less a natural extension of some of the basic tendencies of our internal social protocols, and it’s pretty straightforward. Take a look:

High resolution version on Canva

(note for instructor: Infographic)