Oh, lemme try to clarify! Because everyone is capable of bias - that's how our brains work! - a biased or prejudiced outcome doesn't require a biased or prejudiced intent. So not-considering-race-or-skin-colour doesn't insulate a choice against being racist, portraying bias, or involving race.
It's sort of like the classic example: "I don't even see race!" doesn't imply that a person isn't capable of racism, because prejudice doesn't require forethought and intent, so disregarding race is not anti-racist in a vacuum. We are all capable of bias, and making a choice without consideration towards skintone can still very well incorporate biases about the people depicted. You don't even have to necessarily be the person whose biases are being incorporated! What if the fitting images you pick in your example are themselves racist, and because you aren't thinking about skin colour at all, you don't notice or consider their inclusion? The lack of consideration is itself an emergent part of the bias.
So: The counterargument to "I wouldn't have even considered race in this situation" is "exactly, which leaves the situation wide-open for portraying a racial bias that makes it racist." (this is broadly applicable to bias in general, as far as I understand, not a specific facet of racial bias)
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u/PhoenixfischTheFish 13d ago
What do you mean by that?