General News Profiled while shopping? Possible experiment.

I'm white and I get treated differently in the mall if I'm wearing a nice shirt and a tie. If I'm wearing a t-shirt and sweats the sales people tend to ignore me. If I flash some cash they magically pay attention again.

 

short answer: yes

 

Surely you can't be arrested unless you've actually committed an offence?

In which case, are you not safe to conduct the experiment?

I'd certainly be interested to hear the results. I've seen similar types of experiments done on the TV or whatnot, but it's impossible to learn from the TV as it's inevitably sexed up or the data they share is selected specifically to match the particular network's political bias.

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In the past I have had people approach me and have the audacity to ask me if I speak English (being someone who isn't white). I'm a well spoken individual, and I've actually been met with a degree of hostility when they realise that not only can I speak English, but to a higher level than them. Hehehe.

 

I'm also Black. I've never experienced profiling. My mom (who is also Black; I'm mixed) has. We never went back to the mall that profiled her again.

 

How you dress has the biggest impact.. if i dress up, i get much better service. If i dont showr and wear rags, security guards will follow me everywhere i go.

 

As this is an experiment, let's treat is as such.

It seems that you're trying to determine two things here:

1. Colour discrimination.
2. Class discrimination.

In order to get the best results, I'd recommend trying it with a white friend. You can take it in turns dressing up and dressing down and seeing if there's a difference in the service you receive.

If you alone go in, say dressed down, and got profiled, I don't see how you can know if the problem was because of your colour or your attire.
This is why we need a white friend - like you have a control in any experiment.

There's way more you can do to make the experiment even more legit/scientific, forgive me for not being able to delve into more ideas currently.

Just try to make it fair. Consider all aspects and angles. Remember, you're trying to find out the truth - not prove a point.

I can't help you regarding a camera, but you'd be better off following a more tech-savvy person's advice anyway.

Good luck! Wish i could help in reality! Sounds intriguing.

 

They're completely oblivious about the fact that we're a gay couple in shopping centers. We were once looking at men's wedding bands in a Kay Jewelers in a mall, and the salesman walks right up to me and my boyfriend and says, "You found the right woman yet?"

 

I would imagine that they will treat you differently. I used to always shop in pretty casual clothes, jeans and a hoody. I would notice the staff would keep an eye on me and nobody ever approached to see if I needed help with anything. For the last couple of years, I've noticed myself dressing up to go shopping, I always put on a really nice shirt, or blazer and chinos and a nice pair of shoes. Since I started doing that, I'm always greeted with a warm smile, they constantly ask me if I need help or advice. They even compliment what I'm wearing and recommend things that might go with my outfit. Some of them refer to me by name now because they've memorised it from the times I've used my student i.d. card in the past (Most shops in my city give a 10% student discount) The service is so much better now than before just because I changed the way I dress, it's a little disheartening really.

 

Maybe they are stalking you because they think you are cute?!

But, yeah, how you dress and your general appearance has a huge influence on how people treat you. I think it has something to do with the reptilian part of the brain warning of danger around people who don't fit a certain mold. Or maybe some people are just jerks. lol

 

I'd be interested to know how that goes. I'm biracial, but look more white than Cherokee, and my dad used to have major issues with being followed around in stores. We were fine in Somerset most of the time because he owned the business that installed about half of the hardwood floors in the mall, but if we went to Briarwood, it was like he had a wagon full of handguns. Particularly since, even making good money, he refused to wear anything but jeans, cowboy boots, and flannel. lol.

 

People will treat you based on your appearance.

When I grow a beard, wear a hoodie, jeans and have messy hair no one wants to even look at me. I never get people being rude to me.

When I shave off my beard, wear a casual black shirt, jeans, casual shoes and hair is all trimmed I get too much attention. I get people asking me for change, to complete surveys and bla bla ba. I even get people who start confrontations with me and have a problem.

Ugh I wish I could just be invisible.

 

May I suggest that you do some research into body language?

I've studied linguistics extensively throughout my life, and I can tell you that the vast majority of communication we have is non verbal.

If you know what you're doing, you can send out 'leave me the fuck alone' vibes without looking dangerous or threatening.

In short you can become 'invisible'.

It already sounds like you have an understanding of this, so supplementing that with research will only make your invisibility powers stronger.

 

Rich people/rich people hangouts are fascinating. Personally, I don't think it matters if you are purple, because if you look like a bum you will probably be ignored. Question....how about the staff? See, maybe I'm just full of it, but I think that department store staff tend to be pretty diverse. Is that the case for you?

 

Are you making fun of me? -_-;;

 

I remember visiting the local flea markets on Sunday mornings, and whenever a black person would come around, the vendors (primarily Hispanic and Asian) would suddenly spring alert and keep their eyes on them while they passed through.

Sure, what they were wearing or how they carried themselves could have played a part, and if there were run-ins with a specific type, they'd naturally be more wary of those who fit the profile, but I've heard enough "private" conversations to know a lot of it is prejudice, plain and simple.

Now, the liquor store owners here seem to hassle *everyone*! A friend of mine tried telling me that it's cultural, that in the specific part of the country they hail from the people have a reputation for being blunt and loud, so do take into account that the reaction from the other side is also going to depend on factors outside of your ethnicity or choice of presentation.

 

You don't have to be black to be discriminated against.

When I was 30 years old, my partner and I started shopping for fridges and washing machines. Due to our age, not a single sales rep would help attend to us except to sell us gaming stations, stereos and tv's.

I once knew a fella who is a self made millionaire. He never dresses as being rich as he wants people to like him for who he is, not for his money.

 

Wow. That sounds a lot worse than here. Admittedly, I don't have first hand experience, but I can't imagine that sort of thing happening. That sucks How on earth could you be arrested for wearing jeans?