Unconscious Bias – A Theatrical Conversation

A recent evening at the theatre sparked multiple conversations, the most profound of which has been an ongoing one with myself.

The play in question was The Doctor. ?I found it riveting – a play of words rather than action, which raises questions rather than answers them. It stays in my thoughts as I continue to process this experience.

The Doctor - All May Not Be What It Appears to Be

The play begins with the revelation that a 14-year-old girl is dying from sepsis. A priest arrives to administer Last Rights at the request of her parents who are en route to the hospital. The doctor will not allow him to see the girl, believing that it would be too traumatic for her to know she is dying.

We tend to take what we see at face value. In this play, however, layer upon layer peels back to challenge what we thought we saw and heard. We need to constantly recalibrate our thinking as we try to make sense of the truth in this fictitious world. (Isn’t that also true of life?)

For example, an altercation between the priest and the doctor gets heated and she may or may not have physically hit the priest – we don’t see that. Later, we learn that the doctor is Jewish and religious bias is called into question. The priest appears to be white but is later revealed to be black. Racial bias is now questioned. The doctor is convinced that she made her decision objectively.

Which, if any, are true?

Casting choices gave more opportunities to reflect. A woman plays a male board member – at least, I think this character was male. Additional gender questions are also left open. I discovered that I was working through my own unconscious bias right alongside the characters on stage.

Reflecting on Unconscious Bias

Seeing characters depicted in ways that challenged conventional labels allowed me to interpret what was said in a myriad of ways. Without the labels of man, woman, partner, wife, black, white, and more, I discovered that I was more present to what was unfolding on the stage.

We use labels so often that we are not aware how they lead our thinking toward a positive or negative bias.

"I think unconscious bias is one of the hardest things to get at." --Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I believe that curiosity helps us move beyond labels and reduce bias. It’s interesting that no one asked the doctor if she understood the importance of Last Rites. If she did not, would her decision have changed once she knew the Catholic perspective??

She prided herself on being a doctor and on the quality of her decisions. This was her identity – it made her who she was. It’s questionable if she would be open to another point of view after her decision had been made.

"If we hold too rigidly to what we think we know, we ignore or avoid evidence of anything that might change our mind." – Martha Beck

The Epilogue

My head was filled with a jumble of thoughts as I left the theatre and got into a cab to go home. Fortunately, I had a talkative driver who provided a welcome diversion.

As it turns out, he’s a theatre buff!?He and his wife go often, and musicals are their passion. ?His favorite? Cats! I am so used to hearing how much people did not enjoy Cats that this was quite a surprise.

I loved our random conversation.?Not only were we chatting about one of my favorite subjects, but I was also thrilled that he was a stereotype-busting New York City cab driver!?

What a perfect reminder that we are all unique. Embracing the uniqueness of each other, we can transcend the limitations of labels.

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The intent of the Random Conversations blog is to inspire deep, meaningful, glorious conversation — delicious conversations.?Interested in reading more???cathyjoseph.co