Who Has Point-Of-View Bias?
Practically everyone.
Some people have more POV bias than others, however, and some have less.
Point-of-view-bias is about how we see things from our OWN point of view, combined with our ability, or LACK of ability, to see things from someone else's point of view.
Stephen King is a world-famous writer of fiction, mostly horror, and in my humble opinion, exceptionally talented at writing from many different points of view. If his character is a very large man who grew up on a Bayou in the deep American South, for example, he is able to effectively and believably write from that character's point of view, as if he is "standing in that man's shoes". As if Stephen King was actually able, for a time, to BE that person, and express how that man sees the world, what he thinks, and what he feels.
If his character is a small, young woman from the Midwest who grew up in a poor household, he seems to be able to transport himself, again, so that he is "standing in that woman's shoes", as if he is writing from HER point of view, expressing how she sees the world, and what she thinks, and what she feels.
Stephen King seems to be a very rare talent; there are precious few writers who seem to be able to suspend their own point of view in order to write so effectively from the POV of the opposite sex, or from the POV of a person of a different race, age, class, ancestry, or region. He may not get it 100% perfect all of the time, but his average is pretty impressive.
Most people, writers or not, seem to fall short of Stephen King's talent for objectivity and for transporting themselves to someone else's point of view.
There are countless tales, stories, poems, tomes, and modern films and shows, as well as Advertisements, and also songs and "musicals", that reflect the BIASED POV of the writer/author. When the writer is purposely expressing a certain POV because the story or character is specifically written that way, then the flow is not interrupted or skewed; it's appropriate. But when they are purporting to be of a NEUTRAL, HUMAN point of view, but are actually writing as if all "humans" are male, or white, or black, or Baby Boomers, or Hispanic, etc. etc., then the flow is interrupted and cock-eyed for EVERYONE EXCEPT those who share the writer's personal BIAS.
There have also been years, decades, even centuries of non-fiction texts (science, religion, philosophy) written in quite biased POV, that have been touted as "Neutral", "Neutrally Human", or even "Scientific".
For an easy and obvious example, the "big three" Religions all have texts that are written quite obviously in male AND male-biased point of view. Much of the texts are written as if "Human beings" are MALE, and females are "other", instead of BOTH males and females being considered "People" in the same way.
When a person with a BIASED POINT OF VIEW says or writes the words "WE" or "US", they are NOT referring to ALL of the people who are also in their group. They are ONLY referring to the people who they think of as being JUST LIKE THEMSELVES, usually in a physical way.
A person who lives in BIASED POINT OF VIEW often has skewed beliefs about other people. For example, it's common for women who have female-biased-POV to believe that ONLY WOMEN share their array of feelings, interests, fears and motives. They may believe that ONLY WOMEN really care about children, or they may believe that ONLY WOMEN JUST LIKE THEMSELVES really care about children. They might actually believe that no MEN could ever really appreciate Romance, or gentleness, or deep emotional bonds with other people. They might actually believe that men would not BE ABLE TO LEARN HOW to really take care of other people, or how to keep a house clean, or perhaps other things such as how it feels to be treated badly or abused by other people.
Males who have BIASED POINT OF VIEW might actually believe, for instance, that women and girls don't have the capacity to feel the rush of adrenaline that one would get from going fast on a bike or in a car, or that only MALES are ABLE to learn and understand what it's like to be proud of learning how to rebuild an engine or play a guitar. There have been male-biased writings that imply that ONLY BOYS and MEN can UNDERSTAND the bond between humans and dogs, or the feeling of ultimate FREEDOM that one can find being "one with Nature" or "in the Wild", or that "finding one's fortune" or seeking success is only something that MALES even think about.
It's easy to find writings of all kinds that are written in blatantly biased Point of view. Rock music, for example, is LOADED with male-biased point of view, and that's very unfortunate, since the "movement" of Rock Music had purported to be about Personal Freedom for PEOPLE, not just freedom (or privilege, or the freedom to denigrate others) for ONE GROUP of people, and NOT for another group. Many girls and women who were musicians and fans of Rock music find out the very difficult, spirit-crushing way that there is a huge amount of ANTI-FEMALE and female-exploiting and belittling material in many Rock songs, and in the world of "Rock music" in general.
Racially biased POV is rampant as well in all kinds of writings, art, music, and non-fiction texts, from all points of the globe, from nearly all ancestries and all "colors".
Biased Point Of View is very common in humans; see how many Native American Tribal names mean "The People" or something that implies "The Real People". That's a common phenomenon to find ALL OVER the Earth, throughout the Human Species. "Only those who are like ME are the 'real people'."
Humans will OFTEN see others as either "Like ME", or "Not Like ME", and therefore "US" or "THEM", and they'll use nearly ANYTHING AT ALL as identification for that purpose. So "US" might be those of the same SEX as they are, or those of the same ancestry, or those of the same HEIGHT, or who went to the same SCHOOL, or who have the same academic degree, or who LIKE THE SAME SPORTS TEAM, or THE SAME BAND, or who LIKE DOGS, or who DON'T LIKE CATS, ....etc. etc. etc.... etc........
It's much less "jarring" or emotionally damaging to individuals when they are aware BEFORE HAND that something is being presented or carried out in a certain BIASED POV, or that the people in a certain GROUP are all in a BIASED POV. For example, before trying to join a local "club" like the Masons, one usually finds out that they are "male-only" membership, and therefore a female does not try to join, and subsequently get humiliated. Or the "Ladies Auxiliary" is aptly named; a young man is warned off just by the name itself, and will probably not think of including himself in the group.
For an example of the potentially quite damaging kind of BIAS that people COVER UP and present as NON-BIAS:
In America, MANY, MANY Public Schools STILL implement budgeting, classes, and extra-curricular programs that are very biased toward one RACE or one SEX, or toward BOTH one race and one sex, depending on the region. These are PUBLIC SCHOOLS, so many children are under the very-American assumption that the ADULTS in their town actually care about each of them EQUALLY and GENUINELY, and unfortunately many of their parents are also under this very naive assumption as well.
So when the children find themselves a student in a school where there is blatant BIAS AGAINST THEM and FOR OTHER KIDS because of their race, ancestry, or sex, after having been told that it was all "fair" and "non-biased", they can really suffer some serious emotional trauma. These children have been blindsided in a very harsh way; no one told them that they would be treated as if they didn't MATTER, as if they are unimportant and even "in the way" to the adults whom they expected fairness and REAL education from. After all, it's Public School, which means all of the adult citizens in the town, especially property owners, PAY FOR IT. Therefore, all of the students should expect equal, fair, and supportive educational experience. ESPECIALLY SINCE IT'S REQUIRED BY LAW THAT THEY ATTEND.
Biased Point of View in human beings is extremely common, but that doesn't mean there's "nothing wrong with it" , just because it's so common. It's Biased Point of View that is responsible for the actions that have OPPRESSED and ENSLAVED various peoples around the world from the beginning of recorded history.
Practically everyone.
Some people have more POV bias than others, however, and some have less.
Point-of-view-bias is about how we see things from our OWN point of view, combined with our ability, or LACK of ability, to see things from someone else's point of view.
Stephen King is a world-famous writer of fiction, mostly horror, and in my humble opinion, exceptionally talented at writing from many different points of view. If his character is a very large man who grew up on a Bayou in the deep American South, for example, he is able to effectively and believably write from that character's point of view, as if he is "standing in that man's shoes". As if Stephen King was actually able, for a time, to BE that person, and express how that man sees the world, what he thinks, and what he feels.
If his character is a small, young woman from the Midwest who grew up in a poor household, he seems to be able to transport himself, again, so that he is "standing in that woman's shoes", as if he is writing from HER point of view, expressing how she sees the world, and what she thinks, and what she feels.
Stephen King seems to be a very rare talent; there are precious few writers who seem to be able to suspend their own point of view in order to write so effectively from the POV of the opposite sex, or from the POV of a person of a different race, age, class, ancestry, or region. He may not get it 100% perfect all of the time, but his average is pretty impressive.
Most people, writers or not, seem to fall short of Stephen King's talent for objectivity and for transporting themselves to someone else's point of view.
There are countless tales, stories, poems, tomes, and modern films and shows, as well as Advertisements, and also songs and "musicals", that reflect the BIASED POV of the writer/author. When the writer is purposely expressing a certain POV because the story or character is specifically written that way, then the flow is not interrupted or skewed; it's appropriate. But when they are purporting to be of a NEUTRAL, HUMAN point of view, but are actually writing as if all "humans" are male, or white, or black, or Baby Boomers, or Hispanic, etc. etc., then the flow is interrupted and cock-eyed for EVERYONE EXCEPT those who share the writer's personal BIAS.
There have also been years, decades, even centuries of non-fiction texts (science, religion, philosophy) written in quite biased POV, that have been touted as "Neutral", "Neutrally Human", or even "Scientific".
For an easy and obvious example, the "big three" Religions all have texts that are written quite obviously in male AND male-biased point of view. Much of the texts are written as if "Human beings" are MALE, and females are "other", instead of BOTH males and females being considered "People" in the same way.
When a person with a BIASED POINT OF VIEW says or writes the words "WE" or "US", they are NOT referring to ALL of the people who are also in their group. They are ONLY referring to the people who they think of as being JUST LIKE THEMSELVES, usually in a physical way.
A person who lives in BIASED POINT OF VIEW often has skewed beliefs about other people. For example, it's common for women who have female-biased-POV to believe that ONLY WOMEN share their array of feelings, interests, fears and motives. They may believe that ONLY WOMEN really care about children, or they may believe that ONLY WOMEN JUST LIKE THEMSELVES really care about children. They might actually believe that no MEN could ever really appreciate Romance, or gentleness, or deep emotional bonds with other people. They might actually believe that men would not BE ABLE TO LEARN HOW to really take care of other people, or how to keep a house clean, or perhaps other things such as how it feels to be treated badly or abused by other people.
Males who have BIASED POINT OF VIEW might actually believe, for instance, that women and girls don't have the capacity to feel the rush of adrenaline that one would get from going fast on a bike or in a car, or that only MALES are ABLE to learn and understand what it's like to be proud of learning how to rebuild an engine or play a guitar. There have been male-biased writings that imply that ONLY BOYS and MEN can UNDERSTAND the bond between humans and dogs, or the feeling of ultimate FREEDOM that one can find being "one with Nature" or "in the Wild", or that "finding one's fortune" or seeking success is only something that MALES even think about.
It's easy to find writings of all kinds that are written in blatantly biased Point of view. Rock music, for example, is LOADED with male-biased point of view, and that's very unfortunate, since the "movement" of Rock Music had purported to be about Personal Freedom for PEOPLE, not just freedom (or privilege, or the freedom to denigrate others) for ONE GROUP of people, and NOT for another group. Many girls and women who were musicians and fans of Rock music find out the very difficult, spirit-crushing way that there is a huge amount of ANTI-FEMALE and female-exploiting and belittling material in many Rock songs, and in the world of "Rock music" in general.
Racially biased POV is rampant as well in all kinds of writings, art, music, and non-fiction texts, from all points of the globe, from nearly all ancestries and all "colors".
Biased Point Of View is very common in humans; see how many Native American Tribal names mean "The People" or something that implies "The Real People". That's a common phenomenon to find ALL OVER the Earth, throughout the Human Species. "Only those who are like ME are the 'real people'."
Humans will OFTEN see others as either "Like ME", or "Not Like ME", and therefore "US" or "THEM", and they'll use nearly ANYTHING AT ALL as identification for that purpose. So "US" might be those of the same SEX as they are, or those of the same ancestry, or those of the same HEIGHT, or who went to the same SCHOOL, or who have the same academic degree, or who LIKE THE SAME SPORTS TEAM, or THE SAME BAND, or who LIKE DOGS, or who DON'T LIKE CATS, ....etc. etc. etc.... etc........
It's much less "jarring" or emotionally damaging to individuals when they are aware BEFORE HAND that something is being presented or carried out in a certain BIASED POV, or that the people in a certain GROUP are all in a BIASED POV. For example, before trying to join a local "club" like the Masons, one usually finds out that they are "male-only" membership, and therefore a female does not try to join, and subsequently get humiliated. Or the "Ladies Auxiliary" is aptly named; a young man is warned off just by the name itself, and will probably not think of including himself in the group.
For an example of the potentially quite damaging kind of BIAS that people COVER UP and present as NON-BIAS:
In America, MANY, MANY Public Schools STILL implement budgeting, classes, and extra-curricular programs that are very biased toward one RACE or one SEX, or toward BOTH one race and one sex, depending on the region. These are PUBLIC SCHOOLS, so many children are under the very-American assumption that the ADULTS in their town actually care about each of them EQUALLY and GENUINELY, and unfortunately many of their parents are also under this very naive assumption as well.
So when the children find themselves a student in a school where there is blatant BIAS AGAINST THEM and FOR OTHER KIDS because of their race, ancestry, or sex, after having been told that it was all "fair" and "non-biased", they can really suffer some serious emotional trauma. These children have been blindsided in a very harsh way; no one told them that they would be treated as if they didn't MATTER, as if they are unimportant and even "in the way" to the adults whom they expected fairness and REAL education from. After all, it's Public School, which means all of the adult citizens in the town, especially property owners, PAY FOR IT. Therefore, all of the students should expect equal, fair, and supportive educational experience. ESPECIALLY SINCE IT'S REQUIRED BY LAW THAT THEY ATTEND.
Biased Point of View in human beings is extremely common, but that doesn't mean there's "nothing wrong with it" , just because it's so common. It's Biased Point of View that is responsible for the actions that have OPPRESSED and ENSLAVED various peoples around the world from the beginning of recorded history.
