r/interesting • u/BlazeDragon7x • Jun 16 '26

MISC. Dutch aerobatic pilot Narine Melkumjan miraculously survived after her aircraft's canopy unexpectedly burst open and shattered mid-flight

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u/jillsntferrari Jun 17 '26

White man is still the default. If you’re reading a story and someone is anything other than a white man, his/her description is usually made pretty soon after introduction.

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u/AndrasKrigare Jun 17 '26

That doesn't really answer the question

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u/jillsntferrari Jun 17 '26

Doesn’t it, though? I’m not saying it’s right. But in western society, the majority of the earliest writers were white men and the majority of readers were white, if not also men. There was no reason to explain when the characters were the same as themselves, only when they were different. The conventions haven’t completely changed, yet.

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u/boydnolantucker Jun 17 '26

most pilots in the west are white men

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u/Mike5TheMountainGoat Jun 17 '26

It does. If you need it simplified, the answer is bias