[Thread] I'm going to talk about something rampant in American culture and also the US ad industry. It's what I'd call: Stereotypical Cultural Diversity. And how it is impacting real diversity negatively.

To be considered diverse in American culture, you need to fit in molds. If there isn't a clear label for your culture, people get very confused and might even dismiss the fact that you're diverse altogether.

What happens if you're an Arab who is also Jewish? A Brazilian who is also Asian? A White-passing African or a Black Italian? (Btw, these aren't rare instances) Well, American culture will ask you to pick just one aspect of your identity (if any) and stick to it.

This issue manifests itself in most initiatives that are supposed to promote diversity: scholarships, mentorship programs, fellowships etc. You're forced to erase the nuances in your identity to satisfy the requirements set by the powers that be.

And if you choose to not do that, you could risk being deemed not diverse by people heading these initiatives. In many cases these people aren't diverse themselves. It's pretty comical.

People shouldn't have to dumb down their identity to fit in the realm of your comprehension. Diversity programs in the US work in a counter-intuitive way. They'll ask you to convince them that you're diverse instead of looking for diverse people. This is why many of them fail.

This situation IMO promotes the myth of scarcity of qualified diverse people. Diversity programs don't look for diverse people. Diverse people are the ones looking for diversity programs. And because such programs function on assumptions and high expectations, only a few qualify.

Those who qualify and become recipients of these programs usually go on to be recipients of many diversity programs. They have cracked the universal code for all of these initiatives. People at the top then say There aren't many diverse people but hey we found the few that exist.

There has to be a better way to do this.