Are our fundamental concepts of *"person,"* *"woman,"* and *"man"* truly inclusive? This research delves into uncovering embedded biases within these core concepts, revealing how they subtly prioritize certain groups over others. Through the lens of androcentrism and using natural language processing on a massive linguistic dataset, the study exposes a pervasive *"person = man"* bias, where the concept of a person is more closely associated with men than women. Furthermore, it highlights a *"gender = woman"* bias, indicating that women are more strongly associated with gender than men, implying a subtle "othering." The research uncovers that these biases are not uniform across all demographics, with stronger biases observed concerning Hispanic and White individuals compared to Asian populations. Even the concepts of *"woman"* and *"man"* exhibit biases favoring White individuals, pointing to a complex interplay of gender and racial prioritization within Western society. This bias has implications for how we perceive individuals and the power dynamics that exist in various policy-making and decision-making contexts. Ultimately, this study reveals how Western society inadvertently positions men and White individuals as the default "person," relegating women to a more gendered existence. It emphasizes the critical need to address these ingrained biases to foster genuine equity and inclusivity across diverse sectors of society, highlighting the importance of challenging and redefining our collective understanding of fundamental human concepts.
Published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, this paper aligns with the journal's focus on social behavior, interpersonal relationships, and group dynamics. The study's examination of biases in fundamental concepts contributes to the journal's exploration of social perception and cognition, and adds depth to the understanding of prejudice and discrimination. Furthermore, the paper's methodology aligns with the journal's use of quantitative approaches to explore complex social phenomena.