cover of episode 823: The Question Trap

823: The Question Trap

2024/2/4
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This American Life

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Tobin Low discusses how seemingly simple questions like "What do you think about Beyoncé?" can reveal hidden biases and preferences in dating. Many people, especially Black women, use this question as a litmus test to gauge a date's views on Black women and their compatibility. However, this tactic can backfire as people become aware of the "trap" and try to avoid it.
  • The "Beyoncé question" serves as a proxy for broader attitudes towards Black women.
  • Some view negative responses to the question as a red flag in dating.
  • Men are becoming increasingly aware of the question and its implications.
  • The question can spark discussions about race, gender, and personal preferences in music and entertainment.

Shownotes Transcript

An investigation of when and why people ask loaded questions that are a proxy for something else.

  • Prologue: Host Ira Glass talks with producer Tobin Low about the question he got asked after he and his husband moved in together, and what he thinks people were really asking. (4 minutes)
  • Act One: “What do you think about Beyoncé?” and other questions that are asked a lot, raised by people on first dates. (12 minutes)
  • Act Two: When a common, seemingly innocuous question goes wildly off the rails. (13 minutes)
  • Act Three: Why are people asking me if my mother recognizes me, when it’s totally beside the point? (14 minutes)
  • Act Four: Schools ask their students the strangest essay questions sometimes. The experience of tutoring anxious teenagers through how to answer them requires a balladier, singing their lived experience to a crowd as though it were the Middle Ages. (10 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org)