When we think about racism, we often think of overt hatred. But racism can persist in different ways. Racism can be aversive, where a person consciously or subconsciously avoids a racial group (e.g., gated communities, sexual and romantic avoidance, etc.), and racism can be symbolic, where a person holds negative evaluations of a racial group (e.g., stereotypes, double standards, etc.). However, because the label “racism” can hold such social stigma in modern America, we found that white people often ignore or discount their internalized prejudices and react strongly to any inference that they
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