# The hand that fits the disposable glove...is white? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 10, 2022, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391 "2022-08-10T00:11:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/41 "2022-08-10T20:10:25Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I’m tired of everything being racist. To be precise, you are tired of people pointing out racism. You wish that they would just let racism be. > [@TRC4941](#): > > They’re just disposable gloves. In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? It’s not about the gloves. It’s about what the absence of non-white hands in the pictures reveals: (1) discrimination against non-white hand models, (2) disproportionately small numbers of non-white people in professions that use these gloves, etc. The fact that you don’t want to think any deeper than the gloves themselves is revealing about you. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/42 "2022-08-10T20:30:10Z")
The hand wearing the glove on my box of disposable gloves could that of a darker-skinned white person, a lighter-skinned black person, or an Asian person who’s the victim of poor color processing. Cheap printing, one small step toward equality. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/43 "2022-08-10T20:43:42Z")
Speaking of “cheap printing”… Back last century when Kodak was developing pigments for use in photography, they naturally wanted pigments that would make pictures look good. And a lot of what people photograph is other people. So they hired a bunch of models, and took pictures of them with various sorts of film, and came up with combinations of pigments that would make the pictures of those models look good. And all of the models they chose were white. Which meant that they picked pigments that make photos of white people look good. Which in turn meant that black people didn’t photograph as well. Now, if they had hired models in the 90s, they probably would have been woke enough, by then, to hire models of various skin colors. That aspect of discrimination was mostly gone by then. But they were still using the old pigments in the 90s, the ones developed based on white models, that didn’t show black people as well. The aftereffects of the active discrimination were still being felt, even decades afterwards, when the active discrimination was gone. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/44 "2022-08-11T02:00:17Z")
Chronos “And all of the models they chose were white. Which meant that they picked pigments that make photos of white people look good. Which in turn meant that black people didn’t photograph as well.” I think this falls into the “all the sheep in Scotland are black” category. All we can say is that Kodak didn’t know how well black people photographed. I once owned a 1967 BMW 2000CS which was their top model at the time. Every image in the owners manual that showed a hand doing something - like checking the oil or tuning the radio - had a person wearing a Seville Row pin striped suit wearing white cotton gloves. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/45 "2022-08-13T21:31:23Z")
So, how come all the nitrile gloves are bluish-purple? Nitrile is not inherently purple. The first pair I had, when I was a janitor, was silvery-gray. Oddly, back then we were usually given latex or vinyl exam gloves for dealing with bleach in blood spill cleanups. Neither of those materials are impervious to vile chemicals, but nitrile will keep out nearly anything. Or, so the suppliers told us. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/46 "2022-08-13T22:22:13Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > I’m glad I’m not the only one that caught that. Yah, me, too. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/47 "2022-08-13T23:24:05Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > So, how come all the nitrile gloves are bluish-purple? They are not. You can get them in a dozen different colors. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/48 "2022-08-13T23:49:42Z")
I have three boxes of gloves in my closet, from three different companies. One has a picture of the glove, animated but without any human presence, if that makes sense. (The glove is filled out and shaped like there’s a hand inside, but the image is only of the glove.) Another has no glove-like image at all, which seems weird. It does say, “size large blue nitrile gloves”, and the product is exactly what i imagined it would be, without any image. So I guess they were right: i bought it anyway, and I’m happy with it. The third has a photograph of the glove on a human hand, and I’d guess the hand model was a Caucasian woman. So, in my experience, mostly glove boxes are race-neutral. But it’s an interesting observation that when they aren’t race-neutral, they depict white people. I wonder if they depict Han Chinese models when packaged for China. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/49 "2022-08-14T00:46:03Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > So, how come all the nitrile gloves are bluish-purple? For medical purposes I’d WAG the unusual colors are so you can more easily tell patient stuff from other staff’s hands. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/50 "2022-08-14T01:57:45Z")
“That’s my pinkie, Frank.” ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/51 "2022-08-14T16:00:30Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I wonder if they depict Han Chinese models when packaged for China. It WOULD be interesting to compare the box sold in China to one sold elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/52 "2022-08-14T16:25:12Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I’m tired of everything being racist. What is your race? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/53 "2022-08-14T16:37:07Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > So, how come all the nitrile gloves are bluish-purple? Do the elf races prefer that color too? . . Sorry, I thought that was about Mithril gloves… > **[Mithril gloves](https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/w/Mithril_gloves)** > > Mithril gloves are special gloves that can be bought from the Culinaromancer's Chest after completion of 5 sub-quests of the Recipe for Disaster quest. They are notable as being the best metal gloves obtainable without gaining Defence experience, and... 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/54 "2022-08-14T18:46:05Z")
I’m guessing the first one. If it would have cost more money OR time to hunt down a stock image with a person of color in it, then they probably wouldn’t have done it. Why? Because ultimately it doesn’t really matter enough to spend any more time or money on it than absolutely necessary. It’s a disposable glove. Who cares what the color of the wrist on the box is? ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/55 "2022-08-14T18:56:18Z")
White? Black ? Merely shades of our human race. Where’s the wrinkled hand, the splotchy hand, the indigo or red hand? What about a prosthetic hand or gloves for the polydactyl or fused fingers. If y’all are gonna battle for equal representation go all the damn way. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/56 "2022-08-14T19:36:00Z")
The “If you can’t solve _all_ the problems at once…” Ploy? That was old when I was a kid-got any other excuses? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/57 "2022-08-14T20:20:20Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > But the default race for “who gives a fuck?” packaging is white. As a designer, I absolutely abhor The Generic Stock Photo People. You’ve seen them smiling at their computers, looking out windows, pensively enjoying a steaming cup of something, or smiling as they shake hands (the most used photo in the world…aaargh!). They’re the default photos for “who gives a fuck?” design… . eta: Oh, they transcend race. Even the Happy Asian Woman, Entrepreneurial Hispanic Couple and Non-Confrontational Black Guy seem meant to appeal to white, middle-class business people. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391/58 "2022-08-14T20:49:25Z")
I sat on a long plane ride once next to a woman who owned a stock photo company with her husband. This was before the proliferation of the internet. A huge number of the photos were of her and her husband and kids so she didn’t have to pay models. She’d get calls from friends all the time like, “hey, I’m in Vegas and your family is on a health insurance billboard”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hand-that-fits-the-disposable-glove-is-white/969391.md?page=2)