Will the Squad’s endorsement kill the ‘Bernie Bro’ myth?

There’s an experiment used in stereotype research in which the subject is given a name and asked to describe what the person looks like. In the past, this method has been useful in measuring implicit racial bias. For example, one study found that when a white person was given a “black” name—particularly a male one— they tended to picture someone bigger, more menacing.

Now imagine doing the same experiment where participants are asked what a Bernie Sanders supporter looks like. Depending on their political leanings, they might paint a picture of a bespectacled white guy in his mid-thirties with an incipient bald spot and a beard—in other words, a “Bernie Bro.”

Like so many stereotypes, this one is false yet durable. In reality, it would be hard to physically represent the average Bernie supporter because the Vermont senator has a diverse base that defies easy categorization.

Contrary to the persistent myth of the white male “Bernie Bro,” Sen. Sanders’ supporters are on average less likely to be white or male than any other Democratic contender.

According to a representative nationwide survey of nearly 4,200 Americans by the Pew Research Center, Sanders’ supporters are 49 percent white. For Warren and Biden, the proportions are 71 percent and Biden 56 percent, respectively…