The everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.
(Sue & Rivera, 2010)
Microaggression- Witnessed/Experienced at The New School? 2013
Microaggression- Witnessed/Experienced at The New School?
“ Wow, you speak English really well” (spoken by a white person to a person of color)
If you can’t afford this school, how come you came here?
Financial Aid Officer to Low-Income Student
Impact: You are not worthy of an education if you are poor. Your financial burdens are making my job more difficult for me.
You should change your (African) name on your résumé.
Career Advisement to a Student
You MUST assimilate if you want to be successful. Your name is not good enough if it does not disguise the color of your skin.
“There’s a big move to create new bathrooms” for transgender people alone, Mr. Trump said. “First of all, I think that would be discriminatory in a certain way. It would be unbelievably expensive for businesses and for the country. Leave it the way it is.”
Donald Trump, Today show, 4/21/16
Capitalist interests trump social justice. Trans people were fine with gendered bathrooms.
when a black man enters an elevator and a white woman clutches her purse
● Often unconscious
● Behavioral/verbal remarks or comments that convey rudeness, insensitivity, and demean a person’s heritage, identity, or self in any way
Explicit derogations characterized primarily by a violent verbal or nonverbal attack meant to hurt the intended victim through namecalling, avoidant behavior, or purposeful discriminatory actions.
Verbal comments or behaviors that exclude, negate, or nullify the thoughts, feelings, or experiential realities of the victim.
Lack of POC, women, other marginalized identities in the curriculum/syllabi/programming, myth of meritocracy, upper level administrators often male, white, cis, straight and able bodied, Bathrooms, campus accessibility, statues, mascots, names of buildings
Not wanting to engage in the class/office when you’ve been made to feel less-than, feeling isolated, alone and stressed in social situations
Negative thoughts, feelings, or perspective on self, negative view of others, physical and mental health impacts, sense of hopelessness...etc.
Invalidate group identity/experiential reality of target persons
Suggests alienation from majority group Threatens and intimidates
Demeaning on personal or group level
Relegates individual/group to inferior status and treatment Anxiety, low self efficacy, high stress
Communicate to impacted populations they are lesser human beings
Studies reveal that microaggressions, while seemingly trivial in nature, have major consequences for marginalized groups in our society because they:
(a) Assail the mental health of recipients (Sue, Capodilupo, & Holder, 2008),
(b) Create a hostile and invalidating campus climate (Solorzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000),
(c) Perpetuate stereotype threat (Steele, Spencer, & Aronson, 2002),
(d) Create physical health problems (Clark, Anderson, Clark, & Williams, 1999)
Studies reveal that microaggressions, while seemingly trivial in nature, have major consequences for marginalized groups in our society because
(e) Saturate the broader society with cues that signal devaluation of social group identities (Purdie-Vaughns, Steele, Davies, & Ditlmann, 2008),
(f) Lower work productivity and problem solving abilities (Dovidio, 2001; Salvatore & Shelton, 2007),
(g) And are responsible for creating inequities in education, employment, and health care (Purdie-Vaughns, et al, 2008; Sue, 2010).
(h) Camara Jones’ work
●Microaggressions are a public health issue. (“Microaggressions have a macro impact”)
●Microaggressions are extremely common and are
● Remember that INTENT and IMPACT are 2 different things and IMPACT is more important
● Acknowledge target’s experience
● Practice having difficult conversations, allow room for making mistakes
● Explore your identity, privilege, attitudes, assumptions, words and actions
Don’t:
● Make excuses, say “I’m sorry you were offended” or add a “but” after your apology
● Blame the victim/ accuse target of hypersensitivity
● Expect the target to be your teacher
● Compare to your own personal experiences
Training:
Goal: Increase capacity building across the university
Strengths: A student-created microaggression workshop with Health Promotion staff committed to implementation. A multidisciplinary group meeting to scale up.
Vulnerability: voluntary training, limited capacity, limited content.
Needs: senior level buy-in, mandated, with adequate resource allocation.
Stakeholders: SHSS a, SJC a, Students a, senior leadership (more talk, less action; don’t see the issues as systemic) b, Action plan and objectives: scheduling trainings, more staff/faculty trainers, website creation
● Pick 1 or 2 rows to complete in about 5 minutes
● Then pair up and discuss with your partner for about 10 minutes
● Debrief with the whole group for 15 minutes
debrief
Insistence, persistence, consistence- a framework for change
What came up under each column?
What are some challenges you have identified?
What are some actionable steps you have identified?
1. Microaggressions are constant and continual without an end date (an everyday hassle may be time limited)
2. Microaggressions are cumulative and any one may represent the feather that breaks the camel’s back
3. Microaggressions must be deciphered because they contain double messages (especially microinvalidations)
4. Microaggressions are constant reminders of a person’s second class status in society
5. Microaggressions symbolize past