Microaggressions: More Than Just Race
Can microaggressions be directed at women or gay people?
Posted November 17, 2010 | Reviewed by Lybi Ma
In a previous post, I indicated that most well-intentioned White Americans have inherited the racial biases of their forebears; that the most harmful forms remain outside the level of conscious awareness; and that "making the invisible, visible" is the first step to overcoming hidden prejudices. Since that posting, many readers have asked whether microaggressions can be directed at women, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered (LGBT) persons, or those with disabilities. The resounding answer is Yes.
Microaggressions are 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. In many cases, these hidden messages may invalidate the group identity or experiential reality of target persons, demean them on a personal or group level, communicate they are lesser human beings, suggest they do not belong with the majority group, threaten and intimidate, or relegate them to inferior status and treatment.
What Do Microaggressions Look Like?
While microaggressions are generally discussed from the perspective of race and racism , any marginalized group in society may become targets — people of color, women, LGBT persons, those with disabilities, religious minorities, and so on.
Some sample microaggressions and their hidden meanings are given below.
Racial Microaggressions
Gender Microaggressions
Sexual Orientation Microaggressions
Microaggressions can be based upon any group that is marginalized in this society. Religion, disability, and social class may also reflect the manifestation of microaggressions. Some of these examples include the following:
The most detrimental forms of microaggressions are usually delivered by well-intentioned individuals unaware that they have engaged in harmful conduct toward a socially devalued group. These everyday occurrences may on the surface appear quite harmless or trivial, or be described as "small slights," but research indicates they have a powerful impact upon the psychological well-being of marginalized groups and affect their standard of living by creating inequities in health care, education , and employment.
What Do Microaggressions Say About Us?
Racial, gender, and sexual orientation microaggressions are active manifestations and/or a reflection of our worldviews of inclusion/exclusion, superiority/inferiority, normality/abnormality, and desirability/undesirability. Microaggressions reflect the active manifestation of oppressive worldviews that create, foster, and enforce marginalization. Because most of us consciously experience ourselves as good, moral, and decent human beings, the realization that we hold a biased worldview is very disturbing; thus we prefer to deny, diminish, or avoid looking at ourselves honestly. Yet, research suggests that none of us are immune from inheriting the racial, gender, and sexual orientation biases of our society. We have been socialized into racist, sexist, and heterosexist attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. Much of this is outside the level of conscious awareness, thus we engage in actions that unintentionally oppress and discriminate against others.
Let me use an example to illustrate how microaggressions can influence the standard of living and quality of life for women and persons of color. Statistics support the fact that white American males constitute only 33% of the population. Yet, they occupy approximately:
The questions we must ask are: "Where are the women?" "Where are the people of color?" "If these are due to racism and sexism, who are the culprits?" "Are these outcomes due to the overt racist or sexist?" "Are they due to the hate mongers, the white supremacist, the Klan, or skinheads?" I contend that it is not the overt racist or sexist that controls the tools that result in such unjust and damaging disparities. It is people we elect to office, teachers who educate our children, business leaders who carry out the policies and practices of their corporations, government leaders, law enforcement officers, physicians, dentists, construction workers, your family, friends, and neighbors. It is well-intentioned people like you and me.
For a more thorough consideration of microaggressions, I recommend two sources: Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation and Microaggressions and Marginality: Manifestation, Dynamics, and Impact .
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Derald Wing Sue, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology and Education in the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Teachers College and the School of Social Work, Columbia University.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.