Are You Guilty of a Microaggression?

By Zaria Reyes, 6th Grade

Are you guilty of microaggressions?

What is a microaggression?

A microaggression is a subtle but offensive comment or action directed at a member of a marginalized group. (Like racial minorities.) It is usually unintentionally offensive. Microaggressions could be accidental or intentional. The first coined microaggression was in the 1970s, a way to describe a put-down or insult that African-Americans experienced regularly.

What types of microaggressions are there?

Verbal: Verbal microaggressions is a comment or question that is hurtful or stigmatizing a certain marginalized group of people.

Behavioral: Behavioral microaggressions are when someone behaves in a way that discriminatory to a certain group of people.

Environmental: Environmental microaggressions are when subtle discrimination occurs within society.

How to avoid microaggressions

-Try not to be defensive or dismissing the person's feelings.

-Try to change your microaggression behaviors

-Take responsibility for any underlying bias held toward certain groups

Different types of "Micros"

Microinvalidations: A microinvalidation is when a person's comment invalidates or undermines the experience of a group of people. (Ex. Telling someone you just experienced a microaggression and then respond with, "You're imagining things." Or, "You're reading into it too much." or even, "Don't be so sensitive.")

Microinsults: A microinsult is a comment or action that is unintentionally discriminatory. (Ex. Saying to an Indian Doctor, "Your people must be so proud about your job.")

Microassaults: A micro-assault is when a person intentionally behaves in a discriminatory way while not intending to be offensive. (Ex. Saying something racist and then commenting "I was joking")

More Examples of microaggressions:

-When someone protests for BLM and someone walks up to you and says, "ALL lives matter." *Microinvalidation!

-Saying to a person of color, "You are so well-spoken." *Microinsult!

-Having college campuses only named after white people *Environmental Microaggression!

-Complimenting someone on their English born and raised in the United States simply because they are not white *Microinsult!

-Making assumptions of people because of religion *

-A white person walking up to a black person and saying "Racism doesn't exist in today's society." *Microinvalidation!

-A cisgender person secretly taking pictures of a transgender person in public. *Behavioral microaggression

-A non-homosexual saying "That's gay," as a joke. *Microassault!