Transcriber: Nurgül Burcu CEM Reviewer: Nil Çelik As we go about our everyday lives, there’s noise around us constantly. People talk all the time and usually it’s what you’d expect in everyday conversation. However, oftentimes hidden in all that noise is something that we tend to sweep under the rug. Little remarks that fly under the radar and that we like to think we've gotten past decades ago, even if that's not inherently true. In fact, these sorts of comments are so common that you’ve almost certainly heard them before if you’re not quite following, let me give you some examples. Where are you from? Colorado. No, I mean, where you really from? Wow, your English is so good. I barely hear an accent. All these phrases and awkward situations are probably at least a little familiar to you, whether you've experienced them firsthand, seeing them from afar or maybe heard them in a slightly different way. You throw like a girl, Boys don’t cry, suck it up. Focusing on work. But what about becoming a mother? Wow, you're really smart for insert group name here. These little biases hidden in everyday conversation are what's known as microaggressions. And while they may seem small at first and sure you can try to just brush them off. For example, I remember being in middle school and saying things like, Oh, I sure hope my English is okay, seeing as it's the only language that I speak. And no, I don't speak Chinese. But do you speak any Gaelic? However, it's usually not that simple. And it’ll take more than a snarky remark from just one middle schooler to fix this issue. Firstly, because microaggressions are just everywhere. No matter how much we don’t want to admit it. You wouldn't think it happened in schools, workplaces, especially not in, say, an everyday movie theater. Nevertheless, I remember being ten years old, sitting there happily watching the show when the complete stranger sitting next to me leaned in and said, Isn't it great to learn about people who look just like you? Pointing up at the bearded Tibetan men on screen? You wouldn’t think it happened in the workplace, especially not in, say, the US military. Nevertheless, my mother, wearing her full US Air Force uniform, was still asked on multiple occasions what her nationality was, and as a member of the eighth year in the Air Force Academy to include women, she also had to endure constant derogatory remarks about her gender. The sad reality is that microaggressions are much more common than many people may think and aren't just isolated to one setting. They're in practically all parts of our society, from everyday life to academia to the workplace. For example, a recent study done at the University of Connecticut, one of the top research schools in America, found that over 45% of colored UConn students found the race relations at school to be somewhat to extremely problematic, largely due to experiencing microaggressions both on campus and in the classroom. It’s tragic that so many of these students have to endure such prejudices while just trying to get an education. Furthermore, this doesn’t just fade away as people grow older and get jobs. A poll conducted in 2019 found that one in every four participants personally experienced microaggressions in the workplace. Another study done by the women's organization IWM, found that over 50% of women experienced microaggressions in their jobs. And what makes all of that worse is that is a cycle. It doesn't just stop with one underhanded remark. As microaggressions get tossed around nonchalantly, more and more people grow accustomed to them thinking it can't be so bad. Everyone's saying it, and so over time, feeding their own perpetual loop, these sorts of comments just create even more biases to pass off as normal sayings. Microaggressions are clearly not just occasional slips of the tongue. They run rampant in our daily lives homes, schools and workplaces, fostering more and more prejudice as they go. And so the cycle turns on and on, cementing microaggressions as an inevitable part of many people's lives. So microaggressions are everywhere. So what? As many, they say, sticks and stones. It’s not that big a deal. Just brush it off. Well, I can’t say that ten year old me in that movie theater was ready to brush off that woman's observation as I sat there feeling like an outsider in my own hometown back at the Air Force base, while my mother never let her peers derogatory comments sway her decisions, she can't say that they never made her doubt. The fact of the matter is, despite their micro nature, these repeated comments have anything but micro consequences. In fact, they have real tangible effects on both people's mental and physical well-being. A recent study published by the National Library of Medicine examined the relationship between microaggressions and suicidal ideation in Students for Racial Minorities. It found that the more microaggressions they experienced, the higher the rates of suicidal thoughts. Another study from the same publisher focused on the effects of these comments on women. It found that the more of these comments they had to endure. The worse their mental health and self esteem became. Which, of course, isn't all that surprising. Hearing these comments day in, day out, it's hard not to feel alienated or put down, especially when others are telling you that your reactions are dramatic, making you feel crazy for your rightful distress. Furthermore, mental health is not the only thing at risk here. A recent study done at the Ojibwe reservation in northern Minnesota found that microaggressions experiences undermine the ideals of patient centered care. The study correlates microaggressions with worse mental and physical health reports from Native Americans living with chronic disease. Specifically, it cites the unconscious discrimination from caretakers as a primary cause. Microaggressions are spoken, reflections of people's inner prejudice and sadly, the targets of said prejudice often get less adequate care through these biases. And so, despite what many people may think, these little remarks do matter and must be addressed if we are to spare people's mental health and show medical providers that these sorts of biases are unacceptable so that they don't continue to harm their patients. How can we stop microaggressions when they become so deadly and so commonplace? Well, first, we need to acknowledge that there's a problem to begin with. Microaggressions aren't just rare harmless comments. There are forms of prejudice that are all too familiar to countless people and can have horrible effects. Luckily, we've already begun step one with what we've discussed here today. Second, and finally, we can't ignore them any longer. The very reason these sorts of comments get perpetuated is because we allow them to. Too often people brush them off as jokes or well-meaning comments, they even go as far as to tell others to stop being so sensitive when they're offended. This makes it seem like these sorts of comments are okay, acceptable or even normal. As stated by psychologist and writer for the Harvard Business Review, Ella Washington quote, “To stop microaggressions avoidance is the wrong approach. Instead, assert yourself in a way that acknowledges your care and concern for the issue.” End quote. And I know this can be hard to do with the sheer amount of people who say these things and defend these types of remarks. It can be hard to speak out, but no matter who you are, it’s vital that you do. Be like the woman who said, “How could you ask her that? Look at her military uniform.” When my mother was being questioned about her nationality. Or be like the son of that lady in the movie theater who pointed out how weird it was to compare me to Tibetan men, because I’ll never forget the look on her face when she realized what she had just said to such a young child. Profusely apologizing once she understood the weight of her words. And I still remember leaving that movie theater happy, not because it was a great experience or anything, but rather since her comment had just gone ignored. She learned and wouldn't be saying anything like that to someone else again. So as you leave here today and step back into the noisy world we live in with all its talk, both good and bad, I want to ask the next time you find one of these comments hidden among all that noise, what will you do? Sweep it under the rug, brush it off, move on like so many before you or finally speak out and help stop these not so little remarks. (Applause) (Cheers)