Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life

Introduction

Published: October 5, 2010
Author: Derald Wing Sue Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College and the School of Social Work, Columbia University
Reviewed by: Jessica Schrader
Source: Psychology Today

Microaggressions: Brief, everyday slights or insults, often unintentional, which convey derogatory messages to marginalized groups.
Racial Microaggressions: Focus on racial or ethnic slights, often perpetuated by well-intentioned individuals unaware of their impact.
Origin: Term first coined by Chester Pierce, M.D., in the 1970s.
Aversive Racism: Concept described by Jack Dovidio, Ph.D., and Samuel Gaertner, Ph.D., suggesting that many people consciously support equality but unconsciously harbor biases.

Examples:
- A person clutching their purse when passing a Black man (implies criminality).
- An Asian American complimented for speaking good English (implies foreignness).
- Police stopping a Latino driver to check immigration status (implies illegality).
- Native American symbols used inappropriately (implies savagery).

Perception and Reality:
- Often perceived as compliments or innocuous actions but carry hidden demeaning messages.
- Can cause confusion, anger, and emotional strain in recipients.
Harmful Effects:
- Detrimental to mental health, job performance, academic success, and social interactions.
- Can lead to chronic fatigue, lowered productivity, and stereotype threat.

Microassaults: Conscious discriminatory actions, e.g., racial slurs, overt bias.
Microinsults: Subtle communications that demean a person’s racial identity.
Microinvalidations: Dismiss or negate a person’s experiences, conveying foreignness or exclusion.
Challenges in Identification:
- Perpetrators often unaware, leading to denial and claims of oversensitivity by targets.

Current Research:
- Investigates the prevalence and impact of microaggressions on various racial groups.
Future Directions:
- Exploring coping strategies for targets.
- Raising awareness among perpetrators.
- Developing prevention strategies at individual and societal levels.

Visibility of Bias: Making the invisible biases visible is the first step towards eliminating microaggressions.
Resources:
- Books by the author: Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation and Microaggressions and Marginality: Manifestation, Dynamics and Impact.