(door clicking) - Welcome back. So what did you think of the video? Can you identify with any of the experiences or perspectives? What about the relationship between microaggressions and the personal worldviews of the speaker and the conflict between microaggressions and free speech? Here are some specific questions for reflection. Have you potentially engaged in microaggressions when attempting to make a personal connection? What was the intended message? Hidden forms of bias, which we explored in the last module, can come with unintended consequences. Microaggressions, or language considered exclusive and othering rather than inclusive, can be the result of such biases. How might the biases you've discovered from the Implicit Association Test lead to these unintended microaggressions? Thinking about Dr. Sue's perspectives on microaggressions and incivility, do you think there's a difference between the two concepts, particularly for those minoritized groups that may receive microaggressions because of their identities? How might your worldview or lived experiences contribute to your perspectives? You've heard me refer to stereotypes along with biases as a root cause of microaggressions, but we've not yet formally defined what stereotypes are. Stereotypes are generalizations about attributes of a particular social group that disregard the individual diversity within the group. For example, a common stereotype that can lead to a microaggression is the assumption that all Latinx people are from the country of Mexico, thus referring to all those identifying as Hispanic and Latinx as Mexicans. That ignores the immense intragroup diversity within the Hispanic and Latinx community, ranging from Central Americans, South Americans, Europeans, and even those born right here in the United States who are often othered with the assumption that they're not U.S. citizens. And as a point of clarification, you may have heard me use the term Latinx. This is a gender-inclusive term for Latino and Latina and also includes those who identify as gender fluid or gender neutral. Of course, you likely remember us addressing socialization in the previous module. As it relates to microaggressions, we may be socialized to use identity-based language. In other words, comments related to an element of a person's identity or personal characteristics that can be hurtful or offensive and turn into a microaggression. Let's consider use of the term lame, for example. The origin of the word lame refers to a person with limited mobility. However, it began to be used as a term to refer to something negative or undesirable at the end of the last century. Most of us have been socialized to use that word or heard it used without any consideration of the term's origins as a descriptor for a social identity. The same is applied to the term ghetto, for example. The origin of the word ghetto came from the 15th century where people of Jewish descent were confined to a specific area of a city. However, due to America's history of racism and segregation, the term is now typically used to describe places where African Americans live and is usually considered negative because of the often negative view of African Americans. Similarly, the term barrio is often used for places where Hispanic and Latinx folks reside and originated as a Spanish word that just means neighborhood. These examples demonstrate how we're socialized to use language informed by identity-based stereotypes. In the first case, these identity-based stereotypes become microaggressions because they typically ignore the true diversity or individual characteristics of the person, place, or thing being described. In the latter cases, we've become socialized to devalue the identities from which the microaggression is derived. In all cases, this can lead to negative perspectives about the identity being minimized or devalued, which can result in internalized subordination, as we discussed in the last module. The more you hear an identity that you hold being turned into a microaggression, the more negatively you can potentially see yourself. Conversely, the more you use the identity-based microaggression, the more internalized domination can occur, as you may feel entitled to be able to say it because it doesn't affect you personally. Now that we have a basic understanding of microaggressions, let's dig a little deeper into the types of microaggressions that exist. A microinsult is a specific type of microaggression that demeans a person's identity, such as age, gender, or race. A common microinsult might sound like, "She's really good at math for a girl." Or, "How did you get that job?" Or my personal favorite, often ascribed to African Americans, that someone is well-spoken. In these cases, it conveys surprise at someone's achievements or characteristics based upon that person's identity. Then we have microinvalidations, which are communications that exclude, negate, or nullify the thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person. Microinvalidations can take many forms and may even look like what is commonly known as gaslighting from a psychological perspective. Gaslighting is a specific type of manipulation where the goal is to get someone to question their own reality or perceptions. Such is the case with microinvalidations. A person may express that they have interpreted an interaction as a microaggression and others may tell them they're exaggerating, making it up, or being hypersensitive. Microinvalidations can also occur when someone works up the courage to address a microaggression that they have heard or received. When the person is asked about the nature of their comment or it's been addressed as offensive, the best thing to do is apologize or acknowledge their error. Instead, the offender may insist that they were just joking, the person offended or addressing the comment is being hypersensitive or accuse them of being, my personal favorite microinvalidation, politically correct, which in my view is really just an excuse not to use inclusive language. This is among the points important to note about microaggressions. If someone does address it, the best thing to do is just apologize, rather than getting defensive. You can even take it one step further and seek to understand what made the statement a microaggression to the other person. The point here is that you may risk committing an additional microaggression by telling the person that their feelings or perspectives are invalid. A microassault, however, is what microaggressions look like when they turn into purposefully overt discriminatory action, such as verbal attacks or avoidant behavior. These are more like epithets, retaliation, or any other behavior that denies opportunity or creates an overtly hostile environment based upon an identity. These two are rooted in stereotypes, biases, and downright prejudice against a social identity. Now let's talk about some behaviors and feelings that can accompany microaggressions. The first is another term that you may have heard called a trigger. Triggers are words or phrases that stimulate an emotional response because they tap into anger or pain about oppression issues. Like microaggressions, they convey a stereotypical perception or acceptance of the status quo. Microaggressions are particularly triggering because they usually relate to a person's identity. And it's important to note, it can be triggering not just because a person has that particular identity themselves. Here's an example. I absolutely loathe the word retarded. Like the term lame, this was used historically to refer to those who have developmental delays. I have members of my family with autism, so though it does not directly apply to me, it's triggering for me because it affects those that I love. I always take the opportunity to address that term. How do you know if you're triggered? The best thing to do is listen to your body. Some people may turn red or get flushed. Some may exhibit nervous laughter. Some may call out the microaggression immediately. Others, like myself, may completely shut down and not know what to say for a moment. The key is to know your triggers, and the more triggered you are, the more affected you may be by the microaggression. That said, the more triggered and pronounced your reaction, the more it may have an impact on authoring your identity, how you see yourself or others, in the context of the characteristic being microaggressed. So you may recall that I referenced humor or, "I was just joking," as a microinvalidations response. Humor, my friends, often accompanies microaggressions. Picture this. Have you ever told a joke that you thought was funny, particularly one of those about a particular person, place, or thing, and it fell flat? Or you may have poked fun at a characteristic of someone and discovered they didn't think it funny. That's because humor is relative. In other words, what's funny to one person may not be funny to another. Just because you didn't mean it, doesn't mean it doesn't still have an impact on another person. And just because the person laughs along, doesn't mean they actually think it's funny. They may just not be comfortable addressing the microaggression because they're not sure of the reaction they'll receive. Relationship estimation is another slippery slope when it comes to microaggressions. This is an assessment of the nature of one's relationship with someone else, which can also impact interactions. Sometimes we overestimate our ability to joke with others, say certain words you've heard others say, or think that because we have proximity to a person, place, or thing, that you have license to say things. This may happen, for example, if you're friends, family, or adjacently associated with an identity, such as a person of color, for example. There's some vernacular and ingroup language used as a means of creating connections, otherwise known as social identity theory. Such group members gives one license to use certain words or language that may not be extended to others. If you overestimate your relationship with a person in that group and opt to use some of their ingroup language, it may have unintended negative effect and impacts. So my advice is, when in doubt, don't. And when someone decides to address something you've said that may give them pause, just listen, seek to understand, and own it. So just to review. Microaggressions are contextual and based upon the situation, relative and based upon the person, their perspectives, and lived experience, and always based upon the receiver's interpretation and not the sender's intent. You probably wouldn't like it if someone invalidated or nullified your perspective or experience, so try not to do it to others. Now, you're probably wondering, "How do I know if something is a microaggression?" The truth is, it can vary from person to person. However, we'll help you out by giving you a list of common microaggressions by identity groups. To be sure, this list of common identity-based microaggressions is not exhaustive, so don't think, if it's not on here, then it's not considered a microaggression. And just because it's on the list, doesn't mean it will be considered a microaggression to everyone. Take, for example, the statement under veteran status, "Thank you for your service." While many of us, including myself, may say that to veterans, there are some veterans who have indicated that they don't wanna be thanked for their service for a number of different reasons. There are numerous perspectives about this on the internet for you to go check out on your own. It just goes to show that microaggressions are relative, contextual, and dependent upon the perspective of the receiver. I'll give you a few moments to review the common identity-based microaggressions found in your course materials. When you return, we'll engage in an activity about your experience with microaggressions. (door clicking)
