Of Mice and Microaggressions
“She’s gonna make a mess. They’re gonna be a bad mess about her. She’s a jail bait all set on the trigger. That Curley got his work cut out for him. Ranch with a bunch of guys ain’t no place for a girl, specially like her.”
~ George. Of Mice and Men, Chapter 3, by John Steinbeck
Microaggressions are those everyday interactions, whether intentional or not, that express negative bias toward marginalized individuals or groups. The only difference between a microaggression and a more-blatant discriminatory statement is that the individual committing the microaggression may not be aware of their transgression.
Commenting on how well a person speaks English is a common microaggression because it presumes that only white people “speak well.” Following Black men around a convenience store because “you never know” is an especially common (and egregious) example.
You may be asking yourself, if someone is being racist or sexist, why distinguish it from other forms of blatant or overt acts? The reality is that those closest to you may be the offender (i.e., a coworker or neighbor), so labeling them a racist or sexist, while potentially accurate, may simply not be productive or may make the offender defensive. Although it’s not your job to correct that poor behavior, there may be times when you truly need or want to help that person recognize the impact of their words.
Let’s take a common phrase that we hope has fallen out of favor in recent times: “that’s so gay.” If we assume the transgressor is a friend or other person worth the effort, you may begin by asking the person “what do they mean by that?” That simple opportunity may provide someone an opportunity to think about and then explain their own words. Although the person may be socialized to say certain things, asking them to explain themselves may give them the opportunity to rethink their words.
Recipe Identifying and Understanding Microaggressions
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For some, it may be difficult to identify microaggressions and the implications of such statements. We hope this activity will help people to recognize how different persons can interpret their statements.
Begin by watching the video and then move on the statements and questions. We’ve provided examples of some statements that may include microaggressions. Read each statement below and think about how a person could interpret the statements. After you’ve finished, rewrite the statements to remove the negative connotations.
For example, the statement “Where are you really from?” implies that the speaker does not believe the person is from America. A more neutral wording could be: “Where did you grow up?”
After you’ve finished, consider some of the questions below. And if you’re doing this activity as a group, these could provide additional topics for discussion.
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A Group: This activity works best as a group, regardless of the size.
A pen and paper
A set of statements for consideration:- “You throw like a girl"
- “You can succeed if you try hard enough”
- “You are a credit to women everywhere”
- “The only race is the human race”
- “As a woman, I understand what you’re going through as a minority”
- “I don’t see color”
- “You don’t seem Bblack”
- “How did your parents react when they found out you were gay?”
- “Your English is really good”
- “I have a lot of Asian friends”
- “What do Hispanics think about this?"
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Do you believe any of these statements are innocent? Explain why or why not?
If you made one of the statements above, how would you respond if a person told you the statement was a microaggression or made them feel uncomfortable?
Do you believe microaggressions can be more harmful than more blatantly racist statements or acts? Why or why not?
Does the intent behind a statement of microaggression change the impact of the statement? Why or why not?
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