Microaggression is a term used for commonplace verbal, behavioral or environmental slight, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative attitudes toward members of marginalized groups. The term was coined by Harvard University psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce in 1970 to describe insults and dismissals which he regularly witnessed non-black Americans inflicting on African Americans. By the early 21st century, use of the term was applied to the casual disparagement of any socially marginalized group, including LGBT, poor, and disabled people. Psychologist Derald Wing Sue defines microaggressions as "brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership". In contrast to aggression, in which there is usually an intent to cause harm, persons making microaggressive comments may be otherwise well-intentioned and unaware of the potential impact of their words.
A number of scholars and social commentators have criticized the concept of microaggression for its lack of a scientific basis, over-reliance on subjective evidence, and promotion of psychological fragility. Critics argue that avoiding behaviors that one interprets as microaggressions restricts one's own freedom and causes emotional self-harm, and that employing authority figures to address microaggressions (i.e. call-out culture) can lead to an atrophy of those skills needed to mediate one's own disputes. Some argue that, because the term "microaggression" uses language connoting violence to describe verbal conduct, it can be abused to exaggerate harm, resulting in retribution and the elevation of victimhood.
D. W. Sue, who popularized the term microaggressions, has expressed doubts on how the concept is being used: "I was concerned that people who use these examples would take them out of context and use them as a punitive rather than an exemplary way." In the 2020 edition of his book with Lisa Spanierman and in a 2021 book with his doctoral students, Dr. Sue introduces the idea of "microinterventions" as potential solutions to acts of microaggression.
Description Microaggressions are common, everyday slights and comments that relate to various aspects of one's appearance or identity such as class, gender, sex, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, mother tongue, age, body shape, disability, or religion. They are thought to spring from unconsciously held prejudices and beliefs which may be demonstrated consciously or unconsciously through daily interactions.Sue, D. W., & Capodilupo, C. M. (2008). Racial, gender, and sexual orientation microaggressions: Implications for counseling and psychotherapy. In D.W. Sue & D. Sue (Eds.), Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Although these communications typically appear harmless to observers, they are considered a form of subtle or everyday discrimination, like covert racism.
Meaning of "micro-" Microaggressions differ from what Pierce referred to as "macroaggressions" in the context of racial discrimination: these are more extreme forms of racism (such as lynchings or beatings), differentiated due to their ambiguity, size and commonality. Today, researchers do not use the prefix "micro-" to mean the aggressions have a small impact, but instead to emphasize how subtly they take place, which can make them hard to point out. In fact, research on the impacts of repeated microaggressions towards members of minority groups suggests that microaggressions negatively affect mental health and are related to minority stress.
Marginalization and bias Microaggressions are experienced by most stigmatized individuals and occur on a regular basis. These can be particularly stressful for people on the receiving end as the harm or bias inherent to a microaggression is easily denied by those committing them. Because microaggressions are rooted in bias, which is societally taught, they can be committed by members of dominant social groups or members of marginalized groups.
The impact of microaggressions is shaped by the dilemma of unconscious bias: perpetrators of microaggressions may view their actions or motivations differently than targets do, especially when offenders can ignore or dismiss implicit bias if it is in fact present. Additionally, this bias is most invisible to members of dominant social groups, and it is easy for observers to dismiss a microaggression as trivial and harmless. This makes it harder for a target to respond to a microaggression without backlash. The key factor here is that microaggressions are harder to detect by members of the dominant culture, as they are often unaware they are causing harm.
Types Microaggressions are often divided into three categories: each can be verbal or action-based, but they are united by their effect of insulting someone due to their membership in a marginalized group. All categories may occur between individuals or through an environment, via social norms or policies. Categories of microaggressions are usually called microinsults, for demeaning, rude, stereotyping or insensitive behavior; microinvalidations, for behavior that excludes or denies someone else's experiences; and microassaults, for more explicit discriminatory actions or insults. Microassaults may be an exception to the generally unconscious and subtle nature of microaggressions: some of the behaviors researchers have classified as microassault are so traumatic and overt, and perhaps frequently rooted in conscious bias, that some researchers have proposed reclassifying them outside of microaggressions.
Targeted identities Microaggressions are a form of everyday discrimination against stigmatized groups of people. Researchers often study microaggressions by examining how they occur for specific marginalized populations. By looking at common themes in these settings, some researchers have built taxonomies of the types of microaggressions that target people based on different parts of their identities.
Microaggressions were originally studied in the context of racial discrimination in the U.S. Since then, they have been studied in the context of many other marginalizations, including LGBTQ communities, people with disabilities or mental health conditions, religious minorities, and people living in poverty. Microaggressions can also be intersectional, targeting people based on more than one aspect of their identity.
Researchers have studied the experiences of many specific communities with microaggressions. Selected examples include left-handed surgeons, Canadian and British fat people, working-class graduate students, first-generation U.S. university students, people who speak Japanese as a second language in Japan, and Palestinians working in Jewish organizations in Israel.
Race or ethnicity
Social scientists Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, and Torino (2007) described microaggressions as "the new face of racism", saying that the nature of racism has shifted over time from overt expressions of racial hatred and hate crimes, toward expressions of aversive racism, such as microaggressions, that are more subtle, ambiguous, and often unintentional. Sue says this has led some Americans to believe wrongly that non-white Americans no longer suffer from racism. One example of such subtle expressions of racism is Asian students being either pathologized or penalized as too passive or quiet. An incident that caused controversy at UCLA occurred when a teacher corrected a student's use of "indigenous" in a paper by changing it from upper- to lowercase.
According to Sue et al., microaggressions seem to appear in four forms: Microassault: an explicit racial derogation; verbal/nonverbal; e.g. name-calling, avoidant behavior, purposeful discriminatory actions. Microinsult: communications that convey rudeness and insensitivity and demean a person's racial heritage or identity; subtle snubs; unknown to the perpetrator; hidden insulting message to the recipient. Microinvalidation: communications that exclude, negate, or nullify the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person belonging to a particular group. Environmental Microaggressions (Macro-Level): Racial assaults, insults and invalidations which are manifested on systemic and environmental level.
Some psychologists have criticized microaggression theory for assuming that all verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities are due to bias. Thomas Schacht says that it is uncertain whether a behavior is due to racial bias or is a larger phenomenon that occurs regardless of identity conflict. However, Kanter and colleagues found that racial microaggressions were robustly correlated to five separate measures of bias. In reviewing the microaggression literature, Scott Lilienfeld suggested that microassaults should probably be struck from the taxonomy because the examples provided in the literature tend not to be "micro", but are outright assaults, intimidation, harassment and bigotry; in some cases, examples have included criminal acts. Others have pointed out that what could be perceived as subtle snubs could be due to people having autism, and assuming ill will could be harmful to people with autism.
Examples In conducting two focus groups with Asian-Americans, for instance, Sue proposed different themes under the ideology of microinsult and microinvalidation.
Microinvalidation:
Alien in own land: When people assume people of color are foreigners. E.g.: "So where are you really from?" or "Why don't you have an accent?" Denial of racial reality: When people emphasize that a person of color does not suffer from racial discrimination or inequality (this correlates to the idea of model minority). Invisibility: Asian-Americans are considered invisible or outside discussions of race and racism. E.g.: Discussions on race in the United States excluding Asian-Americans by focusing only on 'white and black' issues. Refusal to acknowledge intra-ethnic differences: When a speaker ignores intra-ethnic differences and assumes a broad homogeneity over multiple ethnic groups. E.g.: Descriptions such as "all Asian-Americans look alike", or assumptions that all members of an ethnic minority speak the same language or have the same cultural values. Microinsult: Pathologizing cultural values/communication styles: When Asian American culture and values are viewed as less desirable. E.g.: Viewing the valuation of silence (a cultural norm present in some Asian communities) as a fault, leading to disadvantages caused by the expectation of verbal participation common in many Western academic settings. Second-class citizenship: When minorities are treated as lesser human beings, or are not treated with equal rights or priority. E.g.: A Korean man asking for a drink in a bar being ignored by the bartender, or the bartender choosing to serve a white man before serving the Korean man. Ascription of intelligence: When people of color are stereotyped to have a certain level of intelligence based on their race. E.g.: "You people always do well in school", or "If I see a lot of Asian students in my class, I know it's going to be a hard class". Exoticization of non-white women: When non-white women are stereotyped as being in the "exotic" category based on gender, appearance, and media expectations. E.g.: Descriptions of an Asian-American woman as a 'Dragon Lady', 'Tiger mother', or 'Lotus Blossom', or using symbols associated with Eastern cultures.