What to know about MICROAGGRESSIONS

There’s a name for the everyday slights, put- downs and subtle indignities that marginalized people, especially people of color, have to deal with: Microaggressions.

“You’re pretty for a Black girl” is a microaggression. It may have been meant as a compliment but it infers that Black people are different and somehow less than other people. “You speak English really well” directed at an Asian American is a microaggression because it assumes they aren’t a native English speaker because of how they look.

“Microaggressions are subtle forms of discrimination that people enact based on their own biases and prejudices about certain groups,” said Kevin Nadal, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New

York and an expert on the effects of microaggressions. “Microaggressions are typically unconscious, and people are often unaware of their impact on others.”

While the name includes the prefix “micro” these interactions “are not minor, harmless or trivial. It may seem like a small action but it has macro impact,” said Derald Wing Sue, professor of psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and author of 2010’ s “Microaggressions in Everyday Life.”

What it means

The term microaggression was proposed in 1970 by Chester Pierce, a Black psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, to describe the insults and dismissals aimed at and endured by Black Americans at the hands of whites. Since then the definition has expanded and includes race, gender and sexual orientation.

Microaggressions can be verbal, nonverbal, contextual or behavioral, Sue said.

In 2007 Sue, the son of parents who emigrated from China, co-authored a breakthrough paper on microaggression. As a child he was teased about his ethnicity, which led to his fascination with human behavior. Thousands of studies followed, taking the term microaggression from academia into the real world.

In 2017, the word microaggression was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

“Most people consider themselves good, moral people and they are, but no one is free from inheriting the racial biases of society. That doesn’t make you a bad person. People are conditioned and they have to unlearn the conditioning,” Sue said.

These unintentional but harmful interactions can make people experience anger, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, Nadal said.

“When microaggressions go unchecked or unaddressed, they perpetuate the notion that certain biases and behaviors are acceptable in society,” he said. “In that way, microaggressions contribute to the continuation of systemic oppression in our society, which affects all people, but particularly people of historically marginalized groups.”

Shining a light on these interactions takes their power away.

“Anybody can commit a microaggression, even people who are well aware of the concept of microaggressions and are committed to social justice,” Nadal said. “We are all human beings who were socialized to have biases. So even if we slip, we need to acknowledge our mistakes.” How to confront microaggression When you hear a derogatory comment, speak up.

“Simply disagree. Or say, ‘That’s a stereotype,’” Sue said.

People who are being targeted don’t need to be educators, but can if the circumstances are right. When you hear a racist joke, respond with something like, “I know you meant that to be funny, but it hurts her feelings.”

“Don’t deal with intent. Arguing over intent is a no-win situation,” Sue said.

Another way to disarm microaggressions is to declaim “Ouch” or

“Uh oh! Looks like we’re getting into quicksand.”

Be sure to seek out support and outside help.

“It can be dangerous to confront microaggression. Bringing it up can put you at risk,” Sue said. If you see microaggressions happening in a work environment, for example, reach out to a supervisor or human resources to help level the situation.

Talking about microaggressions helps.

“It promotes positive, inclusive environments. If you have the courage to intervene it models positive behavior to onlookers. If you do nothing you’re saying it’s OK,” Sue said.