Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Dr. Sue (2011) has effectively helped me to understand how sensitive and aware we need to become about the dangers of Microaggressions.  Microaggressions as discussed by Sue (2011), whether carried out in the form of racial, gender, or sexually-oriented insults, do have the power of harming people severely and psychologically. They also have the power of creating segregation, feelings of uncertainty, inferiority, supremacy and marginalization even though no offense may have been consciously intended (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).

A microaggression that I can remember happened earlier in the school year in our pre-k 4 classroom. I can clearly recall as I was supplying a group of students with construction papers of different colors, that I noticed that the boys whenever they were given pink construction papers, they were rejecting these and were requesting colors like blue, orange and green.  My interest was aroused and I soon received a shocking eye-opener as to why the boys did not want the pink construction papers when one other boy decided that he was going to take the pink color. He was devoured by remarks/questions by the rest of the boys. “That is a girl color.” “Are you a girl?” “Choose another color.” They also rained on him giggles and laughs. I had to intervene for them to stop and allow him to choose the color pink he desired to do his project.

As I reflect on this scenario, that took place during the school year, I really never thought of microaggression because I was not introduced to this terminology and how serious it can impact the lives of others. Now that my awareness has been awakened, I now realize how seriously our four years old have been socialized and how deeply entrenched their gender biases will become if they are not schooled in accepting people for who they are. Certainly I have to start looking deeply inside of me too and start assessing how I would feel if someone mocked me or jeered me because of who I am or because I have chosen to be different in my lifestyle, or any other choices that I may make.

I know that our students were not aware that they were actually practicing microaggressions. Yet, at the same time if they are allowed to continue to carry out these micro insults/micro assaults and micro invalidation continuously, I perceive that they will grow into discrimination, prejudices and or other stereotypes to the point where they start damaging not only other children’s self esteem, but even their own integrity. Other children will not even want to be around those children who like to hurt others and these children can even become bullies in their later years.

Looking back on what I have learnt so far on microaggressions and what I have observed and experienced, “it [Microaggression] is inescapable.”  It is also "arrogant for us to think that we are immune" as Sue (2011) has pointed out, for we have all “inherited some part of [the] failed social, psychological conditioning processes [of microaggressions] that have already occurred” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Thus as we become more aware of what microaggressions can do to ourselves and others, we need to work on our interactions, our interpersonal relationships skills our co-operative skills, support skills  and our shared sense of human interconnectedness(Laureate Education, Inc., 2011) so that we can treat others as we would want them to treat us.

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [video

webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_3398176_1%26url%3D