Microaggressions
Part A: The Concept of Microaggressions
Microaggressions refer to the brief, stunning verbal, non-verbal, or environmental actions that communicate hostile and derogatory messages to the minority groups in society (Sue & Spanierman, 2020). Microaggressions occur in daily exchanges among people and may be intentional or unintentional. They are seen as subtle insults, which may affect people differently depending on the extent of the offense designated to the target. Microaggressions affect different minority groups, including but not limited to the people of color, women, people with disabilities, religious minorities, and LGBT persons (Sue & Spanierman, 2020). Instances of microaggressions are usually minimal and may appear harmless to the target. However, when such instances constantly occur throughout someone’s life, the consequences may harm them psychologically and emotionally.
What separates microaggressions from social faux pas is the intent of the perpetrator to cause harm to the target. A social faux pas is usually a social blunder or a mistake people often make in social contexts. A social faux pas is mostly unintentional, and the effects are less harmful compared to the effects caused by microaggressions. Microaggressions are constant, happen every day, and may thus create hostile living environments considering their discriminatory nature. Microaggressions mostly make minority groups feel worthless in society and may cause serious psychological distress compared to a social faux pas.
Considering racial microaggressions in the United States, it is true that racial discrimination has been in existence for decades. Furthermore, the minority groups, especially the people of color, have limited access to good education, employment, and healthcare services. Racial microaggressions are thus common in everyday interactions due to the systemic inequalities in the societies, which often go unnoticed (Sue, 2010). For instance, people of color have long been presumed to be criminals and dangerous for society. As such, a black man may get in a shopping store and have a clerk following him around, giving the impression that they are worried that he may steal. Additionally, one may congratulate a Latina for speaking fluent English, giving the impression that they are not expected to do so. Such occurrences often give the impression that Latinos are less intelligent compared to other people (Sue & Spanierman, 2020). Looking down on people and forming stereotypes about them based on their racial identity is a form of microaggressions, which may have detrimental effects on the target groups. In addition to racial microaggressions, gender discrimination in society is also common. It mostly affects women, and the discrimination in social areas occurs in different forms, including sexual objectification of women, expecting women to assume traditional gender roles, and treating them as inferior people, either physically or intellectually (Nadal, 2014). Sexual objectification against women, which makes them feel reduced to their physical appearance, is an example of gender microaggressions against women (Sue, 2010). For instance, a man trying to look at a woman’s breasts, catcalling her in the streets, or trying to touch them in public is offensive behavior among women. Additionally, women are considered less competent compared to men in terms of their physical and intellectual abilities.
Like racism and sexism, sexual orientation microaggressions are common biases against the sexual minority groups in society. Groups of people affected by sexual orientation microaggressions include gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people, commonly known as the LGBT (Nadal, 2014). Sexual minorities may experience discrimination in their places of work, in healthcare settings, or in schools. Some verbal and sometimes non-verbal messages make the LGBT individuals feel as if they are second-class citizens or condemned based on their sexual orientation or gender representation. LGBT individuals are exposed to overt sexual prejudice, heterosexist, transphobic language, and behaviors. Additionally, LGBT individuals may experience hate crimes that are targeted to them based on their sexual orientation. Sue (2010) notes that hate crimes against LGBT individuals occur every day, but are subtle and unreported, making them seem non-existent. An LGBT child may experience verbal and physical abuse from schoolmates through bullying and being called derogatory names, which may leave them psychologically distressed.
As noted above, microaggressions based on race/ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexuality are sometimes intentional or committed unconsciously. The harm caused on the target is, in most cases, minimal such that the perpetrators are more often unaware of the harm they cause. The casual treatment of microaggressions makes them seem more culturally perpetrated than mere individual infractions. The society has accepted that microaggressions are subtle and invisible to people that they seem to normalize such acts. Microaggressions are inevitable when culturally diverse people interact since people use their cultural beliefs and values to determine how to treat different people (Sue, 2010). People are prone to inheriting racial, gender, and sexual orientation biases depending on their cultural upbringing, and no one is safe from committing or perpetrating microaggressions
The society plays a major role in perpetuating discrimination against minority groups. Societal values and attitudes towards certain groups of people provide the idea of what society perceives to be right or wrong, and how to treat certain people. For instance, a vast majority of black communities are associated with poor learning conditions where schools in the inner cities have many students with limited resources to facilitate learning. Thus, society has been structured in a way that the poor minority groups receive a poor education, which limits their future employment achievements (Sue, 2010). Historical evidence suggests that black minorities attain little education and have limited access to education, making them a target for racial microaggressions. A person may unintendedly commit racial microaggressions against people of color unknowingly because of the systemic societal discriminations present in society. This is the same case for people brought up in families with a negative attitude towards gay and lesbian relationships. People brought up in families that do not recognize diversity may unconsciously commit microaggressions. However, everyone, including the marginalized group members, harbors prejudices and may act in discriminatory ways (Sue & Spanierman,2020). As such, a person of color may thus comment on Muslim people being terrorists without the intention of causing distress to them.
Part B: Discrimination in the Workplace
Cases of discriminatory practices within organizations where organizations treat employees differently based on their race or gender are rampant. In 2002, 15 workers filed a $7.4 billion racial discrimination lawsuit against General Motors Corporation, citing racial discrimination in the workplace (Karsten, 2006). The complainant accused the company of perpetuating racial discrimination against two of its work stations in Michigan. The 15 workers cited that the company did nothing to stop racial harassment against minority employees at its truck assembly plant and a truck engineering and development center in Michigan. According to the plaintiffs, African, Native, and Latino Americans often encountered racial slurs and harassing comments from colleagues, and the company failed to prompt any remedial action despite their complaints. Additionally, minority female employees received threatening phone calls and less respect in their workstations. In their defense, however, the company stated that it did not condone such behaviors among its employees, and they did everything to limit racial and gender harassment (Karsten, 2006). Looking at General Motors’ case of 2002, it is evident that the company did not properly sensitize its employees to embrace cultural diversity in the workplace. With the current globalization and the movement of people from one country to another, interactions among individuals of diverse racial diversities are inevitable.
I would, therefore, ensure that all employees undergo vigorous training on how to embrace cultural diversity in the workplace. Training employees on the importance of working together is the initial step of embracing diversity in the workplace and may help in reducing incidents of racial discrimination (Karsten, 2006). However, training employees on multicultural diversity only may not be enough if the leaders in the organizations remain unconscious of the essential role of diversity in the workplace. Thus, I would ensure that the leaders also receive effective training on how to facilitate diversity in the workplace and resolve harassment cases among employees. Additionally, I would develop clear expectations of the company concerning employee interactions and put forth measures to ensure that minority employees, including women and religious minorities, are not harassed. The measures may include appropriate ways of treating female employees when pregnant, allowing them to observe their religious festivals, and providing equal opportunities for all irrespective of their race. With the guidelines laid out, and employees trained on diversity, I would set disciplinary actions to be taken against those who commit discriminatory actions against minority employees.
References
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Karsten, M. F. (2006). Gender, race, and ethnicity in the workplace: Issues and challenges for todays organizations. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Nadal, K. L. (2014). A guide to responding to microaggressions. In Cuny Forum (Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 71-6).
Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions and marginality: Manifestations, dynamic, and impact. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Sue, D. W., & Spanierman, L. (2020). Microaggressions in everyday life. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
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