Page 109 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

The Microaggression Process Model 83

( “ Was it racially motivated? ” ) aimed at trying to determine whether an action or

statement was racially motivated can be a short - or long - term process ( “ yes, ”
“ no, ” “ maybe, ” or “ don ’ t know ” ). Regardless, considerable psychic energy
is expended during this process, which is dependent on a number of factors:
ambiguity of the incident, personal attributes of the recipient, form of the
microaggression, perpetrator ’ s relationship to the recipient, power differential
between the players, and so on. If the event is deemed to be a microaggression,
it appears to impact three domains: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral (Sue,
Lin, Torino, et al., 2009).

1. On the cognitive level, an internal dialogue seems to take place: “ Was it
a microaggression? How should I respond? What will be the consequences
if I do? Will I be supported by others or attacked/invalidated? ”

2. On the behavioral level, most people of color chose to do nothing for

a number of different reasons (fear of retaliation, fleeting nature of the
microaggression, unable to determine appropriate response, paralyzed
by emotional turmoil, etc.). Of those who responded to the perpetrator,
behaviors took many forms (confrontation and attack, attempt to educate
the perpetrator while maintaining a relationship, forced compliance,
rescuing the offender, etc.).
3. Microaggressions appear to take the greatest toll on the emotional func-

tioning of our participants and might also have long - term implications
on their mental health and subjective feelings of well - being (Sue, Lin,
Torino, et al., 2009). When racial microaggressions occur in the class-
room, for example, students of color commonly reported becoming (1)
“ incensed ” when their integrity was assailed, (2) “ anxious ” when they
feared consequences, and (3) “ exhausted ” in having to deal with a never -
ending string of microaggressions. Participants frequently described
“ being sucked dry ” and “ constantly being the one to keep on stepping
up to the plate to educate people. ”

The microaggressive process model proposed here is a descriptive one and
attempts to identify the internal psychological dynamics that occur within
targeted individuals and groups. It is certainly not exhaustive and future
research would be helpful in clarifying possible other processes and themes
involved in each phase. Such knowledge may prove valuable in developing
possible adaptive strategies that help shield marginalized groups from the
harm inflicted by microaggressions.

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