Page 110 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

84 the microaggression process model

The Way Forward

Strength through Adversity

Our analysis of microaggressions from inception to end and the recognition
that there are cognitive, emotional, and behavioral costs to targets suggest
it would not be far-fetched to assume that microaggressions represent psy-
chological and social stressors likely to have an impact on the psychological
well-being and mental health status of targets. One of the most important
areas for future research deals with the need to identify and proactively
devise functional survival or adaptive mechanisms that can be used to
immunize people of color, women, and LGBTs against the stress and distress
of microaggressions (Utsey, Giesbrecht, Hook, & Stanard, 2008; Wei, Ku,
Russell, Mallinckrodt, & Liao, 2008; Yoo & Lee, 2008).
Two possible avenues of focus seem to exist: (1) we can remove or miti-
gate the causes of microaggressions that reside in individuals, institutions,
and our society, and/or (2) at the same time, we can teach targeted groups and
individuals about how to effectively take care of themselves. The former
focus requires massive changes in our cultural and social systems and
represents a major challenge that involves much time and effort. Meanwhile,
marginalized groups continue to be targets and to be potentially harmed.
Chapter 5 addresses how marginalized groups may have developed specifi c
strategies to deal with these insults.
Nevertheless, it is important to address one of the problematic percep-
tions that often arises when acknowledging the harmful impact of micro-
aggressions: the perception that people of color, women, and LGBTs are
weak, helpless, overly sensitive, and powerless victims (Thomas, 2008).

Nothing could be further from the truth. Throughout the first four chap-
ters we allude to strengths and resources developed by oppressed groups
to survive and, indeed, thrive under adverse conditions (Hanna, Talley, &
Guindon, 2000; Sue, 2003; Utsey et al., 2008; Yoo & Lee, 2008). A few identi-
fi ed attributes taken from Sue (2003) are:

1. Heightened perceptual wisdom—There is considerable evidence to
suggest that oppressed groups have developed an ability to discern the
truth and to determine reality better than those who occupy positions of
power and privilege. Forced to operate within a predominantly White,
male, and straight culture, marginalized groups have been immersed
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