Page 114 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

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induced through microaggressions, however, are less obvious and visible.
Commission of a hate crime or overt deliberate racism, for example, leaves
little doubt that harm was inflicted on the target (racial taunts, refusing service,

physical assaults, and murders). The impact is immediate and visible. Yet, the
impact of microaggressions is generally subtle, not immediately visible, and
the effects are often delayed or not noticeable (internal struggle).
Microinsults and microinvalidations often come from a catch - 22 created by

double messages (Sue, Capodilupo, et al., 2007). The type of conflict and stress
occurs outside the view of well - intentioned perpetrators and observers. The

internal conflict between explicit and implicit messages (meanings) creates an
exceptionally stressful situation because it (1) fosters confusion between the
overt message and one ’ s experiential reality, (2) implies perpetrators are not
true friends or allies, (3) alters an important personal, social, or professional
relationship with perpetrators, and (4) places targets in an unenviable position
of ascertaining when, where, and how to resist oppression versus when to
accommodate it (Pierce, 1988; Sue, Lin, Torno, et al., 2009).
In the psychological literature, microaggressions fulfill the criteria of being

stressors; they represent external events or situations that place a psycho-
logical or physical demand on targets (King, 2005; Lazarus & Folkman,
1984; Utsey, Giesbrecht, Hook, & Stanard, 2008). In addition to the normal
life stressors experienced by everyone, people of color, women, and LGBTs
experience race - related, gender - related, or sexual - orientation - related stress.
Further, while hate crimes or deliberate sexual harassment may threaten
physical safety, microinsults and microinvalidations attack the self - esteem,
belief systems, and racial, gender, or sexual - orientation identity of targets
(Sue & Capodilupo, 2008). Few would question that the young African
American male above is under severe and continuing stress. He is exposed
to constant microaggressions, feels powerless to do anything about them,
suppresses internal racial rage, and is tired and exhausted from the constant
racial bombardment directed toward him.

BIOLOGICAL STRESSORS AND CONSEQUENCES

In many respects, the early general adaptation syndrome (GAS) model devel-
oped by Selye (1956, 1982) to explain the body ’ s reaction to biological stressors
(invasion by viruses, bacteria, or toxins) appears to be a good psychological
analogy for understanding the effects of microaggressions, as well. Selye

identified three stages that he labeled alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

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