Page 184 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

158 racial/ethnic microaggressions and racism

of pathologizing communication styles and ascription of intelligence
(Rivera, Forquer, & Rangel, in press) may be common experiences.
• However, noticeable thematic differences exist between the groups. It
was found that themes of being an alien in one’s own land and invisibility
were shared most by Asian Americans and Latinas/os, but not neces-
sarily with African Americans. However, Asian Americans were seldom
victims of assumption of criminality, while both Blacks and Latinas/os
experienced these themes consistently (Sue, Bucceri, et al., 2007). Our
earlier analysis supports the fact that historical stereotypes of Black
Americans as violent and dangerous and Asian Americans as law-abiding
and quiet may be at play.
• Another area that requires further research involves determining the
relative impact of different forms of microaggressions. Are certain themes
more likely to evoke distress and/or physiological, cognitive, emotional,
behavioral reactions? Is the impact of criminality greater for African
Americans than being perceived as a foreigner in one’s own country
for Asian Americans? Are some racial groups more likely to experience
microassaults (explicit) than microinvalidations (subtle)?
• There are also questions about the different impacts of microaggressions
when they are delivered by strangers, casual acquaintances, personal
friends, or family members. It would appear that the perpetrator’s rela-

tionship to the target would influence greatly how racial microaggressions
are perceived. Likewise, the status relationship between perpetrator and

target (power differential) is likely to influence how they are received. In
general, these are all researchable questions.
• Do different racial groups cope with microaggressive stressors differently?
Considerable evidence exists that reveals that coping is often infl uenced
by culture. It has been observed that African Americans are more likely
to be action-oriented than their American Indian counterparts. Research to
determine cultural coping strategies may allow us to build upon culture-
specifi c strategies in dealing with race-related stress.
• No one is free of bias, prejudice, or discrimination. When we speak
about racial microaggressions, one of the common questions is whether
people of color can microaggress toward one another. The answer is
“yes.” It is clear that different racial/ethnic groups can hold biases and
stereotypes toward one another. Some of the interracial and interethnic
confl icts between Latinas/os and African Americans, for example, are
fi lled with bias and discrimination. People of color, however, are wary

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