Page 19 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

Preface xvii

in daily conversations and interactions that they are often dismissed and
glossed over as being innocent and innocuous. Yet, as indicated previously,
microaggressions are detrimental to persons of color because they impair
performance in a multitude of settings by sapping the psychic and spiritual
energy of recipients and by creating inequities.
Microaggressions in Everyday Life is divided into four major sections:

Section One: Psychological Manifestation and Dynamics of
Microaggressions is composed of three chapters.
Chapter 1: The Manifestation of Racial, Gender, and Sexual-
Orientation Microaggressions introduces the reader to the overall
definition of microaggressions, their everyday manifestations,

hidden demeaning messages, and their detrimental impact upon
recipients. It reveals how marginality is similarly expressed by
well-intentioned individuals toward people of color, women,
and LGBTs. It does this by providing numerous examples of the
everyday indignities visited upon these groups. More disturbing
is the conclusion that everyone has engaged in harmful conduct
toward other socially devalued groups.
Chapter 2: Taxonomy of Microaggressions provides readers
with a way to classify microaggressions, the three forms they
take (microassault, microinsult, and microinvalidation), their
hidden insulting and hostile messages, and their harmful impact
upon recipients. Microaggressions appear to be classifi able under
different racial, gender, and sexual-orientation themes. These

themes appear to be a reflection of stereotypes and worldviews of
inclusion–exclusion and superiority–inferiority.
Chapter 3: The Psychological Dilemmas and Dynamics of
Microaggressions is an attempt to analyze how microaggres-
sions create dilemmas and distress to people of color, women,
and LGBTs. Four major psychological dilemmas confront targets
when microaggressions make their appearance. First, there is a
clash of racial, gender, and sexual-orientation realities, in which both
perpetrator and target interpret the situation differently. Second,
because the bias is invisible, perpetrators are unaware that they
have insulted or demeaned the target and are allowed to continue
in the belief of their innocence. Third, even when microaggressions

1/19/10 6:05:01 PM
fpref.indd xvii 1/19/10 6:05:01 PM
fpref.indd xvii