Page 49 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

Conscious and Deliberate Bigotry 23

opportunity arises have been labeled conscious - deliberate bigots (Sue, 2003).
In the area of racism, for example, they vary from people who privately harbor
racial animosity but do a good job of concealing it, to those who are more
overt and publicly demonstrable, and finally to those who might be labeled

White supremacists. In most cases, these individuals are held in check from
overt discrimination by legal, moral, and social constraints. These individuals
form probably a small number, although they have great public impact. It is
believed, for example, that fewer than 15% of White Americans can be classi-

fied as overtly racist (Pettigrew, 1981). Many multicultural scholars believe it
is easier for people of color and women to deal with the overt and deliberate
forms of bigotry than the subtle and unintentional forms, because no guess-
work is involved (Dovidio & Gaertner, 2000; Salvatore & Shelton, 2007; Sue,
2003; Swim & Cohen, 1997). It is the unconscious and unintentional forms of
bias that create the overwhelming problems for marginalized groups in our
society (Sue, 2003; 2005).

The Changing Face of Racism, Sexism, and Heterosexism

Bias, prejudice, and discrimination in North America have undergone a trans-
formation, especially in the post – civil rights era when the democratic
belief in the equality of marginalized groups (racial minorities, women,
and gays/lesbians) directly clashes with their long history of oppression in

society (Dovidio & Gaertner, 2000; Hylton, 2005; Satcher & Leggett, 2007;
Swim, Mallett, & Stangor, 2004). In the case of racism, its manifestation has
been found to be more disguised and covert rather than overtly expressed
in the form of racial hatred and bigotry (Sue, 2003). Research also indicates
that sexism and heterosexism have not decreased, but instead have become
more ambiguous and nebulous, making them more difficult to identify and

acknowledge (Hylton, 2005; Morrison & Morrison, 2002; Swim & Cohen, 1997).
While hate crimes and racial, gender, and sexual-orientation harassment
continue to be committed by overt racists, sexists, and heterosexists/homo-
phobes, the greatest harm to persons of color, women, and homosexuals does
not come from these conscious perpetrators. It is not the White supremacists,
Klansmen or Skinheads, for example, who pose the greatest threat to people of
color, but rather well - intentioned people, who are strongly motivated by egalitar-
ian values, who believe in their own morality, and who experience themselves
as fair - minded and decent people who would never consciously discriminate
(Sue, 2005). These individuals have been labeled unconscious - unintentional
oppressors or bigots (Sue, 2003). Because no one is immune from inheriting the

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