Page 62 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

36 taxonomy of microaggressions

But there is something more sinister and insidious in the reaction that
fosters fear that Blacks will become violent and out of control. This is
related to the next microinsult.
• Criminality/Assumption of Criminal Status — The theme of this micro-

insult appears to be very race specific and relates to beliefs that a person
of color is presumed to be dangerous, potentially a criminal, likely to
break the law, or antisocial. Women and LGBTs are unlikely to encounter
this form of microinsult. Numerous examples of this apply to African
Americans and Latinos. A White woman who clutches her purse more
tightly in the presence of Latinos, a White man checking for his wallet
while passing a group of African Americans on the sidewalk, and a sales
clerk requesting more pieces of identification to cash a check from a

Black than from a White customer are examples. Interestingly, our studies
suggest that assumption of criminal status is seldom attributed to Asian
Americans. Indeed, they are often viewed as law abiding, conforming,
unlikely to rock the boat, and less prone to violence (Sue, Bucceri, Lin,
Nadal, & Torino, 2007; Sue, Capodilupo, & Holder, 2008).
• Sexual Objectifi cation — Sexual objectification is the process by which

women are transformed into “ objects ” or property at the sexual disposal or
benefi t of men. There is a dehumanizing quality in this process because
women are stripped of their humanity and the totality of their human
essence (personal attributes, intelligence, emotions, hopes, etc.). Playboy
and Hustler magazine pictures of nude women, topless and bottomless
entertainment clubs, using scantily clad attractive female models in
commercials to sell goods or services, and countless other examples com-
municate that women ’ s bodies are not their own, and that they exist to
service the sexual fantasies and desires of men (Fredrickson & Roberts,

1997). The interaction of race and gender and sexual objectification can be
quite complex (Lott, Aquith, & Doyon, 2001). In one study it was found,
for example, that Asian American females often experienced microin-
sults related to exoticization (Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, & Torino, 2007).
Participants complained of continual subjugation to the roles of sexual
objects, domestic servants, and exotic images such as Geishas. They felt
their identities were equated to that of passive companions to White
men. Interestingly, some speculated that White men are often attracted to
Asian American women, who are perceived as feminine and submissive,
primarily as a backlash to feminist values and the feminist movement.

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