Page 66 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

40 taxonomy of microaggressions

1. Defi ning microaggressions. Microaggressions can be overt or covert but
they are most damaging when they occur outside the level of the con-
scious awareness of well-intentioned perpetrators. Most of us can recog-
nize and define overt forms of bias and discrimination and will actively

condemn such actions. However, the “invisible” manifestations are not
under conscious awareness and control, so they occur spontaneously
without any checks and balances in personal, social, and work-related
interactions. They can occur among and between family members,
neighbors, and coworkers, and in teacher–student, healthcare provider–
patient, therapist–client, and employer–employee relationships. They
are numerous, continuous, and have a detrimental impact upon targets.
Being able to define microaggressions and to know the various forms

they take must begin with a cognitive and intellectual understanding of
their manifestations and impact. The taxonomy described in this chapter
will, hopefully, provide readers with a template that will facilitate under-
standing of their concrete characteristics and qualities.
2. Recognizing microaggressions. Being able to define racial, gender, and

sexual-orientation microaggressions is not enough. Recognizing micro-
aggressions when they make their appearance is more than an intellec-

tual exercise in definitions. Their manifestations are dynamic, with very
real personal consequences that can only be ameliorated when recog-
nized in their interactional or environmental forms. Appropriate inter-
vention can only occur when microaggressions are recognized in the
here and now. Recognition may involve two different situations: (1) when
they are observed as occurring between external parties (delivered by
others), and (2) when you are one of the actors involved (perpetrator
or recipient). When you observe a microaggression being delivered by
someone else, the possibility of intervention may present a personal or
professional dilemma: “Should I or shouldn’t I intervene? If I do, what
is the most appropriate way to do so? What are the consequences if I
choose to take action?” The second situation involves you as either the
target or perpetrator. We will spend considerable time in future chap-
ters analyzing target impact and response issues. More importantly,
however, is your recognition that perhaps you have or are personally
engaging in the delivery of microaggressions. Self-monitoring, being
open to exploring the possibility that you have acted in a biased fash-
ion, and controlling defensiveness are crucial to recognizing when you
have been guilty of a microaggression.
(Continued)

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