Page 67 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

Microaggressive Themes 41

3. Deconstructing the hidden meaning of microaggressions. Microaggress-

ions are reflections of worldviews that are filled with ethnocentric values,

biases, assumptions, and stereotypes that have been strongly culturally
inculcated into our beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Microaggressions
usually send double messages that are often contradictory to one another.
A common microaggression directed toward people of color and women

is symbolized in this statement: “I believe the most qualified person should
be offered the job.” While few of us would disagree with this statement, in
certain contexts, when made to a devalued group member by a major-
ity person, there may be a hidden message: “Minorities and women are

generally not qualified, so don’t blame me of bias when it is offered to a
White male.”
Being able to define and recognize microaggressions and being able

to deconstruct the metacommunications are very challenging goals. They
are the necessary preconditions to effective interventions, whether in per-
sonal or professional settings. Only when awareness is present can action
be taken in education, training, or remediation to overcome racial, gender,
and sexual-orientation microaggressions.

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