Page 93 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

The Microaggression Process Model 67

Likewise, in the second example, the female worker at her place of
employment is also asked to endure constant sexual objectifi cation, belittle-
ment, and disregard. Her lack of recognition by a superior and male coworker
who seems only to notice her body demean and diminish whatever contribu-
tions and accomplishments she achieves in the workplace. The boss does not
even remember her name. In this case, the lack of recognition, through no
fault of her own, may result in missed opportunities for a promotion (Sue,
Lin, & Rivera, 2009).
Finally, in an environment that sends messages of heterosexism such as
“ Don ’ t ask, don ’ t tell, ” and that directly and indirectly punishes gays, lesbi-
ans, and transgendered people for “ coming out, ” invisibility, isolation, and
silencing are a way of life for LGBTs (Hunter & Mallon, 2000). In order to
“ get along with others ” or to even have any relationship with signifi cant
others (parents, siblings, and relatives), for example, a gay man may feel
compelled to maintain silence because his sexual orientation is a taboo topic.
Sexual orientation, silence, and shame become equated with one another
(O ’ Brien, 2005).

THE MICROAGGRESSION PROCESS MODEL

Few studies have actually traced the impact of microaggressions from beginning
to end. From the moment a microaggression presents itself, what internal
psychological mechanisms are activated? How does a woman, for example,
process an incident of subtle sexism from a cognitive, emotional, and behavior
standpoint? What goes into the process of deciding how one should act in the face
of a microaggression? What short - term and long - term consequences do micro-
aggressions have on recipients? How do marginalized groups cope in the face
of these assaults and are some coping mechanisms more adaptive than others?
To address these questions, my research team conducted two separate
studies, one on a group of African American participants (Sue, Capodilupo, &
Holder, 2008), and another on a mixed group of informants of color (Sue,

Lin, Torino, Capodilupo, & Rivera, 2009). While the findings reported below
apply mainly to racial microaggressions, I believe the process described may
also be applicable to how women and LGBTs process and deal with subtle
sexism and heterosexism as well. Nevertheless, research on these two popu-
lations and other marginalized groups would be invaluable in identifying
similar and dissimilar variants of microaggressive processes. Table 4.1

identifies and summarizes the five domains (phases) that seem likely to occur

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