Microaggression Defined: Examples of Microaggressive Behavior

Microaggressions are microinsults that have to do with a person’s race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or other identifiable characteristics. These put-downs are more likely to come across as bigoted rather than cruel.

Regardless, these microinvalidations betray the insensitivity, ignorance, and implicit bias of the people who say them. They’re an extra hurdle marginalized people have to jump over to live in contemporary society.

Harvard professor of psychology Chester M. Pierce first coined the term “microaggression” to describe the phenomenon of white people committing egregious but subtle slights toward people of color. Psychologist and Columbia University professor Derald Wing Sue—as well as his colleagues Christina Capodilupo, Kevin Nadal, and Gina Torino—also deserve credit for further expanding the vocabulary of what microaggressions entail.

People who commit microaggressions demean others who already face structural barriers to success and well-being. This can take a toll on the offended person’s mental health, as well as foreground feelings of unacceptance from the predominant culture around them. Some psychologists develop entire clinical practices around helping people overcome the negative messaging of microaggressions.

There are many different forms of microaggressions, all of which can do damage to an already vulnerable person’s psyche. Here are some common themes around which microaggressive behaviors center:

1. 1. Alien in one’s own land: Microaggressions often convey that a person’s race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and so on excludes them from their surrounding society. When people make snide or even clumsy remarks about a person’s identity, it compounds the feeling that person might have about feeling like a stranger in their own town.
2. 2. Ascription of intelligence: Sometimes people intend microaggressions to be compliments. For example, imagine a college student telling their Black professor, “You’re smart for an African American.” This implies it’s atypical for Black people to be smart, making the comment a racist insult more than an appraisal. Commenting on someone’s physical health or stature can have the same effect.
3. 3. Assumption of criminality: This type of microaggression might be more recognizable through action than speech. Suppose a white man walks at a steady pace through his city so long as he’s surrounded by other white people. Now imagine this same person picks up his pace and keeps looking over his shoulder when he notices a Latino man in his vicinity. This implies he believes the other man is more likely to harm him simply because of his race or ethnicity.
4. 4. Myth of meritocracy: When people assume the best person always wins, they ignore the plight racial minorities, women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized groups have faced throughout history. Meritocracy might have some sway, but forms of structural and systemic bigotry have just as powerful an effect.
5. 5. Pathologizing cultural norms: Suppose you insist a person from a different culture engage in interpersonal communication the exact same way you do. This ignores the fact they might relate to their coworkers or colleagues in a different way. By insisting your way is right and their way is wrong, you imply your identity and style of behavior is superior to theirs.
6. 6. Second-class citizenship: Imagine if a white woman were to enter a store and approach a Black customer as if they must be an employee. Singling someone out like this indicates you think they’re more likely to be in a subservient position to you and others like you. Needless to say, this can make even the most confident and self-assured people feel like second-class citizens.

These slights, sometimes intentional and sometimes unintentional, come from all sorts of different angles. Consider these examples of microaggressions and why they are destructive:

• “I don’t see color.” This microassault might come from good intentions, but it still carries a powerful punch for people of color. When people say color doesn’t make an impact in their lives, they refuse to recognize the indignities and inequities a person might have faced due to the color of their skin.
• “I’m not racist; I have Black friends.” Just because someone has a close relationship with a Black person doesn’t mean they can’t hold racist or racially tinged attitudes in general. Furthermore, singling out their Black friends this way is a racial microaggression in its own right.
• “Where were you born?” Whether a person poses this question in a very diverse big city like New York or a more racially homogenized location, it will still almost always come off as a microaggression. It suggests someone must have come from outside the community, thus otherizing and alienating them.

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