Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

            Microaggressions are words, actions, or aspects of the environment that cause discomfort, invisibility, or a feeling of being devalued to a person (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).  These can be intentional or unintentional; often the perpetrator is said to be unaware of the act or its impact (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).  Dr. Sue discussed in-depth, three types of microaggression:  racial, sexual-orientation, and gender.

            The example I would like to describe for this assignment is a racial microaggression.  The center I was working in at the time this occurred had a very diverse staff.  Each month a pot-luck would be planned and caregivers were asked to volunteer to bring dishes that fit with the theme.  I heard the person who was organizing this potluck say to several staff members, “This month is Mexican food.  We have lots of staff that are Hispanic so we should have lots of really good Mexican dishes to pick from”, [Personal communication. n.d.]  This was said to non-Hispanic and Hispanic members of the staff.

            Not only did this person make the assumption that because one is Hispanic they must be able to cook Mexican food, but did not consider the fact that maybe they did not like Mexican food or would even want to participate in this function.  The staff members were from many different countries to include Panama, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, and Mexico to name just a few.  The staff members found this offensive to be lumped under one category and have stereotypical assumptions based upon their ability to speak Spanish.

            I was surprised that this statement was even made to begin with by a person in her position and that it was not corrected by her superiors.  As professionals we should more aware of our words, actions and their effects upon other people.  She seemed totally unaware of the discomfort she had caused.  The staff members were hesitant to bring this up, in fear of repercussions because she was a member of lower management and had a close relationship with members of senior management. 

            I would also like to share an example of what I feel are internalized messages (Margles and Margles, 2010), of racial microaggression.  One of the parents from my classroom, who was a care provider at the center as well, was of Mexican descent.   On more than one occasion while in my classroom spending time with her infant would make comments that I felt were derogatory or stereotypical that were directed at her own race.  They would be in reference to how “she must dress or feed her infant.  She would state because Mexican’s do it that way”.  Or she would state how she did not want people to think her baby was dirty because she was Mexican and they could be known to not be clean sometimes.  Her husband was black and she would also make comments in reference to what black people did or thought.  On several occasions I would try to point out to her that we must be careful not to stereotype and make comments based upon race within the classroom environment.  I understood that her purpose was not to be negative; but not everyone that may hear her, or the children present in the classroom would know that and one could take offense or feel it was directed towards them.   We had a good, open relationship and were able to discuss this as adults.  I feel certain that her intent was not to be hurtful or negative; but the messages being sent could be considered microaggressions to a person hearing them.  This gave me cause to consider that discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes come in many forms, from many people both outside of and from within a culture.  I had not thought much about internalized messages of racism and how they could be passed on from within a race or culture (Margles and Margles, 2010).  My thoughts had been more of someone from outside a culture or race being the person doing these acts.  This is another example of the negative and harmful impact of how society views and openly discriminates against its members and the forms that the repercussions can take.  As stated several times within this week’s discussions and learning resources, it is not the obvious and most blatant acts doing the most damage (Laureate Education Inc., 2011).

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life. [Video podcast]. With Dr. Derald Wing Sue. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_3468047_1%26url%3D

Margles, S., & Margles, M. (2010, Spring). Inverting racism's distortions. Our Schools, our Selves, 19, 137-149. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/872774698?accountid=14872