Is Microaggression Really a Big Deal?

'I like when people make assumptions about me based on my race,’ said no one ever. Microaggressions are a social issue that is becoming more and more of an addressed topic. 

Addressing the Elephant in the Room

With the times we are living in now, people can be quick to take offense with overt comments that can be made when approaching somebody due to their racial background. It is so easy to make a comment without even thinking twice about saying it that sometimes it can unknowingly be a form of second nature for some. But people who receive these comments have every valid reason to feel offended if these comments are assumptions solely based on plain ignorance.

‘But I like when people make assumptions about me based on my race,’ said no one ever.  

The Good Old Microaggressions...

Comments like this come from the good old term of microaggression. According to Derald Wing Sue, a professor of Psychology at Columbia University, the term microaggression is the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership. One of the groups that receive the brunt of these remarks are women of color.

Black women are historically known for being strong individuals who have defied the odds in many ways possible. However, they are still misunderstood in our world. Many black women have experienced unwelcome forms of microaggression made by other people of different backgrounds due to ignorant assumptions.

What Exactly Has Been Said?

Some comments that have been made directly towards black women have been remarks that are offensive and ignorant. One example is, “You don’t act like a normal black girl.” Sometimes these comments are made by non-blacks directly towards a black woman who is seen as being a professional person who carries herself in a way that isn’t anything like how she is stereotyped generally.

“Working in corporate, I was exposed to all types of comments and assumptions that got under my skin,” said Vivica Keyes, a former insurance representative at Colonial Life. “When I was introduced to my co-workers, things were fine until they introduced me to the black co-workers. They would say things like ‘Of course you know this person’ and would point to them and laugh like it was funny.”

Comments like these that are conveyed are highly ignorant and can be a stumbling black for women in the work field. There are also comments that show forms of microaggression when it comes to deciphering a black woman’s full ethnicity with comments on her appearance as far as skin color and hair texture.

“When I was growing up, I was told that I was pretty for a black girl or else most of my schoolmates didn’t know I was black until one day when they saw my dad pick me up from school,” said Aja Echols, a personal trainer at 24-hour fitness.

Sad Truths of Colorism

“Are you mixed?” That is one of the questions that is a form of microaggression that many women of color on the lighter side with longer hair get. This is seen as a form of colorism. Colorism is defined as a form of prejudice or discrimination in which people are treated differently based on the social meanings attached to skin color, according to Time.com.

“I have had people run their fingers through my hair on many occasions, whether I wear my hair in natural curls or straighten it, without my permission,” said Brittany Jackson, a Business associate. “Then a lot of them automatically assumed I was mixed and would say that I’m pretty because apparently I had Eurocentric features.”

Sad to say, there have even been forms of microaggressive black on black crime that has taken the place. This self rooted lack of confidence has a lot to do with how society treats people of color already and how they feed off on comments, assumptions and claims.

“I was eating at a restaurant with my friends and this blac gentleman approached us and called her a “Halfrican” because she was lighter skinned and then looked at me and said I was pretty for a chocolate woman because not a lot of us are ‘in style’ anymore,” said Airion Spann, a nurse assistant at Kaiser. “I told him that i’m pretty period no matter what complexion I am. Black is beautiful.”

Microaggressive comments continue to be something that affects all types of people in our world, especially women of color. They are offenses that should not be taken lightly because in the end of the day, a human is a human. Everybody deserves to be treated kindly with respect and dignity no matter what background they come from.