Blog: Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

                 

Describe at least one example of a microaggressions which you detected this week or remember from another time. 

When describing one example in which I detected microaggressions this week was an incident that occurred at my place of employment with a nutrition aid worker and myself. I am an African American woman and I work with a Hispanic woman together we are early childhood development teachers. In our early child development center we are required to work with eight children who ages are two years old in the classroom. In which, we are required to have a family style setting during meal time. It was lunch time and we began preparation for lunch. Once we sat down at the table to eat the food I tested the chicken and realized that the nutrition aid worker at our site must be unaware she had prepared spoiled chicken.Therefore, I immediately told the other teacher and children that the chicken was bad and it will make them sick if they ate the chicken. I quickly removed the spoiled chicken from the children’s plates and took the bowl of chicken and informed the director to smell the chicken, because it smelled bad and maybe it was spoiled. I understand that I didn’t report to the nutrition aid worker what had occurred, because she and I had a disagreement before between us, therefore I didn’t want a confrontation with the nutrition aid again. So I reported to the director my concern regarding the incident about the chicken and the safety of the children health.

The director addresses the problem to the nutrition aid worker after she witnesses for herself by smelling the chicken and detecting it was bad and informed staff about the incident. The director and other staff agreed with me and disposed the chicken immediately.

Next, the nutrition aid returned to my classroom and confronted me and said, “I cook this chicken this way all the time”. Which I said,” it’s nothing wrong with the way you cook it’s that the chicken smell bad” and she looked directly at me while the other teacher was present in the classroom and said to me “maybe you are just tried of chicken”.

For instance, there is another teacher working in the classroom with me who is Hispanic like herself and had also detected that it was something wrong with the chicken. Therefore, I thought to myself why would the nutrition aid worker approaches me and directly made the remark that created a racial microaggressions remark about the chicken. 

According to, Dr. Sue “There are times when verbal behaviors create feelings of uncertainty, inferiority or marginalization even though no offense was consciously intended. Such behaviors are called microaggressions.” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). I am a black woman and I admit I love to eat chicken and I love to eat other meat as well, such as seafood, beef, and occasionally pork. However, her remark consisted of a brief everyday indignities which are communicated intentionally or unintentionally to people of color.

In what context did the microaggressions happen? 

What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggressions or when you found yourself as the target of a microaggressions? 

The context of microaggressions happen was that the concept of racial microaggressions took place in this particular incident. I was offended when I found myself as the target of a microaggressions. My first thought was what did she meant by saying maybe you are tired of chicken.In addition, I felt insulted because I wasn't sure why she would say such a thing directly to me and not say anything to the other teacher who was present in the classroom who also, address her concern about the chicken smelling bad.

I thought why did she pick me and I thought immediately that the nutrition aid remark and behavior created feelings of stereotyping people of racial microaggressions. That consisted of unsettling emotions in others, even though it may or may not have been intended or unintended on a conscious or unconscious level. However, though out the day I felt very uncomfortable, because of the hidden message that I felt was being communicated to me. “And that hidden message that many Asians and Latinos experience is a message that you are a perpetual foreigner in your own land. Now these two minor examples are indicators of what I call racial microaggressions.” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). 

According to Dr. Sue “ Microaggressions are brief everyday indignities, May be verbal, behavioral, or environmental, Are communicated intentionally or unintentionally to women, to people of color, to gay/lesbians that have an insulting message behind them often time causes severe psychological distress and harm.” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).

“That’s what we mean by a racial, gender, sexual orientation microaggressions.” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). “They can be based upon any marginalized group in the United States.” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).

 In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people? 

The ways my observation experiences this week affect my perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people perceives my thought is no matter who, what, where and why you may be conscious or unconscious of racial, gender, sexual orientation microaggressions will always exist day in and day out. I learned microaggressions is a learned behavior that is intentionally or unintentionally portrayed by individual attitude towards a person, place or a thing. In which, they might have mixed emotions about how they feel about a person who are in situations that may have been exposed throughout life experiences within their environment at an early age of growth and development.

For example,a little girl in my classroom who is an Asian child was given three African American puppets a man, women, and child and her teacher who is a Hispanic said to me, “Herleen watch this” and she held up each puppet and showed them to the child. 

The first puppet was a man and the teacher said to the child who is this and the little girl said,” daddy”. 

Next, the teacher held up the women puppet and said who is this and she said, “Herleen”.

When the child was shown the child puppet the teacher asked her who is this and the little girl didn’t answer, but the little boy who was Hispanic age two years old stood next to her said, “that is me”. 

Therefore, children at an early age grow up to become an adult develop a learned behavior based on what they personally experience at an early age during grow and development. These behaviors can develop into behaviors called microaggressions. In which affect people by gender, race, age, height, Wight, disability, ability and even sexual orientation does excise day to day and day in and day out of people lives experiences learn within their environment will encounter a situation that will consist of microagressions.

Reference: 

(Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).