Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An example of a microaggression act that I remember is when I accompanied my sister to the bank a few years ago. I was wearing white pants and ankle long shirt with soft blue headscarf, which I have learned afterwards it was the attire of nuns belonging to a particular congregation in that area. My sister was wearing a short jeans skirt with a white t-shirt; we were dressed so socially differently that no one would have guessed we were sisters. As soon as I entered, I was greeted with great respect and was told that I did not need to take a number and was ushered to the VIP service room, in which I was offered coffee while I waited. The employee was so friendly and respectful that I was starting to think that I can still be treated with respect, despite my veil, which had been a hindrance ever since I started wearing it, not too long before that incident. However, all that has changed just as soon as the employee took my name and recognized it as Muslim. She realized that I was not a nun, I was a veiled woman! She stopped looking at me in the eye and was in a hurry to leave the room.  She politely asked me to wait as someone would come shortly to tend to my business and left. I could feel from the look on her face that she was uncomfortable with me in her office. The funny thing is that I was not angry at her, I was just sad from the fact that a personal belief would stand in the way between me and the rest of the world. I mean this is a personal choice, and I do not hurt anyone by putting a headscarf on my head. My sister is a Muslim, too, but she chose not wear the veil. Why does that make her more acceptable in society? And why does a nun, whose wardrobe, apparently, was not so different than mine, is more accepted, as a person?

I have learned this week that many people host some traces of bias that transpire at certain cues. Unfortunately, I have discovered that, occasionally, I also fall under this category. I have recognized that having good intentions does not negate the effects that my unintentional microaggressions may have on others. I have to admit that previously I had thought that only intense, obvious, and direct aggressive insults can hurt other individuals. And these I could handle quite well. After examining various manifestations of microinsults, microinvalidations, and microassaults this week, my dispositions became rather different.

Upon gaining awareness of microaggressions and the serious effects of discriminatory and stereotyping acts on individuals, I am more mindful of the importance of responsibly addressing them as they transpire. With this new assimilated knowledge, I do believe that I can better identify instances in which microaggressions may occur in the classroom and beyond. As an educator, it is important to acquire the skills to confront all forms of microaggression as they emerge, because we are the supports that children count on in helping them understand the confusions and contradictions that ensue from microaggressions to which they get subjected (Derman-Sparks, & Edwards, 2010).

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).