Alexandra Pelonia: Hello everyone. My name is Dr. Alexandra Polonia
and I am a post-doc from the health center. So
this presentation is about microaggression and how
to respond to microaggressions specifically
during this pandemic. So we will be covering what
is microaggression, types of microaggression, some
examples, and of course, discussing its impact.
I think towards the end and we will be
talking about how there's an obvious increase of
racism and make more aggressive behaviors towards
people of color during this pandemic. So we will
be talking about some tips that I hope will be
helpful for everyone moving forward.
So we can start. So microaggression is not
necessarily a new term or a construct or like a
buzzword that's just you know suddenly came about.
So microaggression is a term coined by Chester
Pierce in the 1970s when he was studying racism
among African-Americans. The history of micro-
aggression is really tied to the study and
exploration of racism. "Microaggression" gained popularity
years later when researchers such as Dr. Sue and
Dr. Mittal elaborated on microaggression by
examining the experiences of other minority or
marginalized groups including their ethnicity,
sexual orientation, disability, etc. But what is
microaggression? Microaggression is
defined by Sue as daily verbal and non-verbal
intentional or non-intentional
messages, behaviors that are hostile and derogatory.
Most often than not these messages strike at a
person's membership to a particular marginalized
group. Microaggressions cut across all social
identities including race, ethnicity, religion,
nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity,
gender expression, age, disability status,
socioeconomic class, and other important social
dimensions. Microaggressions
share some elements with stereotypes you know like
they work in every direction and they are mostly
built on assumptions and over generalizations. They
are rarely meant to offend other people. However,
due to their very nature microaggressions often
do so. So comments regarding race or commonly
called racism in society today are observable and
purposeful behaviors that attacks or discriminate
against racial minorities. So just a couple
examples of what microaggression would look like.
So statement such as
questions about where, or "I really like
where are you from". "Oh you speak really good
English for an immigrant." "Why haven't you found
a husband yet?" Or asking someone
"Where do I get the drugs?" or whatnot. For other
people it may seem like it's not a big deal or not
problematic asking these questions or
saying these statements. However these questions
or statements perpetuate stereotypes and biases
that we have towards other people. To further
explain or give you more ideas about
microaggression, we're going to talk about the
three types of microaggression studied by Dr. Sue.
So we have three types of microaggression which
are the micro-assaults, micro-insults, and micro-
validations. So for micro-assaults, these are
the biggest and the most explicitly violent type
of microaggressions. So they're very obvious.
They're usually deliberate and done on purpose.
They usually happen when the
perpetrator is anonymous or when the perpetrator
is supported by their peers around them or if they
know that they can get away with it. These are
conscious and biased beliefs that are expressed
overtly. So, for example, a household that will
display a swastika flag or an explicit
avoidance of people of color like walking to the
opposite side of the street when they see a person
of color coming towards them or avoiding them in
elevators or whatnot. So such kinds of explicit and
overt behaviors that relay
a message that is hostile or derogatory in
sense. The second one is micro-insults. So
these are very tricky to identify
but they're the most common
form of microaggression. So these are like subtle
acts which convey contempt and disrespect for
someone. So like I said they're subtle. They're
kind of like spur of the moment,
backhanded compliments and whatnot and it can be
hard to tell if the perpetrator is even aware that what
they're doing is insulting or not. So for example
using the word gay to refer to something
that's mean or stupid. Another is that when a
person follows a person of color around a
store or a supermarket. The third one is
micro-invalidations. So micro-invalidations, as
Dr. Sue describe it, as the most insidious
form of microaggression because it directly
attacks or denies another person's experiential
identity or reality. So micro
invalidations often imply to someone that
their experiences of discrimination are not real.
So the perpetrator almost never realizes that
they're doing something harmful. Micro-invalidations
are so stressful because you tend to doubt
yourself about whether a microaggression just
happened. They cause thoughts like "Why did that person
act the way, because I X-Y and Z? Am I overreacting in
the situation? Is this situation my fault?" And so
as you can see like micro-invalidations can
create a flavor of paranoia which makes it the
most harmful and difficult type of microaggression
to to cope with. So one very typical example of
micro invalidation is this statement: "I don't see
color." So for other people it may seem
like it's a harmless type of comment, that it's an
okay comment. But there's a hidden message behind it
that says that cultural identity and authenticity
of that person doesn't exist. It implies that the
person's culture of origin is not necessarily
important.
So, there are a lot of microaggressions around us.
It can happen at school, at work, at home, wherever.
But whether it happens in our workplace or in our
daily lives it really has a significant impact to us.
So microaggression was found to have negative
impact to the receiver's mental
health causing depression, anxiety, speech
difficulties, diminished confidence, helplessness,
loss of drive, lack of behavioral control, and
negative affect. These are all common negative
symptoms associated with microaggression. It was
also found that people who experience
microaggression, they can predict the type of
somatic symptoms or the intensity of somatic
symptoms and negative affect that they will
experience later on. This is
especially true for Asian Americans and
African-Americans who experience racial
microaggressions. There are a lot of studies too
that show that microaggression were associated
with reports of hospitalization, history of heart
attacks, and overall negative health outcomes. One
of the most common and intriguing impacts of
microaggression is "intrusive cognitions" or
this internal dilemma. So when someone experiences
microaggression,
they tend to have this experience of
asking themselves what really happened because of
the nature of microaggression victims of
microaggression often experience this dilemma
where they doubt their experience and have
intrusive thoughts like "Did I
interpret that correctly?" "Did she
say what I think she said?"
"What did he mean by that?" "Should I say something?"
"Will I be safe if I say something?" "Maybe they'll
think I'm overreacting" or "Maybe speaking out is
not really going to help me." So these types of
cognitions will come up and just reading it alone,
right now it feels very, very
exhausting. This is one of the reasons why
microaggression is dangerous and often hard to
navigate.
But you know the reality is that we all
participate in microagressive behavior one way or
another. I think what is important is how we
respond to that behavior when we recognize it or
when someone else points it out to us. So if, for
example, you experience microaggression it is
really helpful to first recognize what happened
and see if the microaggression was directed to you or
someone else. It is also important to
validate and accept whatever feelings come up for
you at the time. So feelings such as sadness, shock, and even
anger they're all normative and valid
emotions to experience at the time. The second
thing is to pause and assess or critically reflect
what's going on. So pausing and exploring the
context around you is very important. Always remember
too, that whenever you decide what to
do or how to respond to microaggression the
context and your safety is the most important
thing to consider. So it is okay to assess first
whether it is safe to actively respond, or if you
want to turn it into like a teaching moment, or if
you will need to have support moving forward.
There is this "picking your battles" coping strategy,
which has been studied by microaggression
researchers. They found that this is one of the
most common coping skills that victims engage in
when faced with the microaggression. So
leading up to that, I think it's it's
important to decide what appropriate action to do
moving forward considering you know your safety
and the context that you are in. Like if you feel
comfortable and safe, speak to the
perpetrator. Or you could ask someone to help you
or support you at that time. Helpful statements
such as "What do you mean by that?" or
"That comment made you feel uncomfortable." or "Can I
give you some feedback about what you just said?"
These are good and safe responses that you can
use when you are faced with a microaggression.
How about if you know if you witness. microaggression? I think it's
important to first ask the party affected if
they're okay. If you feel comfortable and competent
maybe you can ask also how the incident affected
them. You know like how they're impacted by the
microaggression and what help do they need at that
particular moment. It is important to check in
with that person with what kind of support or help
do they need. This approach kind-of like decreases
our level of anxiety as well, and emotional
reaction because we're seeking directions or
guidance on how to move forward. Second is
be responsive. If you care. It's best
to reach out to the person who caused the harm and
discuss why, or what the intent was behind their
statement or reaction. And the third one is
offer supporting options offer restorative
transformation options to the party who caused them.
The most important thing that we can do is
verbally acknowledge the microaggression that has
been committed and empower the aggressor to think
about his or her words in a different way.
So how about if you're the one who caused
microaggression. Well first of all, like I said
earlier everyone commits microaggressions to some
degree. We have done or said
something that may have offended someone whether
it was intentional or not. Sometimes we are aware
of our actions and sometimes it takes
other people to point it out
to us what happened or what we said. First
I think it's very important that if
you were aware that you have committed
microaggression, simply I encourage
you to engage in self-reflection. Become aware
of your own biases, anxieties, and your
motivations behind the harm, and then take
accountability for your actions. Move away
from shame and denial and embarrassment. I know
that we could easily get caught into those three
things. But for those moments into which someone
confronts you on your behavior listen to what he
or she is trying to tell you and try not to be
defensive. You know the worst thing that we can do
is deny that someone is hurt or offended by
something that we said or that we did. And in fact,
invalidating their experience is also
a form of microaggression itself. So again,
admit to the wrong-doing, genuinely
apologize, and take appropriate steps
to restore or repair if there's a
relationship that was affected, or
make it a learning experience for both
the victim and yourself. And lastly educate
yourself about your actions and take this as a
learning experience to improve yourself.
Engage in critical thinking. Seek help from other
people. Make things
right by listening to the harmed party and
apologizing. Restorative responses such as
'How can I improve?" or "What would be
helpful to change moving forward?" are wonderful
responses to hear from someone who committed or
who engaged in microaggressive behavior.
Shifting gears a little bit and focusing on
coping with microaggression during
Covid, during this whole pandemic since this
pandemic raised concern for personal
safety and heightened anxiety. One effect of this
heightened anxiety is that it can intensify this
discrimination as we start focusing our
attention on our own anxiety. So throughout the Covid-19
pandemic many individuals particularly from the
East Asian backgrounds are reporting more
experiences of racism. So presently Asian
individuals have been unfairly targeted by being
accused of having Covid when expressing normal non-
illness related coughing or sneezing. And even
when demonstrating symptoms of a common cold
or seasonal flu. So these East Asian
individuals have been more likely to experience
negative consequences by showing these symptoms.
And these reactions would
manifest by some racialized violence in
showing symptoms, such as slurs or
glares or being removed from public places. And
this can be very very physically and mentally
exhausting. So so how do you cope with this. First
choose self-care. If you have been
targeted by prejudice and discrimination it is
important to recognize that these are real issues
and that these take a toll on your physical and
mental well-being. Experiencing microaggression
discrimination can be very taxing. So give
yourself permission to engage in activities that
restore your energy in your spirit. You're going to
emphasize taking a moment to take care of yourself
and others when hurt by discrimination. And
remember that you have the right to be seen. You
have the right to be welcomed. You have the right
to be supported. You have the right to be served.
And of course you have the right to be helped. And
I think it's very important, too, to connect with
your community, like communities of color,
immigrants hold many strengths, including the
strengths of your cultural values and social
contributions. So identify if you'd like to
receive information sources from
communities that offer accurate sensitive
information about the outbreak. Support one another
in your community. And then I think it's also
important to remember that during this time
that racist individuals and systems may attempt to
drive a wedge or to tear the communities apart
by holding some actions in communities as better,
while rejecting other other communities. So I
think it's very important to be mindful in terms
of the messages, the systemic messages that we get
from people outside
our community. So find ways to connect when
practicing social distancing. There
are a lot of support groups in social media
right now and other virtual communities.
There's an APA
Section Division that is accumulating a good
resource list for individuals or for those who are
impacted by this whole pandemic because of their
cultural and ethnic background.
The fourth one is to make sure that you put
your safety first. That is very much important.
When you decide to go to
the grocery store or when you decide to go out,
I think it's good to be mindful in terms of your
physical safety and then preparing yourself
mentally for what's going to happen outside, not
to increase or perpetuate
anxiety, but just to make sure that you are safe.
So that would look like maybe having someone with
you when you go out, or that will look like maybe
making sure that you are equipped or that you are
in a good mental state before you go out. We can't
control other people. We can't control how other
people would behave or would react, but we can
control how we prepare ourselves to those kinds of
situations. And another thing too is that I think it's
very helpful to remind ourselves that what is
going on right now is is part of something bigger.
Try to look at the situation from a
helicopter view, if you may. So these
microaggression feel very personal, but they
are part of a larger narrative. Like
historically Asian Americans are seen as either
the model minority, or the group to be scared of
in a sense. So this influences the narrative that
people use nowadays. So the problem is
institutional and systemic in nature. However with
me saying this or using this approach
to cope does not necessarily mean that your
experiences are not real. They are very much real. So
this approach of looking at it from
a different perspective or from a larger narrative,
this approach helps us realize and recognize that
the situation is very complex and focusing on
things within our control. Adjust your self care
and ask them for support is more helpful. And of
course the last thing is get support. You know
this may look like getting support from your
family, from your friends, from your community, from
health care professionals, from your therapist,
from the health center. I would encourage
you to talk about your experiences
and you'll process it with someone that you
trust. I think that is very very very important.
So that concludes my presentation. Hopefully
you were able to get a couple of tips or
learn a couple of things that are helpful. One last
thing that I would like to encourage and challenge
you with, moving forward, is always use kindness and
compassion. Knowing we are living in a crisis mode
right now and practicing kindness for others and
to yourself is an extremely, extremely important.
So thank you everyone for listening.