If you were confronted with a case of microaggression, how would you handle it?
I just finished writing an article for one of my italki classes and here is a summary of it. I hope it is informative for all of you that are living abroad! If you would like a copy of the entire article, send me a message through italki or my Skype!
What is Microaggression? Microaggression advances stereotypes, insults members of a minority group, makes the dominant culture look normal and the minority group look abnormal, expresses discomfort with the minority group and assumes all minority group members are the same. Chances are, if you speak with "an accent" or are studying abroad, you have experienced Microaggression.
Here are some examples of microaggression:
<ol style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font-family: "Libre Franklin", "Helvetica Neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">“I am sure you know lots of country music seeing how you came from the USA.”</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">“Wow, you did a great job on your speech! You don’t seem like you are from [insert your origin country]”</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">“You know what I like about you? You don’t act very [insert your ethnic identity].”</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">“I am glad we are working in the same department. I get along really well with [insert your ethnic identity].”</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">“So like… what are you?”</li></ol>Here are some specific phrases that you can use to stop microaggression:
<ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font-family: "Libre Franklin", "Helvetica Neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Appeal to their pride by implying that they are too intelligent or culturally sensitive to say something like that: “That is surprising coming from you.” OR “That doesn’t sound like something you would say.”</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Give them the benefit of the doubt by assuming that they didn't realize what they were saying: “I am sure you didn't realize how that sounded.” OR “You don’t mean that, do you?”
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</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Cause them to ponder their own statement when you paraphrase what they said or ask a clarifying question: “Do you really think that all people that look like me are the same?" OR “What do you mean?”
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</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">State an observation about the microaggressive statement: “That seems like a generalization and stereotype.”</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">
</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">These phrases are simple for the purpose of learning them more easily, but you can combine them together or add extra expressions to make them more specific for the situation.</li></ul>
