Have you ever heard the phrase, “death by a thousand paper cuts?” It’s not only blatant acts of bias that exclude or discriminate against people from minoritized populations. It’s often the more subtle acts of exclusion, also known as microinequities or microaggressions, that are equally if not more harmful. These behaviors on the surface may seem insignificant, for example:
- frequently interrupting the same people during conversations
- consistently forgetting or mispronouncing a person’s name
- using coded or stereotypical language
- overlooking someone’s work but praising another’s
Regardless of the intentions of the message sender, the impact of such actions are often deeply felt by the receiver, especially if they have been on the receiving end of exclusionary treatment many times before. This session will help you recognize some common microaggressions, understand the impact of such actions, and develop techniques to respond effectively when they occur.
(“Microaggression” by Giulia Forsythe / CC 2.0)
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