3.2.1: Microaggressions

Table 1.3: Microaggressions

(9.3 Navigating the Diversity Landscape – College Success | OpenStax, n.d.)

Category	Microaggression	Why It’s Offensive
Educational Status or Situation	“You’re an athlete; you don’t need to study.”	Stereotypes athletes and ignores their hard work.
	“You don’t get financial aid; you must be rich.”	Even an assumption of privilege can be invalidating.
	“Did they have honors classes at your high school?”	Implies that someone is less prepared or intelligent based on their geography.
Race, Ethnicity, National Origin	“You speak so well for someone like you.”	Implies that people of a certain race/ethnicity can’t speak well.
	“No, where are you really from?”	Calling attention to someone’s national origin makes them feel separate.
	“You must be good at _____.”	Falsely connects identity to ability.
	“My people had it so much worse than yours did.”	Makes assumptions and diminishes suffering/difficulty.
	“I’m not even going to try your name. It looks too difficult.”	Dismisses a person’s culture and heritage.
	“It’s so much easier for Black people to get into college.”	Assumes that merit is not the basis for achievement.
Gender and Gender Identity	“They’re so emotional.”	Assumes a person cannot be emotional and rational.
	“I guess you can’t meet tonight because you have to take care of your son?”	Assumes a parent (of any gender) cannot participate.
	“I don’t get all this pronoun stuff, so I’m just gonna call you what I call you.”	Diminishes the importance of gender identity; indicates a lack of empathy.
	“I can’t even tell you used to be a woman.”	Conflates identity with appearance, and assumes a person needs someone else’s validation.
	“You’re too good-looking to be so smart.”	Connects outward appearance to ability.
Sexual Orientation	“I support you; just don’t throw it in my face.”	Denies another person’s right to express their identity or point of view.
	“You seem so rugged for a gay guy.”	Stereotypes all gay people as being “not rugged,” and could likely offend the recipient.
	“I might try being a lesbian.”	May imply that sexual orientation is a choice.
	“I can’t even keep track of all these new categories.”	Bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and other sexual orientations are just as valid and deserving of respect as more binary orientations.
	“You can’t just love whomever you want; pick one.”	Bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and other sexual orientations are just as valid and deserving of respect as more binary orientations.
Age	“Are you going to need help with the software?”	May stereotype an older person as lacking experience with the latest technology.
	“Young people have it so easy nowadays.”	Makes a false comparison between age and experience.
	“Okay, boomer.”	Dismisses an older generation as out of touch.
Size	“I bet no one messes with you.”	Projects a tendency to be aggressive onto a person of large stature.
	“You are so cute and tiny.”	Condescending to a person of small stature.
	“I wish I was thin and perfect like you.”	Equates a person’s size with character.
Ability	(To a person using a wheelchair) “I wish I could sit down wherever I went.”	Falsely assumes a wheelchair is a luxury; minimizes disabilities.
	“You don’t have to complete the whole test. Just do your best.”	Assumes that a disability means limited intellectual potential.
	“I’m blind without my glasses.”	Equating diminished capacity with a true disability.

This page titled 1.4: Bias and Microaggressions is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Joan Giovannini (Remixing Open Textbooks with an Equity Lens (ROTEL)) via Children, Families, Schools, and Communities (Giovannini) that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.