1 / 15

Hannah Lozon Coordinator of Social Justice Education, Residence Life Maria Moore

Microaggressions 101 UA Res Ed Social Justice Training July 25, 2011. Hannah Lozon Coordinator of Social Justice Education, Residence Life Maria Moore Program Director, African American Student Affairs. Learning Outcomes. Understand social justice terminology

agalia
Download Presentation

Hannah Lozon Coordinator of Social Justice Education, Residence Life Maria Moore

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Microaggressions 101 UA Res Ed Social Justice Training July 25, 2011 Hannah Lozon Coordinator of Social Justice Education, Residence Life Maria Moore Program Director, African American Student Affairs

  2. Learning Outcomes • Understand social justice terminology • Analyze social group membership • Define microaggressions • Understand some of the possible responses to microaggressions • Generate ways to address microaggressions

  3. Learning Community Guidelines • Be fully present and participate at your own comfort level – challenge by choice. • Speak from personal experience: use “I” statements to share thoughts and feelings. You cannot speak for your group. • Speak your truth with care. • Listen respectfully, share air time, and encourage others to participate. • Respect and maintain privacy. • Take risks – lean into discomfort. If you notice discomfort, “sit in it” – resist the urge to fix things. Can you describe the emotions that you are feeling? • Trust that dialogue will take us to deeper levels of understanding and acceptance. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. • We will all make mistakes, facilitators included. Offer compassion for yourself and others…be lovingly critical. • Others?

  4. Social Justice Terminology • Diversity = The presence of difference. • Social Justice = The process of social justice involves an equitable distribution of resources, equal access to those resources, and participation from all members of society. The goal of social justice is the full and equal participation of all groups in a society shaped to meet their needs. Important to note: Social justice is both a process and a goal. • Identity = Aspects & characteristics that make up our definition of self; what aspects & characteristics society defines us by. • Agent/Dominant = Those identities that experiences privilege. • Target/Subordinate= Those identities that experience oppression. • Privilege = Unearned, unasked for, often invisible benefits and advantages only readily available to agent groups. • Oppression = System that maintains advantage and disadvantage based on social group memberships. Operates on individual, institutional, and cultural levels. Definitions adapted from: Adams, M., Bell, L. A., & Griffin, P. (Eds.) (2007) Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice 2nd Edition

  5. Levels of Oppression • Individual Oppression: Personal attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs that maintain and perpetuate oppression. • Examples: believing people with mental disabilities are not capable of working, telling homophobic jokes, throwing a sexist theme party, etc. • Institutional Oppression: Social institutions like media, education, health services, and government that maintain and perpetuate oppression through laws, practices, policies, and norms. • Examples: marriage being legal only for heterosexual couples, public schools more racially segregated than in 1950s, etc. • Cultural Oppression: Values, norms, societal expectations, ways of thinking and ways of knowing that form institutions and individual patterns of oppression. • Examples: standards of beauty that are unrealistic for women, narrow definitions of gender expression, etc. Adapted from: Adams, M., Bell, L. A., & Griffin, P. (Eds.) (2007) Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice 2nd Edition

  6. Dynamics of Oppression Vertical Advantaged Groups Advantaged Groups Targeted Groups Targeted Groups (Prejudice) Adapted from: Adams, M., Bell, L. A., & Griffin, P. (Eds.) (2007) Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice 2nd Edition

  7. Dynamics of Oppression Horizontal Advantaged GroupsAdvantaged Groups Targeted GroupsTargeted Groups Adapted from: Adams, M., Bell, L. A., & Griffin, P. (Eds.) (2007) Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice 2nd Edition

  8. Aversive Oppression • Aversive Oppression: Subtle, often unintentional, belief that one does not discriminate, usually views self as a “liberal” • Possesses unconscious stereotypes and biases • If those feelings are conscious, there is an attempt to dissociate from those feelings • Gaertner& Dovidio, 2000

  9. Identity Chart Taken from: Adams, M., Bell, L. A., & Griffin, P. (Eds.) (2007) Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice 2nd Edition

  10. “Microaggression” Defined • Microaggression: Subtle, verbal and nonverbal slights, insults, indignities, and denigrating messages directed toward an individual due to their group membership, often automatically and unconsciously. Usually committed by well-intentioned folks who are unaware of the hidden messages being communicated.

  11. Microaggressions Defined • Microaggressions in everyday life Dr. DeraldWing Sue – Microaggressions are similar to carbon monoxide - “invisible, but potentially lethal” - continuous exposure to these type of interactions “can be a sort of death by a thousand cuts to the victim” Sue, (2010) Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation.

  12. Types of Microaggressions • Microinsult:Often unconscious verbal, nonverbal, and environmental communications that subtly convey rudeness and insensitivity that demean a person's heritage or identity • Examples: asking a student of color which scholarship they received for admittance to college, joking that you cannot give female office worker constructive feedback or she’ll cry • Microassault:Conscious and intentional discriminatory actionson one’s identity • Examples: flying a confederate flag, denying child from dating someone of the same sex, using derogatory names • Microinvalidation:Communications that subtly exclude negate or nullify the thoughts, feelings or experiential reality of a person’s identity • Examples: color blindness, myth of meritocracy, denial of individual homophobic experience Taken from: Sue, Capodilupo, Torino, Bucceri, Holder, Nadal & Equilin, 2007

  13. Real Life Microaggressions • www.Microaggressions.com

  14. Common Reactions from those who “Commit” Microaggressions • Potential feelings of guilt and shame • Defensiveness especially for those who think of self as “liberal” and “fair” engaged in social justice work • Distancing/Withdrawal • Denial/Projection • Even anger • Justification • Sadness • Others?

  15. Case Studies • What is your initial reaction to this situation? • What are some possible factors (individual, institutional, cultural) that may have influenced this situation? • Describe what actions you would take to address all parties involved? • Remember, do not just focus on the individual, but also the situation. Try not to do anything that resembles “victim blaming.” • What are some systems in place that support your solution? How might you solicit this support? • What are some sources within the system acting as barriers? How might you work through these barriers? • What would you like to have as an outcome? • How might you take this incident and provide a “teachable moment” for all involved?

More Related