Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions
The microaggression that I experienced this week:
My friend was actually telling me "stupid women" jokes. It was very offensive to me as a women. However, the surprise really came when the male friend said that he heard the joke from his female cousin. When I realized that a women was the initiator of the joke, I felt even more disrespected and violated. I was highly insulted that another women would think that jokes like that are funny and would even care to repeat them.
I'm sure there were other forms of microaggressions this week that I missed. With that said, I feel that I had an extensive amount of growth during this week's topic. I realized that, although words are said with unintentional hurt, it can scar a person and be psychologically damaging. I have also learned that I will never quite understand what it means to be discriminated against because of the color of my skin. And no matter how hard I try, I will never fully understand the types of prejudice and stereotypes that others may experience.
Furthermore, I have also learned that people do in fact have some major issues in regards to stereotypes and discrimination. I think it is hard for some people to be self-aware. In conjunction, I have serious doubts that most people want to change their perceptions about others. Unfortunately, I wonder if there will even be a world without prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination.
I have heard a number of jokes that are extremely disrespectful to African Americans. At times I wonder do people fully understand what they are saying when they say these outrageous statements. In fact, I am still trying to comprehend why people of color use the "N" word, when taking to each other. Microaggressions are harmful and we as professional need to fight against this evil.
ReplyDeleteIt is critical that we remain conscious about what we say and do. A lot of times microaggressions are so common that they become the norm, and because we hear it so much, we adapt to it. I know that I missed recognizing many microaggressions but I chose to ignore a some as well. Great Post!
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