When Unpacking Microaggressions, Recognize It’s a Matter of Impact, Not Intent 

When Unpacking Microaggressions, Recognize It’s a Matter of Impact, Not Intent 

Some actions or comments may seem harmless initially, but their impact can echo deeply, leaving those on the receiving end with a lingering sense of exclusion or bias.

If you’re on the receiving end of a microaggression, you know it, too. Microaggressions are verbal, behavioral, or environmental slights, sometimes overt, sometimes unintentional, directed at persons of different genders, races, beliefs, or cultures. Maybe you are a woman who’s been told to smile more, or one-half of a gay couple who’s been asked, “Who’s the man in the relationship?” Maybe you are a wheelchair user in a restaurant designed for individuals who can walk, or a person whose appearance or manner prompts people to ask, “But where are you really from?” If so, you know the felt experience of marginalization, bias, prejudice, and ableism.  

But what if you have made the offensive statement? Does saying, “I was just joking,” or “It was a compliment,” or “I didn’t mean it that way,” excuse the behavior? What if you don’t know a microaggression when you see it or say it? 

Microaggression: a history 

Psychiatrist and Harvard University Professor Chester M. Pierce coined the term “microaggression” in 1970 to describe slights and snubs inflicted on Black and African American people by white people. Psychologist and Columbia University Professor Derald Wing Sue later expanded the concept, highlighting how microaggressions can occur across various margainlized identities.

Over time, the term has expanded to encapsulate particular situations in which insult or injury is inflicted by a person in power onto a person in a subordinate position, by way of subtle, often unintentional acts of bias. A boss commenting on a staff member’s relative attractiveness is one example. Using ableist language such as “tone deaf” or “turning a blind eye” is another. Ignoring a person’s pronouns or repeatedly mispronouncing someone’s name could also qualify as microaggressions. 

There are situations in which a comment inappropriate for the workplace or classroom is appropriate in another context. For example, a person complimenting a woman’s appearance on her wedding day is likely to receive a warm reception. The key is knowing the difference. 

Three steps to eliminating microaggressions 

Since microaggressions are sometimes context-dependent; they cannot be easily defined or remedied without intentionality. Still, there are ways to check your behavior before causing offense. 

  1. Invite feedback to address issues and take accountability. People make mistakes, but the biggest mistake, the biggest barrier to inclusivity is the fear of making a mistake because that eliminates the opportunity to lean into the discomfort of unlearning. Willingness to unlearn is key. Change is filled with uncertainty and a lack of control, but the moment that we give up control for the sake of wanting to invite others in to challenge us is when change happens. 
  1. Practice inclusion. To discern what changes you can make to become more inclusive, look to change one behavior when involved in or witnessing future microaggressions. Perhaps that means calling out a co-worker’s biased or sexist language. Perhaps it means inviting a co-worker to critique your language. Incremental change can have more of an impact than large-scale, all-at-once change.  
  2. Consider Intervention. If you witness a microaggression, there may be an opportunity to address the comment or action. You might reframe the conversation, ask, “What did you mean by that?” to seek clarification, or express support for the person affected. However, take note that some people may not desire your intervention. In such cases, an alternative option is to ask the affected person how they would like to be supported.
  1. Determine how you’ll co-create a more inclusive, equitable, accessible, and diverse campus at Syracuse University. Attend an Office of Diversity and Inclusion workshop. We offer diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility professional development sessions throughout the academic year and summer.   

Christina Papaleo is the DEIA learning and development specialist in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.