Racial Microaggressions and Their Effects
Do you see what I see?
Words by Nuha Dolby
A White man grabs his wallet and keeps it close when he sees a Black man walking toward him, worried about holding on to his cash. People pull their sweaters above their noses when they see an Asian woman next to them, fearing the infection of the novel coronavirus. Chicanos are complimented in school for their “good English,” when, in reality, it’s their first language.
Microaggressions are common behaviors that manifest subtly, and often unintentionally, from deep-seated biases. They’re expressed in seemingly benign phrases like “You’re pretty for a Black girl,” or “I just love Asian women.” Unconscious of the subtle racism informing their comment, the aggressor may not understand the weight their words carry.
Psychologists often refer to the bearing of microaggressions as “death by a thousand cuts.” The individual acts themselves may seem insignificant, but their effects accumulate. A woman named Cam told the Independent she began losing her hair and eventually contemplated suicide after years of bearing microaggressions. Cam is not alone. A 2017 study cross-examined suicidal ideation in African-American young adults and the six dimensions of microaggressions, listed as invisibility, criminality, low-achieving/undesirable culture, sexualization, foreigner/not belonging, and environmental invalidations. The study looked to see how microaggressions impacted 135 young adults and found that three of those dimensions—invisibility, low-achievement/undesirable culture, and environmental invalidations—related to increased feelings of burdensomeness and suicidal ideation.
For communities of color at large, young people are also at risk. In 2014, a study examined whether racial microaggressions predicted suicidal ideation. This was done by looking at depression symptoms among 405 young adults of color. In the first study to recognize the relationship between racial microaggressions and suicidal risk, symptoms of depression were in fact found to be mediating the relationship between the two. Another 2015 study found similarly concerning data for those of Latinx origin. Among a sample of 113 Latinx adults, analysis revealed that there was a statistically significant correlation between the stress of microaggressions and higher levels of depression, which were mediated by traumatic stress symptoms.
The broader implications of microaggressions for perpetrators has been looked at as well. While many microaggressions are subtle and often unintentional, there’s been correlation identified between students who exhibit microaggressions and those with racist attitudes, mainly focusing on anti-black attitudes in non-Hispanic whites. The discussion of the study noted the wider implications for the work, too. “[C]urrent results offer preliminary support that the delivery of microaggressions by white students is not simply innocuous behavior,” the study reads, “and may be indicative of broad, complex, and negative racial attitudes and explicit underlying hostility and negative feelings toward black students.”
In the collegiate world, these aggressions can impact students’ careers before they’ve even started school. The Atlantic published a story that discussed an African-American student who had asked for information about her biology major. Without bothering to look at her excellent academic record, the counselor outright told her to look for “less challenging” courses. Her recommendations weren’t even lower-level biology courses, either. The student was specifically told to look in the African-American studies department.
When it comes down to it, the danger is that people can be unaware of their microaggressions. In fact, many don’t even realize they need to change their behavior. Sometimes, victims themselves don’t even know they’re putting up with behaviors that are damaging, Kevin Nadal, a professor of psychology, told NPR. "We navigate all of these things in our lives," Nadal said, "For many of us on a daily, hourly basis. And for some of us…we might not even recognize that we are navigating them or even perpetrating them."
With the discussion on race coming to national attention, many are re-evaluating the way they’ve been treated in relation to their race, and the way they treat others. For some, that means reflecting on examples of outright racism in their lives, racist tendencies in their families, or shameful ways they have treated others. But something worth entering the conversation is the microaggressions, the seemingly small, irrelevant facets of being BIPOC, that have been shown to have serious detriment. A death by a thousand cuts, however small, is still a death.
