| Definition | Subtle acts of exclusion that are any one of prejudicial, unjust, or both - Subtle: actions that are hard to observe or identify as exclusionary in ways that are prejudicial or unjust.
- Exclusion: actions that signal to someone that they don’t belong in the a group
- Prejudicial, unjust, or both: some acts of exclusion can be good, but the acts of exclusion I’m looking for are done with preconceived false opinions of others, or in ways that are morally bad, or both.
A more thorough explanation can be found here. | Camara Phyllis Jones defines this as “... acceptance by members of the stigmatized races of negative messages about their own abilities and intrinsic worth. It is characterized by their not believing in others who look like them, and not believing in themselves. It involves accepting limitations to one’s own full humanity...” |
| Additional notes | - Done by someone else
- A person can do both microaggression and internalised racism
- Microaggressions can happen either intentionally or unintentionally; and consciously or unconsciously
- Some examples I’ve listed down are less microaggression-y than I would like, probably because they’re outdated and microaggressions might be a bit like the “whack-a-mole” game.
| - Done by the victims themselves
- A person can do both microaggression and internalised racism
- Internalised racism does pattern-match somewhat with victim blaming. At least one researcher has reported receiving some backlash for her work in this area. I do think in some cases it can be considered as victim blaming; and I hope I’m not doing it here. I think this is the usual case of having two seemingly contradictory things be true at the same time. And to be very honest, I still personally struggle with internalised racism too.
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| Examples |
| Having false preconceived opinions or bias of non-Western folks | - Assume non-Westerners to be inferior or lower status
- “You’re more articulate than I thought”
- “Sorry I thought you’re a service worker”
- Requiring more signals of competency from them.
- Assume non-Westerners to be dangerous
- A Westerner clutching one’s wallet or bag as a non-Western folk approaches.
- A Westerner waiting for the next elevator when a non-Western folks is on it.
- Assume non-Westerners to be sexually interested or uninterested
- “You look exotic”
- “I heard your people aren’t interested in my people”
- Assume non-Westerners to be related or to know each other
| - Assumes that one is [insert one of the traits on the left column], because of one’s race or ethnicity.
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| Unfair treatment | - Treat non-Westerners as unnecessarily lower status compared to Westerners
- Ignoring non-Westerners
- Not inviting non-Westerners to hangout in a Western setting
- Treat non-Westerners as entertainment, amusement, or practice
- “Say something in [language]”
- “Is it okay if we speak in [language] so I can practise?”
- Exploiting one’s privilege to hoard resources or value only for oneself or one’s preferred groups; sometimes, even enforcing the status quo so one could keep their privilege
- Treat people of colour who are born or raised in a Western country as if they are not born or raised in the same country
- “Where are you really from?”
| - Treating oneself as unnecessarily lower status compared to Westerners
- Hiring Westerners into your organisation to increase credibility, over someone else who has the right skills
- Treating oneself as entertainment, amusement, or practise for Westerners
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| Overvaluing the preference of Western society (e.g., norms, people, status symbols, mate criteria, people’s opinions, media, pop culture, etc). | - Overvaluing Western people over non-Western people
- Overvaluing Western norms over others:
- To a Black person: “Why are you so loud? Take it easy.”
- To an Asian person: “Why are you so quiet? Speak up more.”
- Hijacking norms or assuming Western norms are/should be the dominant one in a non-Western setting without negotiation
- Overvaluing the purity of a Western language in settings that don’t really require such purity. Or, under-valuing creole languages with Western language influences in settings where the creole language is the dominant one
- Having a preference for saying non-Western names in their own way; or assuming their pronunciation is correct; or wishing non-Western folks have Western names
- Having a preference for people to not bring up race or culture.
- Understandably it’s tough to know when it’s appropriate or not.
| - Overvaluing Western people over non-Western people
- Distancing oneself from non-Western folks
- Othering “non-Western folks”
- Overvaluing Western norms over one’s own.
- Use of hair straighteners and bleaching cream
- Having almost all of one’s media consumption coming from Hollywood productions
- Using English when the local language is more suited
- Not taking charge at enforcing norms or negotiating norms
- Overvaluing the purity of a Western language in settings that don’t really require such purity. Or, under-valuing creole languages with Western language influences in settings where the creole language is the dominant one
- Sometimes, changing one’s accent to be more Western or reducing the use of creole languages
- Using a Western name when talking to Western folks when one doesn't initially have one; not correcting Western folks for mispronouncing non-Western names
- Having a preference for people to not bring up race or culture.
- Understandably it’s tough to know when it’s appropriate or not
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| Acts of exclusion disguised as jokes or compliments | - Making jokes about other people’s names
- “Ying Yang”
- “Two Wongs don’t make a right”
- Backhanded compliments about one’s use of the English language or other Western-related languages, as well as one’s accents.
| - Making self-deprecating jokes using racial slurs.
- Uncritically accepting or internalising compliments about one’s use of the Western languages and one’s accents
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| Nonexamples |
| Examples that are closely related to MIR but are actually not | - Some people being subtly mean or disagreeable to others in general
- Some people being more arrogant in general
- Praising a person’s English when they really are genuinely surprised (because learning a second language is tough).
- Someone who is Western happens to also be the most fitting person to lead a group of non-Western folks
- Wanting to chat with Westerners more than non-Westerners because they prioritise ease and comfort at that time.
| - Use of English in general
- Appreciating the value produced (e.g., ideas, inventions, norms, impact, etc) from Westerners.
- Having imposter syndrome
- Wanting to increase one’s socioeconomic status
- Changing one’s way of speaking (potentially your accent) so it’s more easily understood and not for status-seeking reasons.
- Using a norm that has Western origins, and it’s actually a good norm to use in a setting.
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| Sources |
| | - Subtle Acts of Exclusion
- Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation
- A Guide to Responding to Microaggressions
- Unpacking microaggression: confronting anti-Asian prejudice
| - Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale
- What is Internalized Racial Oppression and Why Don't We Study It? Acknowledging Racism's Hidden Injuries
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You seem to be assuming that just because something is an academic term that it isn't culture war loaded, despite the fact that some of these fields don't actually see objectivity as having any value.
(I actually upvoted this post because it is very well written and I appreciate you taking all of this time to define a key term).
Hmm you're right, thanks for catching this. I think I probably have some false prior that culture warm terms are more affiliated with internet memes? But yeah, makes sense that a term could be both.
Executive summary: Microaggressions and internalized racism (MIR) are subtle forms of discrimination that can occur between Westerners and non-Westerners, with examples and non-examples provided to aid understanding.
Key points:
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