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19Microaggressions: What If I Am Encountering a Microaggression?

Microaggressions is a term that falls under a broader category of behavior called micromessaging. Micromessaging includes several other terms like microinequities, microinsults, microaffirmations, and microinvalidations. What all these terms have in common is that they are indicated by small behaviors, which is what the prefix micro‐ suggests. While I am sharing a few of the terms that fall under micromessaging, keep in mind that many times any micromessage will be referred to as a microaggression by most people, and the specificity of the term isn't as important as understanding how micromessages present in our encounters with others and what the behaviors associated with them suggest.

Microaggressions are small or subtle behaviors that occur in casual encounters that judge, accuse, demean, marginalize, or show prejudice toward someone. They are experienced as minor verbal or nonverbal actions that can discount a person, single someone out, or belittle someone based on a part of their identity such as age, race, or gender. Microaggressions can be deliberate or unintentional.

Microaggressions are small behaviors, but they are considered aggressive because of the frequency that the recipient of the microaggression experiences them. The impact of microaggressions is cumulative. When someone encounters the same small slight over and over, it feels more impactful each time it happens. The microaggression could be ...