Brief Summary
This TEDx Talk addresses the pervasive issue of microaggressions, defining them as insults rooted in stereotypes directed at individuals from marginalized groups. It highlights the historical context and impact of these subtle yet damaging behaviors, providing examples related to disability and race. The talk also offers practical tools to avoid making microaggressions, emphasizing the importance of pausing before speaking, researching potentially offensive language, and prioritizing kindness and respect in interactions.
- Microaggressions are insults rooted in stereotypes that target marginalized groups.
- They can accumulate and negatively impact a person's spirit.
- Awareness, historical context, and thoughtful communication are key to preventing microaggressions.
Microaggressions are defined as insults rooted in stereotypes directed at individuals due to their membership in a marginalized group, limiting the ability to see them as individuals. Dr. Chester Middlebrook Pierce coined the term in 1970 to describe dismissive behavior endured by Black people, but it has since expanded to include offensive comments directed at various marginalized groups, including women, people of color, people with disabilities, and older individuals. Microaggressions are prevalent in society, and while everyone holds biases and can be guilty of making or being subjected to them, they can wound people through the accumulation of offensive comments in social and professional settings, which takes a toll on a person's spirit.
Microaggressions related to disability are common, such as using phrases like "I'm so OCD about my files" or "I'm so dyslexic" when one does not have these conditions. These phrases are examples of ableist language that trivialize serious conditions. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 made it illegal to discriminate against individuals with mental or physical disabilities in employment and guarantees access to buildings and transportation. Disability activists once protested the historical exclusion of people with disabilities by crawling up the 83 steps of the Capitol building.
Professing colorblindness, through statements like "I don't see color" or "I was raised to treat everyone the same," can be a form of microaggression. Such comments deny the experiences of people of color and are often used defensively when someone is challenged about an offensive statement, shutting down conversation and allowing stereotypes to persist. The phrase "that's so ghetto" is also a microaggression, with "ghetto" historically referring to areas where marginalized groups, particularly Black and Brown people, are regulated due to poverty and systemic racism.
The word "ghetto" originated in 1516 Venice to describe an area where Jewish people lived and was later used in 1899 to describe low-income areas inhabited by minority groups. In the U.S., it is associated with Black and Brown people living in areas affected by poverty, disenfranchisement, and systemic racism. Systemic racism includes practices like redlining, where loans are denied to black and brown neighborhoods, and policies that undervalue property in specific areas of the city. The GI Bill, while intended to help veterans, was administered in a discriminatory manner, denying loans to developers who planned to sell homes to Black people.
To avoid making microaggressions, it's important to pause before asking personal questions, comparing someone to something or someone else, or describing someone's personality. Consider the potential impact of your words and whether the comment is necessary and promotes a growth mindset. Research unfamiliar slang or phrases to ensure they are not offensive. The key takeaways are inclusion, respect, kindness, and human decency, treating others as you would like to be treated.
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Transcript
Full transcript of “Eliminating Microaggressions: The Next Level of Inclusion | Tiffany Alvoid | TEDxOakland”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:02 the formal definition of a microaggression is listed behind me simply put microaggressions are insults that are rooted in stereotype and they're directed at someone because of their membership within a marginalized group now because they are rooted in stereotype they limit a person's ability to be able to see people as individuals in 1970 dr. Chester Middlebrook Pierce a professor at Harvard coined the term microaggressions to describe insults and dismissive behavior he witnessed black people enduring but now the term has been expanded to include offensive comments and behaviors that are directed at anyone in a marginalized group including but not limited to women
0:48 people of color people with disabilities and people who are older so one of the things about microaggressions is that they're very prevalent in society and I could do a full day's discussion about that I actually developed a training that I share with companies to help them address offensive comments in their workplace we're just going to go through a couple examples here today but it's important to note that we all have biases and anyone can be guilty of making a microaggression or being subjected to one so why does it matter well for some people just being themselves can be a revolutionary act
1:34 because their very being is crushing stereotypes of who and what they should be microaggressions wound people if we were to compare it to getting a paper cut one paper cut is manageable but paper cuts all over your body is something quite different and it's this accumulation of offensive comments in social settings and professional settings that begin to take a toll on a person's spirit microaggressions can be an amorphous concept but it's my hope through the examples I'm going to provide for you that I can provide a more definitive understanding microaggressions regarding disability are prevalent for example making comments like I'm so OCD about my
2:20 files are uh I can't read today I'm so dyslexic when someone does not actually have dyslexia or OCD can be perceived as a microaggression these phrases are examples of ableist language and they trivialize something that is quite serious for some historical context I want to discuss what happened when the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed in 1990 the ATA makes it illegal in employment to discriminate against someone because of a mental or physical disability it also guarantees access to buildings and to public and private transportation shortly before the Act was passed several disability activists came to DC and they climbed the 83 steps
3:09 outside the Capitol building they met at the base of the stairs and they got out of their wheelchairs they took off their crutches and any kind of assistive walkin devices and they dragged or crawled themselves up all 83 steps now I like to share this story because it's a good reminder about the historical exclusion that people with disabilities have had to face and is also a good reminder that there was a group of people that felt so disenfranchised so marginalized and so on scene they felt the need to do this microaggressions regarding race are also very plentiful some people might be surprised to know that professing
3:54 colorblindness can actually be a form of a microaggression examples would be I don't see color I was raised to treat everyone the same I work in a diverse environment I was in the Peace Corps it's important to note that is funny it's important to know that mere proximity to people of color does not make someone woke no no where does it make them automatically knowledgeable about social and justice issues these comments actually deny the existence of people of colors experienced in the world and me personally I've seen these phrases use
4:40 in a defensive posture when someone's being challenged about something that they may have said this offensive what it actually does is shut down this conversation and it allows stereotypes to continue the last microaggression that i want to talk about is the phrase that's so ghetto or that's ghetto now Saturday Night Live has done a sketch about this phrase and it's tossed around in the workplace and in professional settings but this phrase can be very offensive to people and I'm going to provide some historical context as to why so the word ghetto is an Italian pronunciation the word is used in 1516 to describe an area the city where Jewish people are living in the city of Venice then in 1899 the word is being
5:27 used to describe where minority groups are living in the city and again is tends to be a low-income area from a u.s. perspective the word has been associated with black and brown people who live in low-income areas what we're essentially talking about is a place in the city where people are being regulated because of poverty disenfranchisement and reasons that point to systemic racism now when I'm talking about systemic racism what do I mean by that well the GI Bill would be a good example in 1944 President Roosevelt signed the first version of the GI Bill into into law and that bill essentially made it possible for veterans to go to college and also gave them the ability to get low-interest mortgages which this
6:14 sounds like a really good program and it is unfortunately the way it was a minister it was very discriminatory to black veterans the veterans administration refused to guarantee loans for developers who plan to sell homes to black people what I'm talking about systemic racism and also talking about redlining relying in is the of drawing a circle around black and brown neighborhoods and then refusing to give loans to those areas what I'm also talking about is pushing and shuttling people into a Pacific area of the city and then setting up situations that the property remains undervalued when people use the phrase that's ghetto or that's so ghetto it's a way of making fun of someone or something and for the reasons
7:01 I just shared it's not funny so now that I've given you a couple examples of what a microaggression is I want to give you a couple tools to avoid making these kind of a comments in the workplace the first tool our tip is pretty simple is pause before you ask someone a personal question in the workplace pause before you compare someone to something or to someone else pause before describing someone's personality pause and when you're pausing think to yourself what is what could potentially be the impact on what I'm about to say to someone not just my intention but what could be the possible impact that the way this person could take what I'm saying
7:46 could they be possibly offended the next thing I want to think about is is this comment necessary is it promoting a growth mindset because remember my number one priority when I'm at work is to be productive the next thing that you can do to try to avoid making a microaggression is research as I discussed in the previous example about that Salgado a lot of American English is slang so before adding a new word to your vocabulary just do a quick google search just to make sure that what you're saying is not offensive so before I leave here this afternoon what I want to leave with you with is during the course of this conversation I've been talking about inclusion and respect
8:31 which is important and I hope that you leave this talk with that understanding but I hope you also took from this talk the concepts of kindness and human human decency thinking about something before I say it that's a form of kind and treating people the way I want to be treated is one of the highest forms of kindness thank you [Applause]
