Microaggression experiences of different marginalized identities

• Date: 18 November 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-12-2018-0221
• Published date: 18 November 2019
• Pages: 870-883
• Author: Nisha Nair,Deborah Cain Good,Audrey J. Murrell
• Subject Matter: Hr & organizational behaviour,Employment law

Microaggression experiences of

different marginalized identities

Nisha Nair, Deborah Cain Good and Audrey J. Murrell

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Abstract

Purpose –Given the nascent stage of research on microaggressions, the study is an attempt to better

understand the experience of microaggressions and examine it from the point of view of different

marginalized minority identities. The purpose of this paper is to report on the subjective experience of

microaggressions from the lenses of gender, race, religion and sexual orientation.

Design/methodology/approach –To explore how microaggressions are experienced by different

identities, the authors conducted four focus group studies with university students at a prominent

Midwestern university. Each focus group focused on the experience of microaggressions for a particular

identity group.

Findings –The authors discuss the nature and forms of exclusion that occur through microaggressions, and

offer six microaggression themes that emerged as common across the marginalized identities studied. The

authors add to the microaggression taxonomy and highlight the role of repetition in how microaggressions

are perceived. The authors also discuss intersectional microaggressions.

Originality/value –While variousstudies have focused on reporting microaggressionthemes with regard to

singular identities, this study is potentially the first that explores microaggression themes across different

marginalizedidentities. Thefindings highlight novelforms of microaggressionssuch as the revealing ormaking

visible of marginalized identities, and microaggressions emanating from within a minority group directed at

othermembers within the same identitygroup, what the authorscall as in-group microaggressions.The authors

highlight and point to theneed for more work on intersectional microaggressions.

Keywords Gender, Religion, Sexual orientation, Race, Intersectional identities, Microaggression

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

There has been much debate and research interest in recent years on the concept of

microaggressions, which denotes subtle form of bias and discrimination such as slights,

snubs or perceived insults directed toward minorities, studied predominantly through the

lens of race. Racial microaggressions are defined as “brief and commonplace daily verbal,

behavioral, and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that

communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults to the target person

or group”(Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal and Torino, 2007; Sue, Capodilupo, Torino, Bucceri,

Holder, Nadal and Esquilin, 2007, p. 273). Although the focus on microaggressions is

somewhat recent, the term was first coined in the 1970s referring to “subtle, stunning, often

automatic, and non-verbal ex-changes which are ‘put downs’” (Pierce et al., 1978, p. 66).

Since the mainstreaming of research on racial microaggression by Sue and his colleagues

(Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal and Torino, 2007; Sue, Capodilupo, Torino, Bucceri, Holder, Nadal

and Esquilin, 2007; Sue et al., 2008; Sue, 2010), the concept has begun to be applied to other

marginalized groups and demographics such as ethnic minorities and people of color

(Clark et al., 2014), gender (Basford et al., 2014; Gartner and Sterzing, 2016), discrimination

based on one’s religion (Husain and Howard, 2017) and sexual orientation (Shelton and

Delgado-Romero, 2011; Woodford et al., 2013).

Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal and Torino (2007) and Sue, Capodilupo, Torino, Bucceri, Holder,

Nadal and Esquilin’s (2007) first forwarded a taxonomy comprising of three different forms

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 38 No. 8, 2019

pp. 870-883

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-12-2018-0221

Received 3 December 2018

Revised 6 May 2019

5July2019

Accepted 26 July 2019

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

This work was supported by the University Research Council’s small grants funding for research in

diversity. Funding from the University’s Central Research Development Fund helped support research

subject payments for our research.

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