Microaggressions Research

Examples of Microaggressions on Campus

Below are the themes identified in our focus group study of microaggressions on university campuses. Participants were recruited from one private and two public Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) located in the Southern/Midwestern and Pacific Northwest United States. Study eligibility criteria were self-identification as Black, African American, Biracial (with Black), or Continental African.

	Category Name	Description	Representative Quote
1	Not a True Citizen	When a question, statement, or behavior indicates that a person of color is not a real citizen or a meaningful part of our society because they are not White.	"My head is shaved, actually. I hear a lot of things. It’s really annoying ... especially from my friends... 'Oh, do shave your head for a religious thing? Or like an African ritual or something?'”
2	Racial Categorization & Sameness	When a person is compelled to disclose their racial group to enable others to attach pathological racial stereotypes to the person; includes the assumption that all people from a particular group are alike.	"If you see my entire family, I’m literally Black. And I don’t think I look anything but Black, but he like wouldn’t believe it."
3	Assumptions About Intelligence, Competence, or Status	When behavior or statements are based on assumptions about a person’s intelligence, competence, education, income, social status derived from racial stereotypes.	"People will say sometimes, 'Oh, you have a Master’s?' Like they feel so surprised when they find out that you are actually educated or you have a higher degree."
4	False Colorblindness / Invalidating Racial or Ethnic Identity	Expressing that individual’s racial or ethnic identity should not be acknowledged, which can be invalidating for people who are proud of their identity or who have suffered because of it.	"I think just from professors as well as from students that are like, 'Oh, I don't see color' or ignoring the fact that they might have said something that was bigoted or racist and not acknowledging that they have an issue..."
5	Criminality or Dangerousness	Demonstrating belief in stereotypes that people of color are dangerous, untrustworthy, likely to commit crimes or cause bodily harm.	"I was coming down the stairs and this really tall White guy was going up [the stairs] and I was in his way. He flinched! I’m 5’3”, I’m not going to injure you."
6	Denial of Individual Racism	When a person tries to make a case that they are not biased, often by talking about anti-racist things they have done to deflect perceived scrutiny of their own behaviors.	"They feel like the comments they make don’t matter, because they feel like they already are within our culture. But they don’t understand like, if you understood what it meant to be us, you wouldn’t make comments like that towards us."
7	Myth of Meritocracy / Race is Irrelevant for Success	When someone makes statements about success being rooted in personal efforts and denial of existence of racism or White privilege.	"I’ve had a mixed girlfriend of mine sit there and say... 'Black people are just blaming the system, and they just need to take advantage of, you know, the opportunities they have.' And it’s like, well. really what – how many opportunities do we have?"
8	Reverse Racism Hostility	Expressions of jealousy or hostility surrounding the notion that people of color get unfair advantages and benefits due to their race.	"'Why are you still calling yourself African American? You’re no more African than I am Australian!' and I was like, 'It’s not my fault that I was cut off from my heritage. I did not choose that life...'"
9	Pathologizing Minority Culture or Appearance	When people criticize others based on perceived or real cultural differences in appearance, traditions, behaviors, or preferences.	"I went to a predominantly White school and lived in a predominantly White town in western Kentucky and one of my really close friends told me, 'You would be the perfect girlfriend if you were White.'”
10	Second Class Citizen / Ignored & Invisible	When people of color are treated with less respect, consideration, or care than is normally expected or customary. This may include being ignored or being unseen/invisible.	"With all the shootings that have been happening in the Black community, I kind of felt a certain way when I didn’t hear anything from my school that there was some kind of support for us — to just acknowledge that there are people that are here that can be affected...""
11	Tokenism	When a person of color is included to promote the illusion of inclusivity, not for the qualities or talents of the individual, and/or the expectation that an individual’s views will represent the views of their perceived group.	"I feel like they don’t want us because of our SAT scores, or our ACT scores...they want us so that the school can... appear to be diverse." (Mills, 2019)
12	Connecting via Stereotypes	When a person tries to communicate or connect with a person through use of stereotyped speech or behavior, to be accepted or understood. Can include racist jokes and epitaphs as terms of endearment.	"She just generally has a pretty Black group of friends, you know, and she’s always dated African American people. And so she feels like it’s ok for her to freely use the N-word."
13	Exoticization and Eroticization	When a person of color is treated according to sexualized stereotypes or attention to differences that are characterized as exotic in some way.	"I dated quite a few White women, and I agree that they fetishize us. They don’t really look at me as like a man. It’s ah 'Oh, a Black man!' or a stereotypical big dude kind of thing."
14	Avoidance and Distancing	When people of color are avoided or measures are taken to prevent physical contact or close proximity.	"We were alternating group leaders to lead discussions about a paper we read for the week... and no one showed up to my group, and I was just in tears because this has happened my whole life. Like no one has ever wanted to hear what I had to say."
15	Environmental Exclusion	When someone’s racial identity is minimized or made insignificant through the exclusion of decorations, literature, or depictions of people that represent their racial group.	"I finally have like a Black female professor that, like, I didn’t even realize it until I had her this semester, that I couldn’t really relate and get interested in the topics that I’m studying."
16	Environmental Attacks	When decorations pose a known affront or insult to a person’s cultural group, history, or heritage.	"It’s like I’m unwanted in that area. You’re just like, 'Oh my gosh, what if they do something to me? They must hate me, they don’t want me to be here. Like maybe, I should leave.'"

Microaggressions Research

Examples of Microaggressions on Campus

Racial Microaggressions Common On Campus

Related Works