The Macro Impact of Microaggressions
LaVada English
Certified Intercultural Development Professional; People Development Consultant and Coach, specializing in Inclusive Leadership Development and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.
Although the term “micro” means small, the effects of microaggressions are anything but. Microaggressions, which can be verbal or nonverbal, are subtle and often committed unintentionally, but the prejudices they expose (hello,?implicit bias), are just as abrasive as overt discrimination. For this post, I want to focus specifically on the impacts of verbal microaggressions.
Anyone who’s heard the adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” also knows how wildly inaccurate it is. The poet Ruby Redford may have said it better when she wrote, “Stones and sticks break only skin, while words are ghosts that haunt me.”
I’m sure most of us can give examples of decades-old “ghosts” that still haunt us. I can recall a time when the long-term effects of a microaggression were nearly debilitating. At the time the comment was made, I experienced a torrent of emotions – sadness, anger, and the desire to retaliate. Over time, I started to question whether I was good enough. I found I was having a difficult time interacting with others and felt physically ill whenever I returned to the place the comment was made. It wasn’t until much later that I learned my unpredictable emotions, strained relationships, and nausea were congruent with the symptoms of people who have experienced a traumatic event.