The Pseudo-Science of Microaggressions

Nagai, Althea K.

doi:10.1007/s12129-016-9613-5

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…One of the largest barriers to teaching about microaggressions is overcoming the popular belief that a focus on microaggression encourages people to be “too sensitive” or see racism where it does not exist. Many contestations of microaggressions (Friedersdorf 2015a, 2015b; Lilienfeld 2017; Nagai 2017) have questioned the concept of microaggressions. Sometimes these critiques focus on the methodology of microaggression research.…”

Section: The “Too Sensitive” Argumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combating the “Too Sensitive” Argument: A Demonstration That Captures the Complexity of Microaggressions

Eisen

2020

Teach Sociol

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Colorblind ideology provides individuals with numerous ways to minimize racism. This poses a challenge for instructors who teach about race and racism as students deploy this ideology to derail classroom discussions. Student resistance may be amplified when discussing microaggressions because students often characterize focusing on microaggressions as being “too sensitive” or trying to see racism where it does not exist. This article details a demonstration that attempts to move students past the too-sensitive argument so they can understand the complexity of microaggressions. An analysis of anonymous student reflections shows that the activity successfully conveys the cumulative impact of microaggressions, demonstrates how racism is embedded in everyday interactions, and encourages students to reflect on their own role in perpetuating and ending racism. In short, the demonstration helped students understand the structural and cumulative nature of microaggressions by combating the too-sensitive argument and encouraging a critical examination of racism.

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Section: The “Too Sensitive” Argumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combating the “Too Sensitive” Argument: A Demonstration That Captures the Complexity of Microaggressions

Eisen

2020

Teach Sociol

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“…Microaggressions as a concept has been heavily criticised, by those who are dismissive of work on racism more generally (e.g. Nagai, 2017) but also writers concerned about its effectiveness as a frame for analysing the subtlety of contemporary racism (e.g. Wong et al, 2014;Lilienfeld, 2017).…”

Section: Subtle Racismmentioning

confidence: 99%

How is ‘racism’ understood in literature about black and minority ethnic social work students in Britain? A conceptual review

Jeyasingham

Morton

2019

Social Work Education

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“…Scholars have publicly questioned the legitimacy of the microaggressions framework and findings. For example, Nagai (2017) highlights technical and conceptual problems with the studies of microaggressions, including, biased interview questions, small sample sizes, and opinion conformity in focus groups, and suggests that microaggressions privilege the perceptions of BIPOC over the perceptions of White people. Given these perceived inadequacies, other scholars have called for “a moratorium on microaggression training programs and publicly distributed microaggression lists” (Lilienfeld, 2017, p. 138).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making a Microaggression: Using Big Data and Qualitative Analysis to Map the Reproduction and Disruption of Microaggressions through Social Media

Eschmann

Groshek

Chanderdatt

et al. 2020

Social Media + Society

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Racial microaggressions are defined as subtle racial slights that can be offensive or hurtful. One of the defining characteristics of racial microaggressions is how difficult they can be to respond to, and the literature reports that not responding may be the most common response to microaggressions. This study addresses a vital gap in the existing literature by examining the extent to which the silence that characterizes face-to-face experiences with microaggressions extends into online social media spaces. Drawing on a dataset of 254,964 tweets over an 8-year period, we present and examine trends in the usage of the term “microaggressions” over time. Furthermore, we then generate a purposive sample of 1,038 of the most influential tweets to explore discussions and content themes through an in-depth qualitative analysis of these messages. Here, we find both a drastic increase in the usage of the term microaggression on Twitter over time and an intense contestation over its meaning and repercussions for both individuals and society. Implications of these findings in understanding the role of online social media discourse in challenging or reproducing hegemonic racial structures is discussed.

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The Pseudo-Science of Microaggressions

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Combating the “Too Sensitive” Argument: A Demonstration That Captures the Complexity of Microaggressions

Combating the “Too Sensitive” Argument: A Demonstration That Captures the Complexity of Microaggressions

How is ‘racism’ understood in literature about black and minority ethnic social work students in Britain? A conceptual review

Making a Microaggression: Using Big Data and Qualitative Analysis to Map the Reproduction and Disruption of Microaggressions through Social Media

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