Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

An example of a microaggression I witnessed this week would have to do with sexual orientation.  At one of the cosmetic stores where I live, there are two males who work there.  I was looking over the various colors of rouge, when I overheard a lady ask one the males if he could help her find the right color foundation for her face, and then added, “You’ll be better at this than I will.”  After observing this microaggression, I immediately thought of the video I watch with Dr. Sue and when he said that unintentional microaggressions are more damaging than others.  I believe this lady was trying to compliment the guy, but naturally assumed he was gay and that gay men are better at dealing with make-up.  The man was friendly and did help the lady, but I wondered what he was thinking and if he was gay, how did he feel about her assumption? 

This week’s readings and video reminded me to be more sensitive to stereotypes, discriminations, and prejudices.  I did not realize unintentional microaggressions could do more harm than the others, as it demeans, insults, and causes it targets to feel less valued.  I also did not realize that prejudices can begin at age 3.  Personally and professionally, as an early childhood educator, I feel it is so important to instill in children positive social-emotional developments to value and respect all people, especially those different from themselves.  Children should be able to recognize differences and embrace those differences instead of distancing themselves from it and producing negative feelings, which are difficult to reverse as children grow older.  We must strive to be an inclusive society for all people and to educate our young children about the need to perceive the views of others and work effectively together to make positive connections, which will produce positive outcomes towards a better society.  

 

Reference

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

 

 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Blog: Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

1.  Tomoko: Believes diversity is comprised of people from different countries and culture is what those people carry with them from past generations.

2.  Kalpana:  Believes diversity is about different thoughts, ideas, and experiences along with race, ethnicity, religion, and genders.  She also believe everyone has a culture and every culture is different by how families live and what they have experienced and choose to continue.

3.  Wendy:  She believes diversity is about different cultures coming together.  She believes diversity also has to do with people’s skin color, the foods they eat, and from where they came.

 From the aforementioned definitions of culture and diversity there are many aspects of what I have learned culture and diversity to be from this course.  I have learned that people perceive culture and diversity mostly from what they see on the surface.  Only one person I asked about culture and diversity included individual thoughts, ideas, and experiences, which go beneath the surface of appearances.  I think our society still needs to gain better insights as to how complex culture and diversity are instead mainly believing culture and diversity has to do with one’s skin color and/or race. 

One aspect of culture and diversity that has been omitted is a person’s abilities.  People are all unique in what they can do and what they can offer, whether they are considered to have a disability or not.  Also, not considered was economic class, gender, daily living, and sexual orientation. 

Through these definitions of diversity, I continue to be amazed of how people view diversity and culture.  These views, for the most part, seem superficial to me.  Only the “tip of the iceberg” views.  I think we need to be educated more on how complex and multifaceted culture and diversity truly is in the lives of each individual.   Dominant culture also strongly influences many cultures and so I believe the thinking about such a topic is influences our definitions, for the most part. 

My Family Culture

Blog: My Family Culture

 

    The items I would take if I were only allowed to take three items with me to another country with a culture different from my own would be my Bible, my photo album, and my credit card.  I would tell the others that these items would help me remain stable while adjusting to my new culture.  My religion is what keeps me grounded, my photo album would help me retain my memory of my family/culture, and my credit card would help me support my family financially to help us get adjusted to our new life.  However, if I were told I could only keep one item it would definitely be my Bible, because if I am in a culture supposedly different from my own, I would likely not have access to a Bible and my faith is what keeps me centered and focused.  I didn’t realize my religion/faith had such a huge impact on everything about me and that without it, I would not be the person I am today.