A reflection piece from Scarlett Sozzani, a member of the community. We will be happy to publish additional posts (anonymously or otherwise) on the subject.
By Scarlett Sozzani
In response to and in support of recent activism around sexual assault and inclusivity at large, I want to take an opportunity to argue that issues of harassment, discrimination, bullying, and other egregiously insupportable actions can only exist when the victims are perceived to be weak, vulnerable, and powerless. And this kind of perception is often (and unwittingly) perpetuated through microagressions by many members of our academic community. Even though microaggressions are arguably even more frequent than outright forms of discrimination and harassment, this issue remains largely unaddressed.
Microaggression is formally defined (on dictionary.com) as:
a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.
A microaggression is difficult to identify because it is so subtle – what one person may consider a microaggression may seem like merely a rude or tactless comment to another person. And comments that do not overtly mention race, gender, class, sexual orientation, etc. are more difficult to directly attribute as an act of microaggression. Furthermore, microaggressions are sometimes unintentional, so the perpetrator might not even realize they are committing a microaggression against someone. It’s a very personal judgment, so perhaps a good question to ask is: “What is the likelihood that the perpetrator would have made this same comment to a person who identifies with the privileged majority?”
Microagressions also come in many forms: not just in words, but also in tone, attitude, gestures, writing, and in all forms of interaction. The accumulated damage over many instances, over time, cannot be understated. It elicits an intuitive response in the receivers of such microaggressions – a nagging feeling of self-doubt that one doesn’t belong, or isn’t good enough, or isn’t as good as the rest of the people in the room.
And beyond the predominantly discriminative definition of a microaggression, I would argue that any action that makes a person feel like their contributions are not valuable, and that they are not good enough to be standing where they are, is counterproductive to the collective aspirations of a community, especially an ambitious, high-flying research community.
Here are some examples of a few microagressions that I have felt in my very short time as a graduate student and in my various roles as a colleague, advisee, collaborator, and teaching assistant.
-“It’s a hard paper to read, especially if you don’t have the necessary background.”
-“You should be able to get the fellowship, right? You’re a young girl.”
-“How is that not what I just said?”
-“I erased your Piazza post answering a student’s ask for supplementary materials because I didn’t like the paper you referenced.”
-And the classic: “Hey guys…”
Let’s all aim to do a little bit better. Perhaps even go above and beyond in pushing against the current by acknowledging, highlighting, and talking about hard-earned and worthy contributions from our under-represented mentees and colleagues.