Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember from another time. In what context did the microaggression happen? What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggression or when you found yourself as the target of a microaggression?

The example I have is one that I was involved with but did not notice it right away.  This week I attended a meeting for a military spouse’s board that I am on.  During the meeting the treasurer informed the board that her husband had just received orders so they would be moving before the organizations 2015-16 year would be over and that we will need to find a new treasure to at least finish out the year.  Right away one of the board members said “we should see if VeeVee would like to be the treasurer, I bet she would be good at it.”  Veevee is one of the only active members who is Asian, and by the board member assuming that she would be good as the treasurer I felt like this was a racial microagression.  The board member does not know VeeVee but is assuming that she is good with numbers/math.  I did not realize this as a microaggression until later in the meeting and I did suggest another active member who might be interested in the position (the woman happened to not be Asian).  I suggested that we ask a few different people if they would be interested because we do not know any of them well enough to know if they would want the position or be good at it.  I felt upset that some of the women on the board would stereotype or make an assumption about someone we do not know.      

In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people.

This experience opened my eyes as to how often microaggressions happen and how nonchalantly they seem to be part of people’s conversations.  Even though I did not recognize it right away, I was trying to think that if I did not read about this week and was not looking for microaggressions would I have just not recognized it.  I believe that the other members did not recognize it for one of two reasons; either they, too, assume all Asians are good at math or they feel that it was actually a compliment.  I think that many people do not always recognize microaggresseions because it seems to be covered with some type of compliment.  I now know that I need to be aware of what I am saying, along with recognizing when other are using microaggressions and be willing to enlighten others as to the assumptions or stereotypes they are making.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For this assignment I spoke with my husband and a few friends, all of which are at least in one way culturally different from myself.  I asked a few extra people just to make sure that I had at least three and then I couldn't decide which ones to select so I will include them all.

Definitions of Culture:

Culture is the culmination of ancestry, customs, traditions, practices and behaviors that dictates who we are and how we act.

So I went to sleep last night fleshing out what culture means to me and realized I was only capturing it from a personal stance as an afro-latina, and not the term itself, and my mind had a full out conversation covering the many ways culture is applied outside of my identity, such as with rape culture. In the end, for right now, culture has 2 definitions for me: 1) the rituals, language, art, and energy tied to one's historical practice of their ancestors. 2) the unspoken practice of habits tied to someone's environment, that individuals may or may not be an active participant of.

Culture is what we have been inculcated with based on the values of our families and community organizations (church, military, etc).

Culture is the common world view that associates you with a certain area/region/country or group. It shapes how you view the world and how the world see's you.

Definitions of Diversity:

 Diversity is the recognition of the collective uniqueness of people and the traits that make them unique or different from each other.

Diversity defies boundaries: diversity of age, sex, gender, thought, experience, etc

Diversity is best defined by the lack of similarity. In terms of social science, it is a dissimilar cultural basis

I believe that all the aspects that were mentioned in the definitions were discussed and studied. I realized that some aspects that were omitted are how culture even impacts our body language and parenting styles.  Reflecting on what other people’s definitions of culture and diversity are provided me with another example of how when asking people the same questions, the answers are going to be different due to their personal experiences.  Depending on what people consider as important to culture and diversity and impacts them, that is what they included in their definitions.

My Family Culture

A description of the three items and what each of these items means to you

A Cookbook- this particular cookbook was given to me by my father and was originally owned by my grandmother.  It has all of the traditional Swedish recipes that my grandmother would cook for us.  Although I was not a fan of some of the recipes, I enjoyed trying everything because I could see the joy in my grandmother’s and father’s face when we all were able to enjoy dishes together from when both of them were growing up.  Even though I do not cook from it often, it seems to be one of those things that I just cannot part with every time my husband and I are trying to consolidate for another move.

Ring- my wedding ring is one thing that I would want to take as it is a daily reminder of the best days in my life and a reminder of the important commitment that I made to the most important person in my life.  It also reminds me of the important job I have as a military spouse, even when we can’t be together I can glance at it and I am flooded with beautiful memories.

A Dala Horse- these are wooden horses originating in Sweden.  They are hand carved and brightly painted horses of all different sizes that children play with.  Although children still play with them they are often used as decorations.  I can remember my grandmother giving me Dala horses to play with when I was young and when I got older, before she passed away, she gave me two beautiful ones that have belonged in the family for years.  I have always imagined explaining what they were to my children someday and watching them play with the horses.  In some sense they remind me of how much I want to be a mother.

Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you

I can only imagine that this would be devastating to be forced somewhere new and then be told to give up what few possessions you have.  The whole situation would be very emotional and I would feel as if they were also taking part of my dignity. 

Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise

At first this assignment seemed very difficult to me because I like to think that material objects do not represent my family culture.  That my family culture is guided by certain beliefs and morals that run deeper than picking an item.  However, my husband was discussing this with me and asked me, what are some items that no matter where we move and it is time to consolidate and pack that I cannot part with.  This is how I thought of these three items and after reflecting on why I cannot part with these items I realized that these are the items that for me represent and celebrate my family culture.