Focusing the Lens to See More Clearly: Overcoming Definitional Challenges and Identifying New Directions in Racial Microaggressions Research

Abstract

Despite significant advances in research on racial microaggressions, key challenges remain regarding how to define and classify them. Resolving these challenges is necessary to reduce misunderstanding and the subsequent minimization of racial microaggression research. Our goals in this article are to discuss the definitional challenges, to discuss implications for the creation of taxonomies, and to offer directions for how a revised definition and corresponding taxonomies can be used to further racial microaggression research. Regarding our first aim, we assert that racial microaggressions are observable events that occur independently of intention (i.e., regardless of whether they are intentional or unintentional) or impact (i.e., regardless of how they are perceived by recipients). Moreover, we assert that racial microaggressions are most validly defined by people of color and can have different meanings on the basis of situational context. The second aim is to propose a refinement and expansion of racial microaggression taxonomies. Sue and colleagues’ taxonomy has been invaluable, yet other ways of classifying microaggressions and moving toward dimensional taxonomies are needed to advance scholarship. We highlight key dimensions related to the experience, perpetration, characteristics, and sociopolitical function of racial microaggressions that may be useful for future taxonomies. Overall, overcoming definitional challenges and expanding taxonomies holds potential to advance the literature on racial microaggression.

Adaptation of the Racial Microaggression Scale to Turkish Culture: Validity and Reliability Study

“…Although the subject of microaggression has been studied mainly on a racial basis in the literature, there is very little research on this subject in Turkey, where different ethnic and racial communities live together (voluntary/compulsory). For this reason, there is a need for an accurate understanding of the psychological, sociological and political context of the emergence processes and effects of racial microaggression and to carry out the necessary preventive-developmental studies (Mekawi & Todd, 2021). Considering the current need, in this study, it is aimed to adapt the Microaggression Inventory for Black Individuals developed by Mercer and friends (2011) into Turkish with the name of the Racial Microaggression Scale (RMS).…”

Competence-Questioning Communication and Gender: Exploring Mansplaining, Ignoring, and Interruption Behaviors

“…However, definitionally, one might see competence-questioning behaviors as exemplars of microinsults and microinvalidations (Sue et al, 2007 ). Note that the microaggressions literature has been heavily critiqued because of the definitional confounding of behavior and attribution (e.g., Lilienfeld, 2020 ; Mekawi & Todd, 2021 ; Spanierman et al, 2021 ); one of the primary aims of our studies is to disentangle these by separating the attribution to sexism (inherent in the term mansplaining) from the behavior of questioning competence itself. That is, a questioning of another’s competence can be motivated by many reasons (e.g., a concern for quality of the work, a desire to provide helpful advice); confounding attribution and behavior does not allow for an accurate evaluation of when such behaviors may be rooted in sexism and when they are seen as due to other factors.…”

“…That is, a questioning of another’s competence can be motivated by many reasons (e.g., a concern for quality of the work, a desire to provide helpful advice); confounding attribution and behavior does not allow for an accurate evaluation of when such behaviors may be rooted in sexism and when they are seen as due to other factors. Further, Lui et al ( 2020 ) noted that consideration of deliverer intent was key to how discriminatory various forms of microaggressions were viewed, and Mekawi and Todd ( 2021 ) advocated for microaggression research to look at events independent of intention and impact as necessary given the misunderstanding and minimization of this research stream. In addition to a conceptual distinction, our work also focuses on the behavior- or episode-level, rather than an aggregation across time, contexts, and sources, as is the typical approach in the microaggressions literature.…”

Racial Microaggressions: Critical Questions, State of the Science, and New Directions

“…Despite significant advances in the literature on racial microaggressions, key challenges remain regarding definitions and taxonomies. Mekawi and Todd (2021; this issue) present some notable definitional challenges, discuss implications for the creation of taxonomies, and offer directions for how a revised definition and corresponding taxonomies can be used to further racial microaggressions research. The authors note that racial microaggressions are observable events that occur independently of intention or impact on targets (e.g., Williams, 2020a).…”