Lately, on this campus especially, there has been a great deal of discussion about being politically correct. Among the milieu of these conversations, the term ‘microaggressions’ has been tossed around. Chances are you are familiar with the idea, but if not, dictionary.com defines “microaggression” as “a subtle but offensive comment or action directed at a minority or other nondominant group that is often unintentional or reinforces a stereotype.” More simply put, it’s “the use of such subtle but offensive comments or actions.” Microaggressions come from a place of misunderstanding about a minority, or prevailing stereotypes that dictate how anyone who is not a white, straight, cisgendered, able-bodied, male is perceived. Telling a girl of Afro-Caribbean descent that she’s pretty despite her natural hair is a microaggression. By telling your gay friend that he doesn’t act like a typical gay guy, you’re guilty of a microaggression. It might not seem like a big deal. Sticks and stones may break bones, after all, but words will never cause harm, right?
Microaggressions are called what they are for a reason. They are small moments—seemingly insignificant—but they are still damaging. I am a queer woman, and hearing or reading offhanded and offensive comments about gender or my sexuality once in a while is annoying, but ultimately doesn’t upset me. Experiencing it multiple times in a day is frustrating. Living through it regularly, year round, is sometimes really difficult to deal with. Those comments start to get inside my head, and once they’re internalized they’re hard to get rid of. They come from everywhere, too, not just people outside of the minorities or nondominant groups. Other people who’ve internalized microaggressions that they’ve experienced can sometimes project them outwards, onto people in the same boat as them. And I’m totally aware that compared to many, I have it easy. People who are more outwardly, visibly deviant from the white, heteronormative, cisgendered “ideal” face much more direct forms of microaggressions daily.
But we’re all in agreement about the existence of microaggressions. No matter how politically correct or knowledgeable you think yourself to be, everyone is guilty of them every once in a while. Even I slip up and say something unintentionally offensive because these ways to see people and groups of people are really engrained in our culture. Believe me, we all do it.
But guess what? That’s okay. People are imperfect and sometimes we make mistakes without even knowing it. Microaggressions are an issue, but the bigger problem is people who are unwilling to learn from their mistakes. At Kenyon, a school that’s known for it’s liberal student body, it’s easy to brush off people trying to correct something you say under the belief that you know better. If somebody tells you what you said is wrong or problematic, you don’t have to get defensive. You just have to listen and learn. It’s your duty to accept what they say, even if you don’t like the sound if it. If you truly believe that you know more than the person trying to correct you, then you are going to cause more damage in the future than good. Beyond microaggressions, it’s important to listen to the people around us, accept criticism or advice, and grow from the experience. This is a key part of being a mature, knowledgeable, and compassionate adult. Along with listening, educate yourself! The more self-aware you become, the less chance there is of committing microaggressions against the people around you. A quick Google search will provide you with ample resources for understanding microaggressions more fully and giving you ways to avoid them in the future.
People say that we live in a society that’s becoming obsessed with being politically correct, and it’s hindering general education and interpersonal relationships. In case you can’t tell, I disagree. Unless you are an uncaring, cruel person, you don’t want to see people suffer from repeated offensive comments at your hand. I don’t want to hurt others because of my lack of knowledge either, but our society allows racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, etc. microaggressions to be perpetuated. It’s our job, as individuals, to fix that. We have to listen and learn, and set the example for people who subscribe to harmful ideas like being politically correct is overrated or too difficult. However, change isn’t going to happen until you change the way you think and project that outwards, because it starts with one person every time.
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