What to know about microaggressions

A microaggression is a comment or action that negatively targets a marginalised person or group. A microaggression can be intentional or accidental. It is a form of discrimination.

The person sending the message may not realise that it is a microaggression. In some cases, a microaggression can be disguised as a compliment. Microaggression can be:

1. Racial

2. Sexist

3. Misogynistic

4. Heterosexist

Verbal: A common or question that is stigmatising to a marginalised group or person (e.g. '/you're so smart for a woman')

Behavioural: Behaving in a way that is discriminatory to a marginalised person or group (e.g. when a waiter ignores a transgender and serves a cisgender person instead)

Environmental: Subtle discriminations that occur within societies (e.g. when a college campus only has buildings named after people of a certain race)

Microaggressions are a subtle form of prejudice. Implicit bias is the unconscious prejudice in favour of or against one person or group.

Microaggressions are often an expression of implicit bias. However, if a person understands that their comments or actions are microaggressions and continues behaving in the same way, the prejudice they express is explicit bias.