Microaggressions in the Media
By: Morgan Foss
PC: Link
What is a microaggression?
Microaggressions are small daily insults and indignities perpetrated against marginalized or oppressed groups, stated Ijeoma Oluo, in her New York Times best selling novel “So You Want To Talk About Race.” Oluo tackles the hard conversation about race in her novel, but microaggressions can be perpetrated against an individuals gender, sexuality, ability, ethnicity in addition to race. Check out this article, “Microaggressions, it’s more than just race,” to learn more about different types of microaggressions.
According to Ijeoma Oluo, microaggressions are:
Small (hence, the “micro”) and can easily be explained away or as unintentional
Cumulative. On their own, microaggressions don’t seem like a big deal, but overtime become exhausting.
Microaggressions are perpetrated by many different people and against many different people.
Oftentimes, individuals are unaware that they are perpetrating a microaggression.
Verbal Microaggression Examples:
“That’s so ghetto”
“You speak English so well for an Asian/Latino person”
Assuming a women is not in a position of power.
Whistling or catcalling
Nonverbal Microaggression Examples:
Clutching your bag at the store or thinking you’re in danger when near POC.
Store assistants assuming POC do not have enough money to shop in high-end stores.
Hugo Balta, Senior Producer at MSNBC
Student Insight on microaggressions
“The Power of diversity in media”
On November 11, 2019, Hugo Balta, a senior producer at MSNBC spoke at The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University about the power of diversity in media.
Balta tackled many topics involving diversity in the news, sports, politics, entertainment and more. He emphasized how everyone has implicit biases and prejudices. In addition, to how we can better understand ourselves and create more fair and accurate content if we accept our biases.
Balta also discussed how microaggressions are used in the media and showed a YouTube video comparing microaggressions to mosquito bites. The video described how microaggressions accumulate overtime and disrupt relationships between groups of people.
A specific example Balta discussed was how the media utilizes words like illegals, illegal aliens and invasion when discussing immigrants. He said this is how the media frames the narrative and how microaggressions have been normalized overtime.
Balta advices future communication professionals to do better research and put more effort into applying accurate context within the stories they produce.
“Microaggressions are a big problem in regard to how biases and prejudice content is served up, and over time has a negative effect.”
After Hugo Balta’s diversity discussion, I interviewed Maya Bingaman, a public relations graduate student at The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Bingaman stated her opinions on microaggressions and what she believes it will take to end the injustice.
“I think it’s important for especially people in the non-marginalized to recognize them (microaggressions) as well, because without them recognizing it and speaking up on our behalf, people of color, and marginalized people, I think they will keep going on and on and on.”
Microaggressions in Public Relations and the Media
Microaggressions continue to be utilized through entertainment like films, music, television and more. Watch this YouTube video that displays examples of microaggressions in pop culture.
As a public relations practitioner and a communications professional, it is critical to understand the repercussions of microaggressions. Microaggressions alienate groups of marginalized groups. As communicators, our job is to tell stories and to create content that will resonate with the audience opposed to offending them.
Talking about microaggressions is hard. It’s hard for the person constantly having to address the offensiveness, and it’s hard for the person always feeling like they did something wrong, (Oluo, “So You Want to Talk About Race.”) In the end, it is important to have the conversation and do our part to be progressive in making change.