microaggressions
Small prejudiced remarks
Microaggressions are subtle slights, snubs, or insults directed at members of marginalized groups, often unintentionally.
The term captures everyday indignities that may seem minor in isolation but accumulate: Where are you really from? asked of a native-born citizen, or touching a Black person's hair without permission.
Critics argue the concept pathologizes ordinary social friction; proponents see it naming something previously invisible.
Usually plural.
Deliberate dismissive rejection
- invalidationAct of nullifying
- belittlingExpressing contempt or dismissiveness
- patronizingTreating someone as inferior
- dismissiveShowing contemptuous disregard
condescending · eye-rolling · othering · gaslighting · interrupting · overlooking · excluding · ignoring
Act of nullifying
- marginalizationRelegation to powerless periphery
- exclusionBeing barred from participation
- alienationState of being isolated
- otheringViewing as fundamentally different
silencing · erasure · dehumanization · exhaustion · trauma · harm · distress · stigmatization
Understood without being stated
- insidiousSubtly destructive over time
- covertIntentionally concealed
- indirectNot straight or immediate
- veiledConcealed or obscured
coded · unconscious · unintentional · inadvertent · everyday · casual · offhand · ambiguous
Prejudice based on ethnicity
- sexismGender-based prejudice
- ableismBias against disabled individuals
- ageismPrejudice targeting older people
- homophobiaPrejudice against same-sex attraction
transphobia · xenophobia · classism · colorism · fatphobia · exoticization · fetishization · misgendering
Speaking to or handling
- confrontingAddressing directly
- educatingTeaching or training someone
- documentingCreating a formal record
- reportingConveying documented information
coping · processing · solidarity · allyship · advocacy · awareness · training · intervention
snub
Deliberate dismissive rejection
- invalidationAct of nullifying
- belittlingExpressing contempt or dismissiveness
- patronizingTreating someone as inferior
dismissive · condescending · eye-rolling · othering · gaslighting · interrupting · overlooking · excluding · ignoring · tokenizing
invalidation
Act of nullifying
- marginalizationRelegation to powerless periphery
- exclusionBeing barred from participation
- alienationState of being isolated
othering · silencing · erasure · dehumanization · exhaustion · trauma · harm · distress · stigmatization · undermining
implicit
Understood without being stated
veiled · coded · unconscious · unintentional · inadvertent · everyday · casual · offhand · ambiguous · deniable
racism
Prejudice based on ethnicity
- sexismGender-based prejudice
- ableismBias against disabled individuals
- ageismPrejudice targeting older people
homophobia · transphobia · xenophobia · classism · colorism · fatphobia · exoticization · fetishization · misgendering · deadnaming
addressing
Speaking to or handling
- confrontingAddressing directly
- educatingTeaching or training someone
- documentingCreating a formal record
reporting · coping · processing · solidarity · allyship · advocacy · awareness · training · intervention · bystander
- passive aggressionsilent treatment, backhanded compliments, backhanded compliment, cold shoulder, eye rolling
- feminismfeminism, feminist theory, gender equality, women's rights, feminist novels
- LGBTQgay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer
- job barriersageism, sexism, racism, glass ceiling, gender bias
- sexismsexism, gender discrimination, sex discrimination, gender bias, male privilege
- social illsracism, sexism, bigotry, prejudice, discrimination
microaggressionsmacroaggressions
Explicit prejudiced words or acts
hate crimes · hate speech · racial violence · harassment · slurs
microaggressionsaffirmations
Positive self-directed statements
kindnesses · validations · compliments · empowerment · support
microaggressionsinclusive language
Phrasing avoiding marginalization
allyship · acceptance · recognition · hospitality · embrace