Awareness of Microaggressions

Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggressions happen daily, often without either person involved recognizing what has taken place. One incident of microaggression occurred while I was visiting into with a friend. I went to see a friend and while I was there a man turned to me and said, “hey baby, you need me to open that soda for you, you may break a fingernail”. I was very upset with him but tried to keep my composure. This was gender microaggression and it did not feel good at all.

In addition, becoming aware of the many microaggressions has given me the incentive to make sure that I do not impose microaggression on others. It is so easy for someone to inflict microaggression on others because they are not aware that they are doing it. My experiences and learning from the coursework has helped me identify microaggressions that I commit against others.

 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Diversity and Culture

The first person I asked said that culture was the way they were raised. They said that diversity was the differences in individuals. The person that gave this answer was a male. The second person I asked said that culture was your surroundings and beliefs, not necessarily having anything to do with ancestry because people move to different countries all the time and they may adopt another culture. They also said that diversity was anything that was different to any individual person. The third person said that culture was their values, beliefs and traditions. They said that diversity to them meant differences in values, beliefs, and traditions.

Some of the aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied were included in some of the answers. Many of the answers included value, traditions, beliefs and differences were included, but many aspects were not included such as; responsibilities, parenting styles, roles, and more.

In conclusion, the people that I asked offered simple definitions but many of the aspects of “deep culture” were included in the very short answers. Many of the “surface culture” aspects were not mentioned. I especially liked the answer that mentioned that sometimes your culture will change and it does not always involve ancestry.

 

 

My Family Culture

My Family Culture

If I had to suddenly move to another country one of the items I would take is a straightening comb that my grandmother used when I was a child. A straightening comb is like a metal comb that is placed on the stove to get hot. When the comb gets hot it is then used to straightened out your hair. Before perms were famous, some African Americans would use these straightening combs to straighten out their course hair.

In addition, the other two items that I would take are my bible and my blanket that my grandmother made for me when I was a child. These two things are important to me and are a part of who I am. Those three things are very important to me and my family culture. These three items have helped me throughout my life. I would explain to others that these items are very important to me and I would feel incomplete without them.

Also, if I were told that I could only keep one item I would be very disappointed. I would be sad and it would make me feel that my family values did not mean anything to others. I would feel as though my family had been disrespected. I wouldn’t feel valued and respected as a person.

In conclusion, as a result of this exercise I am starting to think how others feel. I know that everyone wants to be valued and respected. Showing others that their beliefs and customs are not important is something that is very disheartening. It has increased my awareness of how others feel. This was a very good exercise.