Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Being that I am a white, middle class woman, I have a hard time thinking of a time when I have experienced microaggression. I am sure that I have witnessed and possibly even acted out a microaggression, but I have also recently experienced a microaggression. Not very long ago, my Co workers and I were eating lunch and discussing the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. I cannot remember exactly what we were talking about, but I recall one co-worker, who happens to be black, say so thing and then said, "Oh my God, I can't believe I am starting to talk like the rest of you". It was weird, because I wasn't quite sure what she meant by it, other than that we are all white and Americans. She is black but also from England. At the moment, no one payed too much attention to the comment, but afterward I began to think about it and it upset me. It was as if we all talk a certain way and that it was not as good as she talks.
The odd thing about this situation is that it is the opposite to the microaggressions that are most often heard of. Even Dr. Sue, in his discussion, referred to the microaggressions as all being made by white people towards others. It is not often that people who are white talk about discrimination or biases against them. Throughout this week, the readings and discussions has made me realize that microaggressions are really very small, can be intentional or unintentional, and can occur against anyone.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

"I guess I describe culture as a shared set of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors (maybe knowledge and language too) that is learned rather than built in. Diversity just means difference - so there must be two or more variations in some aspect of culture (unless were speaking of genetic diversity)" - Psychology Professor

"Diversity is groups of people that are different. Culture is where people live" - 8-year-old son

"Diversity is differences in people. Culture is where you come from, where your people are from." - Husband

I found three people who are diverse from one another and diverse from myself. My husband and son are both in different age categories than I am, as is the Psychology Professor. My husband also comes from a different cultural background than I do, as he was raised in a different time period and raised by a 100% Italian mother. He has strong Italian traditions and beliefs, whereas I do not have any Italian in my culture at all, up until we were married. My son, who is obviously much younger than I am, is being raised in a mesh of cultures of my husband and my own, as well as the situations and events that occur in his life and help to shape his culture. My old Psychology Professor is much older than myself and my husband, and I do not know very much about his cultural identity or background aside form his educational background. I still find it interesting that when I asked, I expected a philosophical answer that was much broader and difficult to understand, but what I got was a basic answer similar to my own and the textbook answers we have discussed in class. I did ask one other person, a middle-aged woman that attends my church. When I asked what her definition was, she asked me, "do you want to know the proven answer or my own answer." I told her I wanted to know what she thinks the definitions are. She said she had to think about it but I haven't heard back from her yet. I was interested to get her answer since her children are adopted and come from a very different cultural background than her own. I can imagine that the reason for her question back to me is somehow rooted in that difference.

My Family Culture

This assignment was so difficult to imagine, on so many levels. The first is that I have never been to another country, so to imagine having to represent my culture is difficult. The first thing I would take would be my coupon binder. One of the cultural things that defines me is to be frugal and save as much money as possible. The coupon binder allows me to save money on the things my family uses on a regular basis so that we have money to spend on other things. This is something that may or may not be helpful to me in another country, depending on what the culture is in that country. It is something that works well here in the United States because we have a comercialized society. Other countries that are not as comercialized, I may not be able to make the coupons work as well. The second thing I would take with me would be my photo albums with pictures of my extended family. My culture is very much focused on the family, especially my parents and grandparents. I look to them for advice and information on what my culture is. They are such a large part of my culture and helped to shape it. The third thing I would take with me is my camera. Just as the people in my life shape my culture, so do the activities and events that occur in my life. Every event that occurs in my life shapes my current culture and molds it constantly. Having my camera allows me to focus on the events and look back on them.
If, when I arrived at my destination, found that I could only keep one item it would be my camera. While my culture was shaped by my past and the important people in my past, the current events and future events are what costantly shape my culture.