Counseling the Culturally Diverse. Laura Smith L.

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quickly at her ring finger Women should be married during child‐bearing ages because that is their primary purpose Assuming a woman is a lesbian because she does not put a lot of effort into her appearance Lesbians do not care about being attractive to others Sexual Objectification When women are treated like objects at men's disposal A male stranger putting his hands on a woman's hips or on the swell of her back as he passes her Your body is not yours Whistling at and catcalling a woman as she walks down the street Your body/appearance is for men's enjoyment and pleasure Using the term “gay” to describe a fellow student who is socially ostracized at school Gay people are weird and different Assumption of Abnormality When it is implied that there is something wrong with being LGBTQ Two men holding hands in public receiving stares from strangers You should keep your displays of affection private because they are offensive “Did something terrible happen to you in your childhood?” to a transgender person Your choices must be the result of a trauma and not your authentic identity Helplessness^a When people frantically try to help people with disabilities (PWDs) Helping someone with a disability on to a bus or train, even when they need no help You can't do anything by yourself because you have a disability People feeling they need to rescue someone from their disability Having a disability is a catastrophe Denial of Personal Identity^b When any aspect of a person's identity other than disability is ignored or denied “I can't believe you are married!” Your life is not normal or like mine; the only thing I see when I look at you is your disability Exoticization When an LGBTQ person, woman of color, or member of a religious minority is treated as a foreign object for the pleasure/entertainment of others “I've always wanted an Asian girlfriend! They wait hand and foot on their men” Asian American women are submissive and meant to serve the physical needs of men “Tell me some of your wild sex stories!” to an LGBTQ person Your privacy is not valued; you should entertain with stories Asking a Muslim person incessant questions about his or her diet, dress, and relationships Your privacy is not valued; you should educate me about your cultural practices, which are strange and different Assumption of One's Own Religion as Normal ^c Saying “Merry Christmas” as a universal greeting Your religious beliefs are not important; everyone should celebrate Christmas Acknowledging only Christian holidays in work and school Your religious holidays need to be celebrated on your time; they are unimportant

      ^a Adapted from Sue, Bucceri et al. (2007).

      ^b Themes and examples are taken from Keller and Galgay (2010).

      ^c Themes and examples are taken from Nadal, Issa, et al. (2010).

THE DYNAMICS AND DILEMMAS OF MICROAGGRESSIONS

      The study of microaggressions presents “a complex scientific challenge because it deals with both explicit and implicit bias; explores the lived realities of marginalized groups in our society; frames microaggressive dynamics as an interaction between perpetrator, target, and the external environment; pushes powerful emotional buttons in the actors; and is difficult to separate from the sociopolitical dimensions of oppression, power, and privilege” (Sue, 2017, p. 171). Not only does the subtle and insidious nature of racial microaggressions render them outside the level of awareness of their perpetrators, but recipients also find their ambiguity difficult to handle. Victims are placed in an unenviable position of questioning not only the perpetrators, but themselves as well (e.g., “Did I misread what happened?”). Victims often replay an incident over and over again to try to understand its meaning.

      Yet, despite attribution ambiguity, microaggressions significantly shape experiences and environments. Researchers have consistently identified microaggressions as creating a hostile and invalidating campus climate (Yosso, Smith, Ceja, & Solorzano, 2009; Young & Anderson, 2019), even referring to them as “toxic rain” that corrodes the educational experience of students of color (Suarez‐Orozco et al., 2015).” The cumulative effect of microaggressions has been shown to impede learning by depleting cognitive and psychological resources (Smith, Hung, & Franklin, 2011; Watkins, Labarrie, & Appio, 2010), resulting in a phenomenon labeled “racial battle fatigue” (Martin, 2019). In work that looks extensively at Black males’ experiences at PWIs, Harper (2013, p. 189) refers to this same concept as “onlyness,” defined as the “psychoemotional burden of having to strategically navigate a racially politicized space occupied by few peers, role models, and guardians from one's same racial or ethnic group.”

      Microaggressions subject marginalized group members to four major social psychological dilemmas that serve to deplete their psychic energies and create constant stress in their lives (Sue & Spanierman, 2020). Let us use the examples of Jaylen and Melanie to illustrate these challenges.

      DILEMMA 1: THE CLASH OF SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC REALITIES

      For Jaylen and Melanie, a major question confronting them was whether they were perceiving their situations accurately or realistically. Were racism and sexism operating in their respective encounters with others? Were people assuming that Jaylen was not to be trusted, up to no good, or potentially a threat? Was Melanie correct that actions of her male colleagues excluded and rendered her invisible, and that she was seen as less competent and capable because of her gender? Although lived experience told both they perceived the situation accurately, chances are that others would be offended at these suggestions. They would likely deny possessing biases, stereotypes, and acting in ways that were exclusionary. In other words, they would emphasize that they and their organizations do not discriminate on the basis of color, sex, sexual orientation, or creed. The question becomes: Whose reality is the true reality?

      Oftentimes, the perceptions held by the dominant group differ significantly from those of marginalized groups in our society. As we have seen earlier, overt displays of racism, sexism and heterosexism appear to have made a comeback and increased in the past few years (Sue, Calle, Mendez, Alsaidi, & Glaeser, 2021), But, many White Americans continue to hold onto the belief that racism is no longer prevalent in society, and not important in the lives of people of color. Further, many men (and women) think that both sexes have achieved nearly equal status in society. Most importantly, most well‐intentioned individuals in our nation and certainly those in power positions do not consider themselves capable of discrimination

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