Cultural Autobiography Case Study

Cultural Autobiography Case Study

Kimberly H. Morgan

CED-525: Cross Cultural Consideration in Counseling

September 23, 2018

Dr. Shelia Witherspoon

Microaggressions are verbal, environmental or behavioral indignities that direct negative prejudices towards a marginal group. Microaggression lowers one’s self-esteem and create a feeling of inferiority. They can adversely impact on emotional/ social development, career and academic progress of the victim. Early last year, I experienced microaggression in the form of a microinsult. I was accompanying a friend of mine who is Caucasian to a dinner party. While at the entrance, a Caucasian couple enquired whether I was one of the servers. I did not take note of the statement or its ill intention immediately. Later, I realized that the microinsult was passive-aggressive and had the intention of wounding me or making me feel inferior.

The microinsult was in line with the stereotypes leveled against members of the minority groups. Unlike the dominant white race, there are regarded as being inferior, and unskilled. A server is often viewed as being unskilled and inferior. The couple had a pre-determined that individuals of color handle such tasks. The statement made me feel degraded as a member of the minority communities. It depicted a society where people are judged on a racial basis as opposed to their values. Not only it misleading, but it also lowers the quality of life of the affected persons.

Being a young individual aged 32, I felt that my racial group had in the past been sidelined and discriminated. While I did not exhibit my disappointment during the dinner session, I thought that I did not qualify to be in the hotel or interact with other Caucasian individuals except my friend that was there with me. The feeling has remained to date as I find it hard to interact with Caucasian people I do not know freely. While hatred towards the group does not drive my move, I feel inferior and unskilled. The microinsult made me feel degraded and dehumanized. I had the impression that the couple had zeroed on me as opposed to my friend due to the skin color.

It meant that the inferior groups must be confined within their proper duties and inferiority. Such remarks are intended to keep colored individuals inferior and helpless as compared to other groups. Consequently, there are stigmatized and locked out from empowerment opportunities. Although the offender may innocently be influenced by the widely held stereotypes, microinsults impacts on the social and emotional development. In my case, I became more cautious about attending social events or interacting with white individuals. Emotionally, I felt hurt and often use racial factors to evaluate how I am treated, other groups. Microinsults have adverse impacts on social cohesion and interactions.