Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

          When I thought about an example of microaggression for this assignment, I thought about an incident which happened during my internship as a counseling student.  I often had the opportunity to counsel with students on campus and more often than not, these were students of diverse backgrounds.  The one incident that stands out so vividly in my mind happened with a young Caucasian man from Alabama.  When he signed up for the extra credits, he was unaware of who the person would be that would counsel him.  When I went into the room to escort him to the cubicle where we would be working, he was totally surprised to discover I was a female and was African American.  The way that I discovered his surprise was that he stated to me, “I did know that you would be the one I had to talk with”.  When I asked him if he thought it would be a problem, he stated that it would be because I would not be able to understand him or his life and he did not want to tell me any of his personal business.  When I asked if he would prefer a different counselor, he said yes as long as it was someone like him.  I then asked if he wanted a male counselor, he stated that it did not matter as long as it was someone like him.  I then asked if he would prefer a white counselor and he stated that he would because he thought they would understand him better.  I told him that I did not have a problem with his preference and that he could make an appointment with one of the other counselor that he felt would be able to help him. 

After this incident, I then had a supervisory session with my instructor, who observed all of our sessions and a couple of my colleagues from class.  What I had to realize is that this was not an isolated incident and that I would ultimately encounter other people who would feel this way throughout my practice.  I initially had many mixed reactions afterwards.  There was anger, disbelief, surprise and later acceptance.  The anger was because I was unable to voice my feelings at the time the student was with me about what he said.  The disbelief and surprise was because he is on a school campus, in a dormitory, with so many diverse groups, how is he able to co-exist with them when he harbors such disregard and obvious feelings of superiority toward minorities. The last feeling was acceptance because I was able to understand that although he felt the way he did, it did not reduce who I was or my ability to do my job.  I worked through my feelings within my sessions with my supervisor and was able to overcome the microaggression of racial and gender discrimination which were clearly intentional. 

Although the young man did not make his statements in a disgusting way, but in a superior manner which let me know that he did not feel that I was capable of being of any service to him.  If I had not gone into a session with my supervisor immediately after this happened, it may have had a very negative effect on my self-esteem and integrity and made me doubt my ability as an effective professional counselor.  I now work with children and adults of various diverse backgrounds and I have learned to not take things that are said to me personal because of my strong sense of knowing who and what I am as a person. 

Ultimately, I have learned through my observations of people and experiences that as people, through our cultural, educational, internal self awareness and interactions with others, we must respect each others difference and eliminate fear of those differences.  Oftentimes it is the fear of what we don't know that keeps us separated and unwilling to open up to others.  When we develop an awareness of who we are and an acceptance of others for who and what they are, we will learn that it doesn't matter whether we agree with their beliefs, customs, traditions, or ideas, as long as we respect them.  We must eliminate our biases toward others by becoming more secure in ourselves personally and professionally and this way we can provide services to our children and families with an open mind and embracing spirit.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

 Definitions of culture and diversity

D. Cage, is a 25 year old music student defines culture as a person’s heritage or customs.  It is family, environment or where you live, race, beliefs and values.  All these come together to influence you are as a person, how you live and exist in the world. Her definition of diversity is the co-existence of people of different backgrounds, cultures, languages, or abilities within a school or community learning to live together in respectful and acceptable ways. (personal communication, July 19, 2013).

E. Littleton is a 65 year old administrator defines culture as a combination of people’s race, traditions, languages, religion, ethnicity, and values which make them who they are and gives them a sense of pride and meaning.  She defined diversity as people of different ethnicity, languages, or cultures living within a community, group or social setting but working together. (personal communication, July 18, 2013).

D. Rogers is a 32 year old computer tech who defines culture as language, traditions, values and beliefs, family and ways of life, social and economic classes, and most of all ethnicity and race. He believes diversity is the way we live, work and accepts people of different cultures, races, languages, foods, customs, abilities and beliefs in the same community, schools, and society. (personal communication, July 18, 2013).

Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples?

I feel that all the answers I received included most if not all of the aspects of culture and diversity which I have studied in this course.  I know through the webcast and the readings that culture is inclusive of people’s ethnicity, beliefs, values, family customs and traditions as well as their religious practices.  Diversity includes the differences in language, ethnicity and culture as well as abilities.  Each of the people I interviewed offered some of the same definitions of both culture and diversity and how they each are inclusive within groups, communities, work and school.

Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission?

Some aspect regarding culture that may be inclusive would be music, clothing, foods and although language was mentioned, this would also include dialect. Many cultures have common languages, but different dialect, such as African Americans.  Although we all speak English, there are more common word used in the African American culture that are not a part of the English language, but are recognized by many within their community and even across the country.

In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics?

After interviewing each of the people listed above, I realized that there are commonalities among each of us when it comes to defining what we believe define culture and diversity.  After giving careful thought to what each of them had to say and given everything that I have read over the past weeks in this course, I am inclined to believe what Smidt (2006) defined as our cultural tools which are specific to and often used to define our culture.  There are so many different levels to defining who we are, where we come from and what makes us who we are until it would take forever to identify each of the levels which make us whole.

References

Smidt, S. (2006). The developing child in the 21st century: A global perspective on child development. New

         York, NY: Routledge.

MY FAMILY CULTURE

MY FAMILY CULTURE

            If I were caught in a major catastrophe and would have to relocated to a different county with only three small items and the clothes on my back, I’m sure that once I was reassured that my family was alright and with me, there would be three most important items I would choose.

Those three items would be my family photo, a set of rings given to me by my mother which has been in the family for four generations, and my small bible that was a gift from my grandmother.

            

The significance of each of these items are:

            The family photo is the last one that was taken in which all my family was together and there is a photo of my father and oldest brother, who are both deceased.  It is the one thing I have to remember each of them.

            The rings have been in my family for four generations.  They were the rings given to my great-great grandmother for a wedding gift.  She worked on a plantation and I am not sure how my great-great grandfather was able to afford them, but they have several diamonds and there are two identical rings.  My mother wears them although she gave them to me.  I do not wear jewelry at work so they are safer with her at the moment.

            Lastly, I would take my small bible because it contains all the information from our family bible.  Our family bible contains all the names, birthdays and place of birth of my family members on both my mother and fathers side of the family dating back to before the 1900’s.  I have condensed a lot of the information into a smaller bible that I have begun to enter my children’s information into.  Hopefully, one day I will have an opportunity to place my grandchildren’s information into this bible.

            Upon arrival, if told I could only keep one personal item, I would insert the picture into the bible and keep the bible.  I place more value in small things that cannot be replaced such as the photo and bible than the rings.  I love the rings but having my family’s ancestral information to pass down to my children would be more important than the rings.  When I thought about this blog and what I would hold most valuable, I had to think long and hard of what would mean the most to me.  Knowing that my children would have something tangible to bring awareness of their family history is most important and significant.  I tell them always that it is just as important to know where you come from as it is to know where you’re going.  I want them to know about their family’s struggles, accomplishments, beliefs, values, and most important, their life which made it possible for them to be here.