Oluo defines microaggressions as “small daily insults and indignities perpetrated against people of color.” Microaggressions are often committed unintentionally, but Oluo argues that they are a form of oppression because they’re psychologically harmful to oppressed people.
Microaggression Quotes in So You Want to Talk About Race
The So You Want to Talk About Race quotes below are all either spoken by Microaggression or refer to Microaggression. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
Don't force people to acknowledge your good intentions.
Related Characters:Ijeoma Oluo (speaker)
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
176
Explanation and Analysis:
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Microaggression Term Timeline in So You Want to Talk About Race
The timeline below shows where the term Microaggression appears in So You Want to Talk About Race. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 12: What are microaggressions?
Racial microaggressions are “small daily insults and indignities perpetrated against people of color.” They feel similar to...
(full context)
Oluo says that microaggressions are distracting and exhausting. Moreover, they make racist assumptions a part of everyday life. They...
(full context)
Oluo thinks that it’s important to call out microaggressions when you witness other people using them but to take the lead from the person...
(full context)
If you’ve been called out for a microaggression, Oluo advises taking a pause (it’s easy to become overwhelmed and defensive), ask yourself why...
(full context)
Chapter 14: What is the model minority myth?
...political representation (there’s only one Asian American in the U.S. Senate), and they face persistent microaggressions. Many people also use the model minority myth to accuse other minorities of laziness. Oluo...
(full context)