Micro Aggression Research Paper

For my creative project, I have decided to explore the very common issue of gender micro aggressions and gender harassment. Micro aggressions are described as, “Everyday slights, indignities, putdowns, and insults at people of color, women, the LGBTQ populations, or those who are marginalized; experience in their day to day interactions with other people” (Derald Wing Sue Ph.D). When people think of aggression, they think of some being physically aggressive. A micro aggression in different in the sense that words are the aggressors instead of people being aggressive. Micro aggressions are usually not seen as offensive. A gender focused micro aggression can be anything from assuming that a woman would let a man pay on a date or someone not thinking …show more content…
Gender harassment is described by Aulette and Wittner as, “the act of inappropriately calling attention to women’s or men’s bodies, sexuality or marital status” (396). Gender harassment is a problem because it perpetuates the idea that women are only value for the way that they look. Gender harassment is just as harmful as sexual assault without the physical aspect being involved. Another example I used in my creative artwork is catcalling. While catcalling may seem like a compliment to the person doing it, it is insult to the woman because it draws attention to her looks and nothing else. It is inevitable that men and women will find other men and women attractive. An attractive does not always mean interaction, a catcall does. What makes catcalling harmful is that it is objectifying to women. A catcall reveals “a disregard for the woman’s humanity, the possibility of her discomfort or irritation or fear, and signals that a woman is nothing more than her body or the ways in which she chooses to dress it” (Arianna Rebolini). An example of a catcall can be, “Sweetie, can I get a smile”? I thought catcalling to be a proper example because it is something that women has dealt with during one time or