PRACTICING AWARENESS OF MICROAGGRESSIONS

        One example of microaggression that I have experienced was once in a department store, the sales woman looked at me as if I did not belong and she took a long time to address and acknowledge me. This form of microaggression made me feel welcomed, and invisible. Also, it made me want to leave the establishment, but, I know that ignorance is bliss and I refused to let this one woman ruin my shopping experience!

     My experience of discrimination has made me have a deeper understanding of the root of prejudices and had made me more aware of my own personal biases attitudes, perceptions and feelings. I really enjoyed taking the test “Test Yourself for Hidden Biases/ Teaching Tolerance” it was an eye opener!

References

Teaching Tolerance. (n.d.). Test yourself for hidden bias. Retrieved May 25, 2011, from http://www.tolerance.org/activity/test-yourself-hidden-bias

PERPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY AND CULTURE

 

    For this blog assignment I asked three different people what their definition of culture and diversity means to them …I asked:

  1. 21 year old Man

  2.  Mexican American woman

  3.  A woman with physical disabilities

     The man’s response to culture was “culture is your family, your ethnic background” he said that diversity is “being different from others”

  The Mexican American woman said that culture “is her family, her way of life and the way they dress, the food they eat and the music that they listen to”. In reference to diversity she spoke about, the different races within the world, and how everyone is diverse.

     The person with physical disabilities is a woman, who uses a wheel chair due to being injured in a car accident. She said that culture “is my ethnic makeup, my family beliefs, morals and values; It’s a way that different people live their lives” she said that diversity is being different, she spoke of her disability as being a part of diversity, just as different races and people of different sexual orientations are different.

     Some aspects of culture and diversity was offered to me from all three individuals in terms of what I have been studying in this course, they all spoke of being different, that their culture is their family, ethnic makeup, beliefs, values and morals, the way they live, the music, the food and clothing that they wear. Some examples that I didn’t hear were religious views, age, socioeconomic status, and social class to name a few. As I reflect on these answers that were shared with me, it makes me further believe that culture is individualized as well; it’s belonging to sub cultures within a culture. Everyone has their own beliefs of what culture and diversity is and that there is no right or wrong answers.