Gender Identity Microaggressions in Schools

Jey C. Ehrenhalt
July 16, 2013







Teacher as Researcher
Ron Narode
Portland State University


The impact of prejudice on the human psyche is indisputably deleterious. Discrimination
may shorten ones lifespan and decrease quality of living. However, with overt or public
discrimination increasingly prohibited, the permutations of prejudice have become more elusive.
Discrimination may no longer guarantee a fear for ones literal physical safety. The impact of
exclusion and bigotry, however, is still often experienced in the physical body.
With fewer obvious outbursts or physical assaults, how does one measure the salience of
prejudice today? How does one quantify and communicate about something so invisible to the
unaffected majority? The term racial microaggression was coined in the 1970s by Chester
Pierece to answer this question, and refers to the everyday subtle and often automatic put
downs and insults directed toward Black Americans.
1
As Derald Winger Sue asserts in his
work on microaggressions, microaggressions can be directed at any marginalized or minority
group in society.
Today microaggressions are defined as the brief and commonplace daily verbal,
behavioral, and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that
communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial, gender, sexual-orientation, and religious
slights and insults to the target person or group.
2
A perpetrator of a microaggression is usually
unaware that they are engaging in the behavior; thus, the single incident or comment is often as
minor as telling an Asian American person they speak great English without an accent. Yet it is
the accumulation of these instances, their unpredictability, and the constant wondering if an

1
Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions in everyday life: Race, gender, and sexual orientation.
Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

2
Ibid.
incident was caused by ones identity that slowly erodes ones confidence and physiological
sense of safety in the world.
While one may draw comparisons between microaggressions directed at different
marginalized groups, they vary depending on the specific stereotypes and assumptions about that
group. In this paper I examine the terrain of microaggressions within the LGBTQ community,
and more specifically, transgendered and gender non-conforming individuals. I will discuss the
impact of these microaggressions in an educational setting, as students of all backgrounds share
classroom spacea microcosm for the larger world. Finally, I will explore possible intervention
strategies for decreasing microaggressions within school settings, including mindfulness
techniques, and discuss potential advantages and drawbacks of these methods.
In Thats So Gay: Microaggressions and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Community, author Kevin L. Nadal delineates several categories of microaggressions. A
microassault is defined as the homophobic slurs that LGBT people hear on a regular basis,
3

like faggot or dyke. A subtle glare or look or shock when an LGBT couple displays
affection qualifies as a microinsult, and sends the message that the bystander is discomforted or
disapproving of the couples actions, and of all LGBT people; it is described as verbal or
nonverbal communications that convey rudeness and insensitivity and demean a persons
heritage or identity.
4

Finally, a microinvalidation is a form of communication that excludes, negates, or
nullifies the realities of individuals or oppressed groups.
5
An example of this behavior includes
a hetereosexual person being confronted about a biased statement that they made, and firmly

3
Nadal, K. L. (2013). That's so gay!: Microaggressions and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender community. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

4
Ibid.
5
Ibid.
denying that they are in any way homophobic; this denial invalidates the LGBT persons
experience of the harassment, and on a larger scale acts as a disempowering, victim-blaming
force that gnaws at the confidence of the LGBT person. Microinvalidations leave minorities
doubting their experience, wondering if questionable treatment was due to LGBT identity.
This psychological experience is a form of crazy-making, an undermining tactic used
by perpetrators in abusive relationships in order to maintain the cycle of power and control.
Most who enact microaggressions do so subconsciously with no intent to harm; yet, from a
critical standpoint it is important to privilege the impact of the actions over the involved persons
intent.
Nadal establishes a theoretical taxonomy on sexual orientation and gender identity
microaggressions, and describes each of the eight categories in depth. The taxonomy includes
use of heterosexist and transphobic terminology, endorsement of heteronormative or gender
normative culture and behaviors, assumption of universal LGBT experience, exoticization,
discomfort with/disapproval of LGBT experience, denial of the reality of heterosexism or
transphobia, assumption of sexual pathology/abnormality, and denial of individual heterosexism.
Nadal reiterates the key distinction between a microaggression and a traditional form of
discrimination or homophobia. Old-fashioned discrimination often involves name-calling,
assault, or overt discriminatory behavior; someone may actively call someone a faggot or dyke
with the intention to hurt or to ridicule. In the case of a microaggression, however, the intention
and consciousness of the perpetrator is quite different; someone may evoke a homophobic slur in
an unintentional or unconscious way. Two teenagers may use the word faggot in a joking
context with each other without conscious awareness of the words effects. This could be
considered a microaggression, says Nadal, as if the behavior were reported to an authority figure,
the boys may likely report that they were merely joking with each other and did not consider
anyones sexual orientation when using the word.
6

This lack of consciousness is central to the idea of a microaggression. If individuals
raised their awareness about the implications of their words and actions, they would likely cease
the behavior. It is the unknowing, unintentional quality of microaggressions, as well as the
reluctance of those affected to interrupt the behavior, that perpetuates their insidiousness and the
subtle pervasiveness of their power.
It is important to consider the environments in which these harmful behaviors occur, as
individuals learn their Other-ized role in society beginning at a young age. As the majority of
socialization occurs in school, this is likewise where microaggressions develop and slowly seep
into the identity and consciousness of the marginalized.
What are the quantifiable impacts for LGBT youth, psychologically and academically, of
attending school in this climate? Joseph Robinson and Dorothy Espelage attempt to answer this
question in their article, Inequities in Educational and Psychological Outcomes between LGBT
and Straight Students in Middle and High School. Their findings are striking. Compared with
straight-identified youth, they write, youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
or questioning (LGBTQ) are at greater risk of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, victimization
by peers, and elevated levels of unexcused absences from school.
7
The article cites many
studies to corroborate their conclusion: the Child Welfare League of America found that 45% of

6
Ibid.
7
Robinson, J., & Espelage, D. (October 01, 2011). Inequities in Educational and Psychological
Outcomes Between LGBTQ and Straight Students in Middle and High School. Educational
Researcher, 40, 7, 315-330.

gay, lesbian, or bisexual youth attempted suicide, compared with 8% of heterosexual youth
(2005)
8
.
Another study found that 91.4% of students in an LGBT middle and high school sample
reported that they sometimes or frequently heard homophobic remarks in school, such as faggot,
dyke, or queer. Even when these words are used casually, without an intention of direct
threat to a specific individual, they form a deeply negative learning environment for queer-
identified students. The pervasiveness of anti-gay language in schools, write Robinson and
Espelage, suggests that most school environments are hostile for LGBT students...[.]
The negative impact on the lives of these students is clear. A survey of Massachusetts
high school students (2003) found that LGB-identified individuals were nearly five times as
likely as students who identified as heterosexual to report not attending school because of feeling
unsafe.
9
As learning becomes virtually impossible when a student feels psychologically unsafe,
truancy provides a direct route to a higher risk for dropout, failure, and low achievement in
general.
The influence of low school success is far-reaching, instilling attitudes of general
worthlessness. Additionally, lower levels of school-belongingness
10
carries over into lower
rates of belongingness in life. Finally, the consequences of bullying are far-reaching and severe.
Without strong support systems in place, sexual minority youth who become the targets of
homophobic language experience the highest risk for taking action on their suicidal ideation or
thoughts.
11


8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
10
Ibid.
11
Ibid.
The study does not distinctly separate microaggressive behavior from overt or blatant
harassment or discrimination. However, when negative environments consistently pervade the
public school system, one can infer that these are not atmospheres of constant physical assault or
direct verbal harassment, as this type of unsafe setting would receive intervention from parents,
teachers, and staff. Instead, negative environments pervade the schools through subtle, barely
discernible attitudes and comments that slip under the radar of the most well-intentioned teachers
and staff. These microaggressive behaviors deserve serious research and structural scrutiny in
order to establish causes and early interventions to create a safer learning environment for all.
Robinson and Espelage discuss heterogeneity among groups within the LGBT umbrella
heading. This paper focuses on transgendered students, who experience pervasive harassment
associated with negative school safety perceptions.
12
Trans students experience the highest risk
for failure in school, often victimized due to gender expression.
13
Additionally, the mean age of
self-awareness occurs at a very early age for transgendered individuals, often salient by age four
or five, whereas same-sex attraction first occurs much later around 10 or 11 with pre-teens
establishing an LGBT self-labeling around 14, 15 or 16.
14

Opportunity remains for increased awareness, intervention, and change. If a school
climate can be established that is perceived as positive, for example, Robinson asserts, it may
serve to buffer against the perceived negative psychological and social concerns among sexual
minority youth.
15
It is important to establish this climate early, as lower levels of belongingness
and higher truancy rates are most pronounced in middle school.
16
Early intervention is essential.

12
Ibid.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid.
Growing up as a gender non-conforming youth in a gender-conforming world elevates
the risk for susceptibility to abuse and PTSD, according to a study published in the journal of the
American Academy of Pediatrics. The authors of the study used a questionnaire to determine if
gender nonconformity before age 11 was associated with childhood sexual, physical, and
psychological abuse and lifetime risk for probable PTSD and identified a significant
correlation.
17
The authors cite gender nonconformity as an indicator for general risks, as it is
associated with stressors including poorer relationships with parents, peer rejection, harassment,
and physical and verbal victimization; it is correlated with mental health problems such as
depression, anxiety, distress, body dissatisfaction, attachment anxiety, and suicidality.
18

Due to these findings, it is paramount to identify triggers that contribute to these
childhood stressors.
19
It is important, the researchers write, that school health providers consider
abuse screening and trauma informed care for such a vulnerable population.
20
And finally, it is
essential that teachers, administrators, and those who work in schools hold awareness of the
ways these stressors are perpetually enacted in the classroom and within peer groups at school.
To make classrooms safer, we must investigate how these stressors manifest in the
classroom and in social settings. In Thats So Gay, Kevin Nadal enumerates a list of
microaggressions pertaining specifically to transgender and gender non-conforming youth and
adults. He describes transphobic terminology, such as referring to trans youth as shemales or

17
Roberts, A. L., Rosario, M., Corliss, H. L., Koenen, K. C., & Austin, S. B. (January 01,
2012). Childhood gender nonconformity: a risk indicator for childhood abuse and
posttraumatic stress in youth. Pediatrics, 129, 3, 410-7.

18
Ibid.
19
Ibid.
20
Ibid.
asking if a gender non-conforming youth is a boy or a girl.
21
The endorsement of gender
normative culture and behaviors could include a parent refusing to let a trans girl wear a dress
because girls wear dresses; or, as one trans woman remembers:

My mother contends that my sister, who is cis, needs to learn how to cook, something shes
never said to me as a trans woman. Im angry that my mother thinks women are obligated to be
domestic and that shes only trying to get my name and pronouns right instead of trying to see
me as a woman.
22


Such microaggressions are found in school as well, where gender normative culture is
reinforced and reproduced by educational codes of power and roles operating along rigid,
oppressive gender lines. Nadal describes further gender identity microaggressions, such as the
assumption of a universal transgender experience, exoticization, and discomfort with or
disapproval of transgender experience, exemplified in this story:

I was in school and was getting to know this gentleman. I didnt feel comfortable in telling him
that I was transgender because I wasnt too sure how I [felt] with him yet. There was this girl in
my class who I had thought she knew I was transgender because we go to the gym together. She
tried to question my gender and she [also] found out I was talking to that gentleman. One day, I
happened to walk down the same block as he was and he moved to the left and I kept moving

21
Nadal, K. L. (2013). That's so gay!: Microaggressions and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender community. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

22
Ibid.
forward. He waved hi but it was like he was ashamed, like I was a disease. I was definitely
hurt. In the end, I found out she told him that I was a man.
23


Finally, according to Nadal, trans and gender non-conforming students are likely to
experience stressors and microaggressions through the assumption of sexual pathology, deviance,
or abnormality; the denial of the reality of transphobia; physical threat or harassment; denial of
bodily privacy; and systemic microaggressions. Systemic microaggressions are particularly
salient in academic institutions, as exemplified by a case study of 17-year old Destiny, in which
she meets with her principal in order to communicate her wish to live as a woman, making sure
the school knows and can provide a safe environment for her.
Destinys principal responds, I cant promise you that its going to be safe. Kids with be
kids. Plus, its your decision to dress like that, so you can always choose to dress as a normal
person if you dont want to get into any trouble. When asked if she can use the faculty unisex
restroom, the principal states, No, you still have to use the mens bathroom; we cant make
special requests for any student. The story concludes with Destiny nodding in understanding,
leaving the principals office, and crying afterwards as she gets into her car.
24

Though the body of research on intervention is limited, some articles recommend
strategies for combating prejudice and discriminationovert or microaggressivethat can be
applied to the classroom. Kathleen Rands writes in Considering Transgender People in
Education, that while transgender issues are completely missing from the field of education,
25

teacher education programs have the opportunity to act at the forefront of social justice and

23
Ibid.
24
Ibid.
25
Rands, K. (January 01, 2009). Considering Transgender People in Education. Journal of
Teacher Education, 60, 4, 419-431.

equity by challenging gender category oppression before it becomes irrevocably culturally
ingrained.
26

Rands suggests this process occurs in three layers: teacher educators thinking about
gender in complex ways, working with current and future teachers to interrogate their own
thinking about gender and considering matrices of gender oppression, and supporting teacher
candidates to enact gender-complex education with students.
27
Gender-complex education
as opposed to gender-stereotyped, gender-free, or gender-sensitive educationconsiders
complex structures of privilege and oppression that teachers and students experience based on
gender categories, expressions, and the gender assumptions and attributions that others make of
them.
28

Gender-complex educators, writes Rand, are aware of the ways in which the gender
oppression matrix and heterosexism work in tandem to privilege certain groups of people and
oppress others and take action to challenge the gender oppression matrix and heterosexism.
29

For example, Rand depicts a kindergarten literacy lesson wherein students listen to the story of
Cinderella, and a student points out that the man in the story is portrayed as being able to take
care of himself and others, while the woman is depicted as needing significant help.
In answer to the students question, the teacher might point to the story as an example of
gender category oppression, discussing the fact that gender is portrayed as having only two
distinct categories, or the heterosexist assumption that all the sisters in the story want to marry a

26
Ibid.
27
Ibid.
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid.
man. Ultimately, in Rands example, the students write a new story that challenges the gender
oppression matrix and heterosexism.
30

While the gender-complex approach to education may be theoretically viable and
structurally subversive, such an intellectual framework may not work for all teachers and
students. There may not be enough time in the moment to pause a lesson each time a gender-
category microaggression occurs and facilitate a philosophical conversation about the
construction of gender in society. The demands of classroom management may not allow the
flexibility, community cohesion, and student cooperation needed to conduct such a theoretically
ambitious dialogueparticularly in kindergarten, where Rands Cinderella literacy lesson was
said to place.
We must continue to explore new ideas and methods that fight gender-category
oppression and microaggressions as they occur in the moment. The classroom is a prime setting
for interrupting this behavior, as the structural prejudices are still malleable and societal norms
are still under scrutiny by youth and thereby make a perfect topic for discussion.
Other research materials exist that offer more concrete suggestions for interrupting
microaggressions and advocating for gender non-conforming and transgendered youth. One
such resource is Supporting Transgender and Transexual Students in K-12 Schools: A Guide for
Educators. While grounded in the available literature, the authors have also worked extensively
in the field and/or are themselves trans identified.
31
The guide includes a glossary of terms,

30
Ibid.
31
Martino, W. (January 01, 2013). An Invaluable Resource for Supporting Transgender,
Transsexual, and Gender-Nonconforming Students in School Communities: A
Review of "Supporting Transgender and Transsexual Students in K-12
Schools&quot. Journal of Lgbt Youth, 10, 169-172.

definitions, common misconceptions, a series of recommended strategies grounded in scientific
research, and personal anecdotes from working in schools.
The work addresses in-school transition plans, discussing the role of teachers and
institutions in creating a supportive environment for trans and gender non-conforming students.
32

The authors include a discussion of educational policy as it relates to teachers ethical and legal
questions surrounding their responsibility to personally educate themselves [and to] model
respect, understanding, and affirmation of diversity in the working and learning environment.
33

This resource provides a pathway to profound structural change, and, undoubtedly will
serve many youth who would not have found the same guidance even a few years ago. Yet, the
resources discussed above require patience and dedication to the cause. Not every youth has the
support or resources needed to exercise resilience in the face of relentless microaggressions or
insidious abuse. Educational institutions must be equipped with more short-term resources as
well, for use in the heat of a moment, when getting to school in the morning is impossible, when
sitting in class for another fifty minutes is unbearable, when completing an assignment with an
ignorant, transphobic classmate cannot be endured.
I propose that mindfulness meditation strategies can be utilized to heal from past traumas,
defend against symptoms of PTSD, and prevent its onset entirely. Researchers Thompson,
Arnkoff, and Glass assert that mindfulness techniques aid in developing a psychological
resilience to trauma, in prevention and recovery. While trauma is conventionally defined in
terms of single catastrophic episodes, such as a car crash or a natural disaster, attending school
on a daily basis under threat to ones psychological and/or physical safety matches traumas

32
Ibid.
33
Ibid.
description. PTSD symptoms frequently manifest in those who have experienced consistent
microaggressions or bullying.
Thompson, Arnkoff, and Glass define psychological resilience as the tendency to
overcome factors that place one at risk for psychological dysfunction and to adjust positively in
the aftermath of a potentially traumatic event.
34
The authors posit mindfulness as the antithesis
of PTSD: the former is based in awareness and attention, the latter in habitual avoidance of
unpleasant thoughts and emotional numbing.
It is precisely this avoidance that leads to the perpetuation of PTSD symptoms. Avoiding
triggering situations, thoughts and activities only heightens the intensity of fear and trauma.
This chronic avoidance, the authors note, is hypothesized to increase the frequency and
saliency of the trauma-related experiences.
35
Mindfulness teaches a survivor to lean into the
unpleasant emotions, rather than away from them, disarming their control over the survivor and
making the trauma-related emotions tolerable and eventually able to resolve on their own.
Mindfulness involves practices that focus on ones bodily sensations and psychological
relation to the present moment. It emphasizes the notion that thoughts and sensations are
transient and ever-changing, and thus one is never doomed to experience negative emotions
constantly or perpetually. Everything changes, says mindfulness; what may seem unbearable in
the moment will inevitably and unavoidably pass.
Mindfulness additionally includes a philosophy of acceptance and nonjudgment: the
self-regulation of attention and a curious, accepting orientation towards experience.
36


34
Thompson, R., Arnkoff, D., & Glass, C. (January 01, 2011). Conceptualizing Mindfulness and
Acceptance as Components of Psychological Resilience to Trauma. Trauma, Violence & Abuse:
a Review Journal, 12, 4, 220-235.

35
Ibid.
36
Ibid.
Acceptance can further be broken down into a tripartite process of observing ones psychological
state, letting go of the desire to change that state, and separating the empirical present moment
from the less tangible and more malleable internal thoughts. Thus any psychological state is
understandable, and workable, as opposed to overwhelming, uncontrollable, and unbearable.
If efforts to control ones experience lay at the heart of regenerative trauma, then letting
go of the desire to control serves as a crucial step towards resiliency. As trauma survivors
experience events, both internal and external, without judgment, their psychological state
becomes more flexible and more resilient. A student experiencing a microaggressive situation,
for example, will become better able to see the external event without judgment, gain awareness
of the emotional response, and turn towards it with an understanding of transience and an
increased ability to fully experience it until it fades. As the authors describe:

Efforts to maintain contact with present experience and view trauma-related stimuli
nonjudgmentally would likely help survivors to interpret any posttraumatic symptoms as
transient, expectable reactions to an extremely stressful event. In turn, this attitude may protect
survivors from engaging in the chronic emotional and behavioral avoidance that serves to
exacerbate symptoms and worsen psychological impairment.
37


More research is needed in the areas of trauma, microaggressions, the experiences of
LGBT youth, and the effects of mindfulness on the traumatized state that can follow chronic
experiences to microaggressions. Additionally, mindfulness techniques are one possible antidote
to a microaggressive climate; other suggestions include developing more inclusive curriculum,
staff development, policy restructuring, community education, and even the establishment of a

37
Ibid.
specialized all-gender inclusive school where transgender and gender non-conforming identities
are included in the lessons and a strict, trans-inclusive anti-bullying policy is enforced. These
measures are structural, however, and often follow a rate of gradual cultural change.
Not all children experiencing symptoms of trauma related to microaggressive academic
climates can afford to wait for that change. Mindfulness techniques can be practiced at any time
and in any setting; and, while difficult to utilize successfully, they are simple to try and have
little cost in time or money. The difficulty, then, lies in finding an effective way to disseminate
the material. Most children do not enjoy access to a neighborhood Buddhist temple, and
mindfulness techniques as distilled from its roots in Buddhist practice can be more difficult to
come by.
I propose the assemblage of a resource that describes mindfulness practices simply and
for an age-appropriate audience that specifically targets the gender non-conforming population.
This resource could be handed out in schools, or found online, giving students a tool to turn to
immediately when symptoms of anxiety, fear, depression, or shame set in. While it is not
possible to stop homophobic, transphobic, or generally prejudiced environments from
proliferating in schools, it is our responsibility as educators to ensure an environment where
students of all genders can learn, develop, grow, and thrive. This is our work.