The Cultural Coercion and Minimization of Gender “(Micro)aggressions”

This study explores the connection between the minimization of (micro)aggressions and the propensity of American society to diminish the impact of “bigger,” more legally recognized, acts such as rape and sexual assault. One hundred and seventy-three participants ages eighteen to seventy were surveyed for an IRB-approved study that compared people’s experiences with their perpetuation of (micro)aggressions. This study argues that there is a cultural coercion to minimize (micro)aggressions, which creates a larger cultural environment that is infused with violence. (Micro)aggressions, in and of themselves, are violent and are an allowable mechanism of perpetuating gender-based violence on a day-to-day basis. The messages sent by media, such as Disney and romantic comedies, play an important role in shaping social scripts that people are pressured to adhere to. Further, this study explores how repeated exposure to (micro)aggressions and sexual violence in media impacts people’s sympathy for victim-survivors, beliefs about their severity, and the normalization of violence as a normal aspect of love. The use of humor as a mechanism of minimization is also explored. Lastly, this study argues that people, through socialization, learn to contribute and maintain the perpetuation of them, while justifying (micro)aggressions as minimal harmful, which then informs people’s baseline attitude about sexual violence. Overall, the daily minimization of (micro)aggressions helps foster a culture that functions on the belief that sexual violence is “not so bad.”