Impressions
Microaggressions ?! by Dr . Stephen T . Radack III , Editor
I don ’ t remember if I had even heard of microaggressions before the PDA Board of Trustees meeting on Friday , October 9 . At that meeting , Dr . Renee Fennell , the chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force ( DITF ), and Dr . Rohini Kataria-Bhatia , task force member , delivered a presentation to the board detailing the work of the DITF . One of the focuses of the work was microaggressions ; what they are , who they affect and examples of them that occur in our daily lives . Even if you have no idea what microaggressions are , I have no doubt that you have experienced them in your life .
Microaggressions are “ 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 insights and insults to the target person of group .” Who experiences microaggressions ? Any marginalized group can be subjected to microaggressions , including those pertaining to racial , gender , sexual , disability . What are some examples of microaggressions ? “ Where are you from ? No really , where are you from ?” Where ’ s the dentist ?” “ You are too young to be a dentist .”
As I listened to this presentation and the discussion of the board and presenters afterward , I was struck by the fact that everyone has experienced microaggressions sometime and somewhere in their life . Most people may think that it only happens or is more common for women or people of diverse backgrounds , and that may be true . But when I saw the last example provided , I quickly took a trip back in time to the first few years in my career after purchasing my practice . The dentist was 60 years old and had white hair . He could have been my grandfather . There when many times I heard that I was “ too young ” to be a dentist . Is 25 too young ? Maybe when compared to the 60-year-old grandfather , I appeared to be ; or worse yet , I lacked experience and may not have been qualified to treat the people who were saying that , even though I had a degree and been granted a license to practice . It never really bothered me because I knew where they were coming from ; at least I thought I did . I am sure they had no idea they were committing a microaggression . I have one patient who still laughs about this when she comes in every six months . She likes to remember the early days 30 plus years ago when she questioned my clinical judgment because I was too
“ green .” She knows now she was wrong and has been an awesome patient who “ loves me ” to this day .
I also started thinking about the most common microaggression I believe I have committed all those early years at the office . Based on one ’ s appearance , or the condition of their mouth , it was easy to think of the treatment options in terms of a patient ’ s perceived ability to pay for it . Obviously , that was wrong , and age and experience have proved that to me . I know my female colleagues have experienced this microaggression so much more than me . There have been many times , especially at a dental meeting , where a vendor would be talking to two of us and assume that I was the dentist and my female colleague was an auxiliary ; until of course they were corrected and you could see their attitude toward her completely change .
I know my wife Mary has experienced microaggressions from colleagues at work . As some of you know , she is a nurse and has been since graduating from nursing school in 1983 . For those of you who are quick with math , that is 37 years . Her program was two years and she graduated with her RN . Most nursing programs now are four years and the graduates leave with a BSN . She has had a few fellow , younger nurses with a BSN talk down to her in the OR because she doesn ’ t have their degree . I know it bothers her , but she knows as much or more than them and has that life experience they do not , even though they have that BSN .
The discussion that day also got me thinking about an experience my neighbor had many years ago . She and her husband were ready to purchase a new boat . Ben was out of town that day , so Ronette went to the boat show by herself to take a look around . She found a boat that was exactly what they were looking for and asked the salesman for more details and a price . Unfortunately for him , he pretty much blew her off because Ben wasn ’ t there . He wrongly assumed that she could not make the decision to buy the boat without him there . That was a big mistake on his part . They ended up buying a boat in Charleston , SC , instead of from a local dealer in Erie . To this day when they see that salesman at the boat club , they still chide him behind his back for his costly microaggression !
What you can ’ t imagine being a microaggression really is sometimes . One example of this occurred during the ADA House of Delegates meeting this year . When our PDA delegation was having its Sunday caucus someone brought up the fact that there would be no roped off area for the alternate delegates to sit this year because of the meeting being virtual . The comment more specifically was that there would be no “ peanut gallery ”
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 5