"Racial microaggressions" project
A student from NYC's Fordham University (who goes by "Kiyun" on Tumbr) did a photo series dealing with "racial nonaggressions" - all the little moments when people are made to feel uncomfortable because of stereotypes and misconceptions. Nothing quite as severe as outright racism, sure, but doesn't mean it's not a serious issue.
As an immigrant to United States from a country that the Western pop culture spent the better part of the 20th Century depicting as an apex of evil, I had to deal with stereotypes and misconceptions. Now, that doesn't give me insight into how every single minority group feels. I've never been judged the second a person saw me. I never had to deal with the person labeling me just because of the color of my skin, or the way my eyes look. But, because of my experiences... It does give me an insight some of my peers lack.
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Some of those things may not seem too terribly hurtful. But trust this Russian immigrant - even the more benign ones can get under your skin. Especially when people keep saying that again and again and again.
Kiyuni posted the pictures as two Tumblr posts. But that makes sharing the collection a bit of a logistical hurdle. So I'm going to put them here. You can read the source posts by clicking on the pictures
As an immigrant to United States from a country that the Western pop culture spent the better part of the 20th Century depicting as an apex of evil, I had to deal with stereotypes and misconceptions. Now, that doesn't give me insight into how every single minority group feels. I've never been judged the second a person saw me. I never had to deal with the person labeling me just because of the color of my skin, or the way my eyes look. But, because of my experiences... It does give me an insight some of my peers lack.
.
Some of those things may not seem too terribly hurtful. But trust this Russian immigrant - even the more benign ones can get under your skin. Especially when people keep saying that again and again and again.
Kiyuni posted the pictures as two Tumblr posts. But that makes sharing the collection a bit of a logistical hurdle. So I'm going to put them here. You can read the source posts by clicking on the pictures