Multiracial Individuals' Experiences with Racial Microaggressions: An Ethnographic Content Analysis of an On-Line Forum

Abstract

In 2015, the Multi-Racial/Ethnic Counseling Concerns Interest Network of the American Counseling Association published the Competencies for Counseling the Multiracial Population. In it, they asserted that counselors had a responsibility to “Recognize how stigma, prejudice, discrimination, and oppression by family, community, and society can affect developmental decisions and milestones in the lives of multiracial individuals” (MRECC, 2015, p. 16). Currently, there is a paucity of professional counseling literature that explores the discrimination experienced by multiracial individuals. To aid in counselor preparation, I conducted an Ethnographic Content Analysis that explored the nature and frequencies of the racial microaggressions experienced by multiracial individuals in an on-line forum, We Are All Mixed Up. In total, I analyzed 120 entries that had been posted between March 2016 and March 2015. Seven thematic categories emerged during analysis: (1) Physical Appearance, (2) Identity Erasure, (3) Overt Racism, (4) Dismissal of Perspective, (5) Inappropriate Social Interactions, (6) Criticism of Behavior, and (7) Accusations of Fraudulence. A study of the frequency showed that the majority (76; 63%) of the microaggressions including in the data analysis were best described as microinsults.