“It's not in your head”: Gaslighting, ‘splaining, victim blaming, and other harmful reactions to microaggressions

Johnson, Veronica E.; Nadal, Kevin L.; Sissoko, D. R. Gina; King, Rukiya

doi:10.1177/17456916211011963

Cited by 136Social and Intergroup PsychologyRacial and Ethnic Identity ResearchCounseling Practices and Supervision

“It's not in your head”: Gaslighting, ‘splaining, victim blaming, and other harmful reactions to microaggressions

Johnson, Veronica E., Nadal, Kevin L., Sissoko, D. R. Gina, King, Rukiya·2021·Perspectives on Psychological Science

DOI 10.1177/17456916211011963

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Abstract

Secondary microaggressions refer to the ways in which people of historically dominant groups negate the realities of people of marginalized groups. Gaslighting describes the act of manipulating others to doubt themselves or question their own sanity; people confronted for committing microaggressions deny the existence of their biases, often convincing the targets of microaggressions to question their own perceptions. ‘Splaining (derived from mansplaining/Whitesplaining) is an act in which a person of a dominant group speaks for or provides rationale to people of marginalized groups about topics related to oppression or inequity. Victim blaming refers to assigning fault to people who experience violence or wrongdoing and is used as a tool to discredit people of marginalized groups who speak out against microaggressions or any injustices. Finally, abandonment and neglect refer to a bystander’s failure to address or acknowledge microaggressions. Although these terms are commonly known among marginalized communities (and frequently used in popular media), there is a dearth in academic literature that substantiates these phenomena and relates them to microaggressions. The purpose of this article is to review these concepts in the psychological literature and to demonstrate the psychological harm caused by these behaviors on interpersonal and systemic levels.

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Authors: Johnson, V. E., Nadal, K. L., Sissoko, D. R. G., & King, R.
Affiliations: The Graduate Center, CUNY (US)
ORCID: Johnson, Veronica E.
Nadal, Kevin L.
Sissoko, D. R. Gina
Venue: Perspectives on Psychological Science
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2021-09
Volume: 16
Issue: 5
Pages: 1024-1036
ISSN: 1745-6916 (ISSN-L)
1745-6924
DOI: 10.1177/17456916211011963
OpenAlex: W3197859186
Cited by: 136
References: 57
Citations by year: 2026: 18 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 4
FWCI: 4.13
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Perspectives on Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Counseling Practices and Supervision
Keywords: microaggressions, gaslighting, mansplaining, victim blaming, bystander behavior, psychological harm, marginalized communities, systemic oppression, interpersonal harm
MeSH terms: Microaggression, Gaslighting, Aggression, Mental Disorders, Humans, Violence

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“It's not in your head”: Gaslighting, ‘splaining, victim blaming, and other harmful reactions to microaggressions

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