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

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 55 of the 57 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

“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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Research works printed but not linked: 11

  1. Accapadi M. M., 2007, College Student Affairs Journal, 26, 208
  2. Deo M. E., 2014, Brooklyn Law Review, 80, 943
  3. Henderson T. N. Y., 2019, American University Law Review, 69, 863
  4. Howe B. (2019). The impact of microaggressions on transgender identity defense-related emotions on the emotional status, desire for societal engagement, and participation in suicide-related behaviors in transgender people [Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon]. Scholars’ Bank. https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/24954
  5. Johnson D. E. (2014). The impact of microaggressions in therapy on transgender and gender-nonconforming clients: A concurrent nested design study [Doctoral dissertation, University of the Rockies]. ProQuest. https://www.proquest.com/openview/06388c7e390b5cd1d66c31102b251a5a/1.pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750
  6. Jones T., 2016, Iowa Law Review, 102, 2017
  7. King M. L., 2011, The trumpet of conscience
  8. Pierce C., 1970, The Black seventies, 265
  9. Ryan W., 1976, Blaming the victim, 226
  10. Stern R., 2007, The gaslight effect: How to spot and survive the hidden manipulation others use to control your life
  11. Wang J. (2012). Why and when do racial microaggressions hurt? The role of perceived diversity credentials [Doctoral dissertation, University of Washington]. ResearchWorks Archive. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/20765

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Metadata

Authors
Johnson, V. E., Nadal, K. L., Sissoko, D. R. G., & King, R.
Affiliations
The Graduate Center, CUNY (US)
ORCID
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 › Clinical 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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