The trouble with ‘microaggressions’

Welcome to the divisive and somewhat sinister world of racial ‘microaggressions’. Loosely defined as ‘a subtle slight or action that leaves people from a minority group feeling upset, offended or uncomfortable,’ the person who has delivered the insult might even be oblivious they have caused offence. The latest manifestation of its chilling effect on workplace relationships came in an employment tribunal case brought by Christabelle Peters, a black British academic. 

Peters, a lecturer in American cultural and political history, sued Bristol University over a series of microaggressions. One of her complaints was that the nameplate on her door did not have her ‘Dr” title on it. Her grievances included claims that her office furniture wasn’t delivered on time and that payslips were not delivered to her office pigeonhole. Peters also accused a senior lecturer of telling her ‘nobody gives a shit about Africa’ after she pitched a research idea about the continent.

The tribunal ruled in Bristol University’s favour: it found that the nameplate issue was an ‘admin error’ and heard that another lecturer experienced the same problem.