An example of microagression I observed this week was when a person commented that one mom in a lesbian partnership at our center was certainly the man of the relationship. The comment was made randomly as the couple had left the building. I was offended by the comment for the couple and I felt that it was ignorant and rude.

                This observation showed that the person making the comment obviously had stereotypical views regarding relationships, assuming that there had to be a masculine and feminine person in a couple. It also seemed that the comment was hostile and the person commenting was judgmental or not tolerant of the lesbian partnership. I felt this observation would have been very hurtful had the couple heard. I was surprised to see a discriminatory view projected so openly as in the day and age we expect more consideration.

I spoke to three of my faculty members and asked them their definitions of culture and diversity. Katie who is Hispanic/Norwegian, Madison who is Caucasian, and Tieanna who is African American. The aspects of culture that I’ve studied which were present in their definitions are the set of customs, family history, beliefs, norms and traditions. The aspects of diversity that I have studied in this course which were present were a blend of different races, religion, and appreciation of differences all together in an area. Katie found it difficult to define culture beyond customs; I feel she was worried about saying anything offensive. She spoke about diversity in terms of how it exists within a particular community. Madison linked culture as a byproduct of diversity rather than a separate idea. When describing diversity she mentioned the varied aspects of diversity but included meshing with the main (dominant) culture and assuring that everyone fit in. Tieanna’s definitions of both were short and precise, beliefs, traditions and a mixture of race, peoples and religions. The aspects that have been omitted are the ones that may be perceived as more negative, cultural discontinuity, prejudice, cultural blindness. The way that these concepts were defined was fairly similar to the way that I would have defined them initially. I noticed that the ‘deep’ culture was not mentioned as much as the ‘surface” culture. After having been in this course the past few weeks that is something which I would now add to my definitions.

              If evacuated to a new country the three items I would chose to take with me are my box of photographs, my laptop and a book. I would hope the box of photographs was considered one item because it would be difficult to narrow it down to one and it would be a challenge to limit myself to one book as well. It would be easier to bring three collections of things! The box of photographs is important as it reflects my family, my culture and the things that are most important in my life. I love to look back and reflect and I feel I could share who I am and where I came from with others if I had them with me. They would serve as a connection to the life I had before the move. I would bring my laptop as I assume most areas now have internet connection. If this is the case it would allow me to access information I may need to adapt to my new community and hopefully maintain contact with others I may have lost along the way. I would bring a book because there is nothing that brings me more comfort than a physical book and it would give me an escape when times are challenging. Like the photographs it may also allow me to give other insight on my home culture. If I were told I had to give up two items I would choose to keep the photographs as these would be the item I found hardest to let go. In my past I have had to leave a negative situation with hardly any of my possessions so I feel I can give up 'stuff' fairly easily foe the most part. As long as I have those who are important to me near I can let go of possessions without too much difficulty. As I have had to adapt to change and varied culture often in the past I feel that this situation would not be as challenging to me as it may to others who have always lived in one area or who have not had the opportunity to travel. The insight that I gained form this activity is that as long as I have a tangible link to my past, in this instance my photographs, and those I hold dear I could view the move as an adventure rather than a hardship.