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First published online September 9, 2021

“It’s Not in Your Head”: Gaslighting, ‘Splaining, Victim Blaming, and Other Harmful Reactions to Microaggressions

Veronica E. Johnson [email protected], Kevin L. Nadal, D. R. Gina Sissoko, and Rukiya KingView all authors and affiliations

Volume 16, Issue 5

https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211011963

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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Perspectives on Psychological Science

Volume 16, Issue 5

Pages: 1024 - 1036

Article first published online: September 9, 2021

Issue published: September 2021

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PubMed: 34498522

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Veronica E. Johnson

Department of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and the Graduate Center, City University of New York

[email protected]

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Kevin L. Nadal

Department of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and the Graduate Center, City University of New York

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D. R. Gina Sissoko

Department of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and the Graduate Center, City University of New York

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Rukiya King

Department of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and the Graduate Center, City University of New York

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Notes

Veronica E. Johnson, Department of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York Email: [email protected]

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