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Faced with a unique oppression due to their racial and gender identity, a great disservice has been done to Black female athletes (BFAs) within the sporting literature as they have historically been silenced and rendered invisible, either in failure to include them in research, or in fragmenting their identities along racial or gender lines, thus presenting incomplete and inaccurate representations of their experiences. Employing a theoretical framework grounded in Black feminist standpoint theory, this study explored BFAs’ conceptualizations of femininity and microaggressions, as well as how their racial, gender, class, and athletic identities affect them within and outside of sporting environments. This study sought BFAs at 83 Division I institutions, asking them to complete a survey including the Bem Sex Role Inventory-Short (BSRI-S), the Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale (REMS), and the Black Racial Identity Attitude Scale (BRIAS). Six BFAs opted-in to a qualitative interview. These BFAs presented multiple interpretations of femininity, discussed experiences with microaggressions, and spoke to how they navigated various contexts given their racial, gender, and athletic identities. While identifying hardships of being BFAs on college campuses and Black women in the United States, interview participants also discussed how their ability to withstand the unique mistreatment of BFAs and Black women left them feeling empowered and resilient. Implications for practitioners and researchers are also included. / Kinesiology

In the US, racial and ethnic minority individuals have higher rates of many psychological and physical health problems than Whites, and the experience of racial discrimination may partially explain these disparate health statistics. Given the harmful nature of discrimination, minority individuals may utilize a number of psychological resources to cope with and diminish the negative impact associated with the experience of discrimination. The current dissertation investigated the impact of modern day, subtle forms of discrimination referred to as microaggressions. Prior research has illustrated that the experience of perceived racism and microaggressions plays an important role in the physical and mental health of ethnic minority individuals. The current study explored subtypes of microaggressions and the rates at which different minority groups experience these microaggressions; the concurrent impact of different microaggressions on psychological health outcomes (i.e., symptoms of anxiety, depression, and substance use); the moderating role of coping strategies (i.e., ethnic identity formation, social support) on the relation between the experience of specific microaggressions and psychological health; potential racial or ethnic differences related to main effects of microaggressions on psychological health; and significant interactions between the potential moderators (i.e., racial identity formation and social support) and the experience of microaggressions. Results of the present study indicate that first, minority individuals report experiencing significantly more microaggressions than non-minority participants. Additionally, the experience of microaggressions varied by minority group identification. Second, the experience of microaggressions was associated with higher rates of problematic alcohol use, as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression. Third, aspects of racial/ethnic identity formation and social support were associated with lower rates of problematic alcohol use (but not anger or anxiety or depressive symptoms) among individuals who experienced microaggressions, suggesting a potential buffering effect of these moderators Finally, some racial differences in the correlation between these moderating variables and microaggression variables were found, which suggests that there are likely racial differences in the way that racial/ethnic identity formation and social support can be protective. Future research is needed to increase understanding of racial and ethnic differences in the protective nature of identity formation, social support, and other potential coping strategies. Clinical implications are discussed. / Psychology

Learning from the experiences of Black adult learners within the Black church provides an opportunity to learn from a culturally relevant space that has deeply rooted historical ties in the Black community. The over-arching research question in this study is: How does the Black church meet the needs of its adult learners, and what can higher education institution learn from these practices to retain Black students while creating a more inclusive environment? While research on adult learners is plentiful, the intersection of the Black church as a lens in which to design more culturally relevant spaces and pedagogy has not been as prominent. These experiences provide insight into how higher education institutions can provide a more learning centered and welcoming environment for Black students. This mixed methods study centered on the experiences Black adult learners who engaged in educational programs within the Black church. The quantitative analysis focused on preset motivational dimensions to measure how they impacted the adult learners' reasons for participating in church based adult education using a survey instrument. The qualitative analysis centered on their experiences during their engagement in the educational programs and their reasons for engaging through utilizing semi structured interviews. The findings suggest that adult learners perceived their experiences within the Black church as ones in which they developed a greater sense of empowerment and achievement. The participants' construction of their experiences was guided by their conceptualizations of what it meant to be Black student in an educational setting, and more specifically in the Black church. There were four major themes that highlighted the experiences of these adult learner learners, which included: (1) The Black church shielded learners from negative identity association, (2) Advocacy from the Black church was considered significant to learner engagement, (3) Trust in the educational spaces contributed to the learners' success, (4) Culturally relevant learning spaces positively influenced learner engagement. The findings of this study continue the discussion on how adult learners make sense of their experiences related to the Black church and higher education, and more importantly how create more inclusive learning spaces that remove barriers for Black students. / Doctor of Philosophy / Learning from the experiences of Black adult learners within the Black church provides an opportunity to learn from a culturally relevant space that has deeply rooted historical ties in the Black community. The over-arching research question in this study is: How does the Black church meet the needs of its adult learners, and what can higher education institution learn from these practices to retain Black students while creating a more inclusive environment? While research on adult learners is plentiful, the intersection of the Black church as a lens in which to design more culturally relevant spaces and pedagogy has not been as prominent. These experiences provide insight into how higher education institutions can provide a more learning centered and welcoming environment for Black students. This mixed methods study centered on the experiences Black adult learners who engaged in educational programs within the Black church. The quantitative analysis focused on preset motivational dimensions to measure how they impacted the adult learners' reasons for participating in church based adult education using a survey instrument. The qualitative analysis centered on their experiences during their engagement in the educational programs and their reasons for engaging through utilizing semi structured interviews. The findings suggest that adult learners perceived their experiences within the Black church as ones in which they developed a greater sense of empowerment and achievement. The participants' construction of their experiences was guided by their conceptualizations of what it meant to be Black student in an educational setting, and more specifically in the Black church. There were four major themes that highlighted the experiences of these adult learner learners, which included: (1) The Black church shielded learners from negative identity association, (2) Advocacy from the Black church was considered significant to learner engagement, (3) Trust in the educational spaces contributed to the learners' success, (4) Culturally relevant learning spaces positively influenced learner engagement. The findings of this study continue the discussion on how adult learners make sense of their experiences related to the Black church and higher education, and more importantly how create more inclusive learning spaces that remove barriers for Black students.

The unremitting image of Asian Americans as being "Model Minority" has created a veil that conceals their incessant struggles with discrimination, prejudice and microaggressions on individual, institutional and cultural levels. Previous studies have highlighted the personal and collective struggles of this group and emphasized the harmful consequences to physical, emotional and mental well-being of Asian Americans. The current study explored potential factors that may influence the impact of experiencing racial microaggressions for Asian Americans. More specifically, a 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design was utilized to examine whether level of familiarity and role of power in the target's relationship with the perpetrator differentially impacts the experience of a racial microaggression. A vignette illustrated a microaggressive encounter with a perpetrator who differed on these conditions with a sample of 263 Asian Americans. The findings indicate support for the damaging psychological consequences of receiving racial microaggressions with participants reporting significantly negative experience when the perpetrator was someone familiar in a position of authority. The results of the present study contribute to the literature on racial microaggressions by providing support for the injurious impact it has for Asian Americans and continues to challenge the model minority myth that persists to silence their voices and invalidate their racial reality.

Racial Peeves: The Exploitation of Microaggressions documents my personal experience of dealing with microaggressions throughout my life, as well as the history of these racial issues. This thesis also documents the creation of my Senior BFA Exhibition of the same title inspired by 1970s Blaxploitation posters.

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Sexual minorities face stigmatizing experiences which can lead to disparities in physical and mental health, as well as social and economic resources. Additionally, research suggests that microaggressions, or small actions and comments that speak to a person’s prejudices, act as stigmatizing experiences and contribute to negative outcomes for the stigmatized. However, most studies of sexual minority health do not explore bisexual experiences uniquely, despite evidence that bisexuals have unique experiences of stigma and microaggressions. Those studies that do explore bisexual experiences find worse outcomes for bisexuals than their lesbian or gay counterparts. Thus, the current study developed a quantitative scale for assessing experiences of microaggressions specific to bisexuals. A 35-item scale formulated around previously identified microaggression types was validated using data from a sample of 232 bisexuals. Results indicated that bisexual microaggressions were distinct from homonegative microaggressions and that bisexual microaggressions were related to worse physical, psychological, and environmental quality of life. This scale is an additional tool that researchers may use in understanding how stigma experiences lead to negative outcomes, as well as to identify opportunities for alleviating disparities.