Chosen Family and Gender Identity Micro-Aggression - Essay Example

Chosen family and gender identity micro-aggressionChosen family and gender identity micro-aggressionChosen familyA group of seven individuals whom have been my classmates and are diverse in age and gender and race identities, forms my chosen family. I chose the individuals to be my chosen family because of the close association and understanding that we developed after periods of interactions. I chose the individuals because of their unconditional love and support towards me. I also realized that one can have friends but levels of commitment from friends differ.

There are friends who can be with you in good times and those who stand with you during challenges. I learnt that these seven individuals would sacrifice for me. This made me to be attached to them as if they are my blood relatives. My chosen family means a lot to me because of diversified support that they offer. The most important benefit that I derive from the family is social relation. Whenever possible, I spend time with them and this establishes a sense of belonging and self-worth in me.

This is particularly because we appreciate one another despite personal weakness that we have shared and know. The family is also important because it helps in personal development. Because of achieved trust between members of the family and me, a person can identify my challenge, discuss it with me, and help me identify a solution. Even though a stranger could do the same, I would not benefit from that as much because of lower level of trust. Members of the chosen family are also important to me because of other forms of support such as financial support and advice on daily issues (Riggle and Rostosky, 2014).

Gender identity micro-aggressionGender identity micro-aggressions are common in such institutions as schools, work institutions, and government institutions and exist in different forms. Discomfort and disapproval are the most common forms of gender identity micro-aggression and may be intentional or not. Transgender people are for example considered abnormal beings, and are treated as such. Some people also harass transgender people because of their negative attitude towards the identity and their possible superiority of a target individual.

A case of public restrooms utility is an example in which normal people, especially women, may not be comfortable sharing a facility with a transgender individual, and may intimidate the individual. Passive forms of micro-aggressions, such as minority of transgender people in workplaces and academic facilities also exist. the government has also failed to identify transgender as a gender and this identifies a form of intimidation. These are further consistent with Nadal’s identified forms of gender identity micro-aggressions in the society (2013).

I believe that gender identity micro-aggressions that come from other LGB people are less harmful because the source are likely to sensitive and conscious about their aggressions, unlike heterosexuals, because of empathy. In addition, targets are likely to assume the micro-aggressions as normal because of their shared identity. In working with transgender or gender nonconforming people, I might improve my cultural competence through improving my cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity. These might help me to identify and understand the people’s needs and to respond to the needs appropriately.

ReferencesNadal, K. (2013). That’s so gay!: Microaggressions and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Worcester, MA: American Psychological Association. Riggle, E. and Rostosky, S. (2014). A positive view of LGBTQ: Embracing identity and cultivating well-being. Washington, DC: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.