Excluded, Exoticized, and Misidentified: Multiracial Individuals’ Experiences with and Perceptions of Microaggressions

Abstract The Multiracial population in the USA is the fastest growing racial identity. However, little research has examined the unique experiences of Multiracial individuals. The current work aimed to examine Multiracial individuals’ experiences with and perceptions of microaggressions. Multiracial adults viewed descriptions of situations of common microaggressions that Multiracial individuals experience that fit into three categories identified in previous research: Exclusion, Exoticization, and Misidentification. In Study 1, participants ( n = 98) read a description of each category with several examples. In Study 2, participants ( n = 97) viewed 12 scenarios describing specific microaggressions, with four situations in each of the three categories. Participants indicated whether they had experienced a similar situation, how offensive and upsetting they found the microaggression, and, in Study 2, if they experienced the situation, whether they confronted the perpetrator. In Study 1, most participants reported experiencing microaggressions involving exclusion (> 72%), exoticization (> 70%), and misidentification (> 86%). In both studies, they experienced situations in which their racial identity was misidentified the most often; Study 2 revealed that participants reported confronting these types of situations more so than the other categories of microaggressions. Additionally, while participants were less likely to have experienced microaggressions that excluded or isolated them, participants viewed them as more offensive and upsetting than microaggressions from the other categories. These results add to previous research suggesting that it is important to recognize the unique discrimination that is specific to Multiracial individuals and suggests that providing education about racial identities is imperative.