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 Assumption of abnormality. This theme is related to the perception that something about the person's race, gender, or sexual orientation is abnormal, deviant, or pathological. LGBTQ groups experience these microinsults frequently, especially in the area of sexual behavior that is equated with abnormality (Herek, 1998; Satcher & Leggett, 2007). When a gay man during a physical exam is suspected by a physician to have HIV/AIDS on the first visit, when students use the term “gay” to describe the odd or nonconformist behavior of a fellow classmate, and when someone expresses surprise that a lesbian is in a monogamous relationship, an assumption of abnormality is present. Examples of assumptions could be “LBGTQ people are promiscuous and engage in deviant sexual behavior” or “People who are weird and different are gay.”

 Criminality/Assumption of criminal status. The theme of this microinsult appears to be race specific and relates to beliefs that a person of color is presumed to be dangerous, potentially a criminal, likely to break the law, or antisocial. Numerous examples of this apply to African American and Latinx men. Examples include a White woman who clutches her purse more tightly in the presence of Latinx persons, a White man checking for his wallet while passing a group of African Americans on the sidewalk, and a sales clerk requesting more pieces of identification to cash a check from a Black than from a White customer. Torres et al. (2010) found support for this theme in their mixed‐methods investigation among highly educated African Americans. Participants, even those with advanced educational degrees, reported enduring a range of such microaggressions from comments about their appearance (“looking like a criminal”) to harassment from law enforcement. Interestingly, our studies suggest that assumption of criminal status is seldom attributed to Asian Americans. Indeed, they are often viewed as law abiding, conforming, unlikely to rock the boat, and less prone to violence (D. W. Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, & Torino, 2007; D. W. Sue, Capodilupo, & Holder, 2008). Women may be less likely than men of color to encounter this form of microinsult (Hall & Fields, 2015).