We are proud to present our brand new toolkit series, Let’s Talk About Infertility! Created by the Canada Research Chair in Third-Party Reproduction and Family Ties and the Centre ESPER, this series focuses on avoiding microaggressions towards people who suffer from infertility.
Each toolkit analyzes a microaggression, explains why the comment may be hurtful to someone experiencing infertility, and suggests alternative phrases to use.
We would like to thank everyone who made this series possible: Anne-Julie Belleau, Anne-Marie Luca, Isabel Côté, Loïs Crémier, Marie-Christine Williams-Plouffe, as well as the Centre ESPER professionals who submitted suggestions for microaggressions to address.
What is a microaggression?
The term “microaggression” was coined by American psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce to refer to racist insults and derogatory remarks made by white people to Black people in their everyday lives.
Today, the term is used more broadly to refer to everyday remarks that can invalidate a person’s feelings or communicate bias or prejudice toward the group to which they belong (e.g., racialized people, women, people suffering from infertility, etc.).
People who commit microaggressions may do so unintentionally – without realizing the derogatory or insensitive nature of their comments.
To view our toolkits, visit the Chair and the Centre ESPER’s social media pages, or download them as printable pamphlets.
Click on the links to download the guide
Click on the links to download the pamphlets
Follow the Chair’s activities
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Sources for the section on microaggressions:
Ryu, H., & Pratt, W. (2022). Microaggression clues from social media: revealing and counteracting the suppression of women’s health care. Journal of the American medical informatics association, 29(2), 257-270.
Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation. John Wiley & Sons.
