Internalized structural trauma can cause an acute level of psychosomatic stress — Key Points: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared structural racism a threat to public health. Psychosomatic illness borne from racial trauma drives disparities in physical health and life expectancy. Racial stress correlates with autoimmune, cardiac, endocrine, neurological, and reproductive disorders.

Araya Baker outlines five unconscious biases academe should acknowledge and grapple with intentionally. Inside Higher Ed cross-published this essay. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is considering tracking workforce data on nonbinary employees, and last year, it announced an updated discrimination charge intake form that includes a gender option for nonbinary people. …

Bias can prevent us from comprehending men as victims and women as perpetrators — The Good Men Project cross-published this essay. Key Points Lacking the language to unpack and articulate their pain can lead male survivors of abuse to scapegoat women. Abuse by women can go unnoticed when it primarily involves relational aggression or psychological abuse. Advocates often forget that internalized patriarchy can manifest in women…

The eliminationist instinct to “level down” creative peers is covert but common. Psychology Today cross-published this essay. Key Points Self-directed employees can become hypervisible for challenging authority and the status quo. Years of adapting to invalidating or neglectful schooling often builds character in self-directed employees. Research shows self-directedness correlates with purposefulness, resourcefulness, and self-acceptance.

Unregulated surveillance states can intrude upon civil liberties with impunity — Psychology Today cross-published this essay. Key Points Historically, surveillance has been a ruthless counterforce to social change. Collective surveillance is known as gang-stalking or organized stalking. Smart technology can democratize information, while endangering activists. Most surveillance technologies are powerfully invasive, yet unregulated.

Survivors of maternal abuse can feel burnt out, guilty, and misunderstood — Psychology Today cross-published this essay. Key Points Maternal abuse may seem unbelievable to many since it debunks culturally entrenched gender stereotypes. Gender essentialism biologizes and spiritualizes gender norms that are modeled and reinforced. Emotional manipulation that does not appear to do harm is a common form of maternal abuse.

Nearly half of the non-binary workers in the U.S. endure employee discrimination at least monthly, a mere one-third feel comfortable “coming out” at work, and over thirty percent report bias in the hiring process alone. Fortunately, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is now considering tracking workforce data on non-binary…

Silence can be weaponized to abandon, invalidate, pressure, provoke, or punish. — Psychology Today cross-published this essay. Key points Unreflective people can ghost meaningful and necessary conversations to avoid taking responsibility for harm and being vulnerable. Entitled individuals can deploy the silent treatment to resist yielding to and reciprocating respect for others’ values, needs, and boundaries.