MENU

Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale (GRMS)

Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale (GRMS) is a 26-item measure of the subtle racist and sexist insults that Black women experience. Items include 4 factors: assumptions of beauty and sexual objectification, silenced and marginalized, strong Black Woman stereotype, and angry Black Woman stereotype.

Categories

Geographies Tested: United States of America

Populations Included: Female

Age Range: Adults

Items:

Assumptions of beauty and sexual objectification
1. Unattractive because of size of butt
2. Negative comments about size of facial features
3. Imitated the way they think Black women speak
4. Someone made me feel unattractive
5. Negative comment about skin tone
6. Someone assumed I speak a certain way
7. Objectified me based on physical features
8. Someone assumed I have a certain body type (stress only)
9. Made a sexually inappropriate comment
10. Negative comments about my hair when natural
11. Assume I was sexually promiscuous (frequency only)

Silenced and marginalized
12. I have felt unheard
13. My comments have been ignored
14. Someone challenged my authority
15. I have been disrespected in workplace
16. Someone has tried to "put me in my place"
17. Felt excluded from networking opportunities
18. Assumed I did not have much to contribute to the conversation

Strong Black woman stereotype
19. Someone assumed I was sassy and straightforward (stress only)
20. I have been told that I am too independent
21. Someone made me feel exotic as a Black woman (stress only)
22. I have been told I am too assertive
23. Assumed to be a strong Black woman

Angry Black woman stereotype
24. Someone has told me to calm down
25. Perceived to be "angry Black woman"
26. Someone accused me of being angry when speaking calm

Response Options:
6-point Likert scale

Frequency:
Never - 0
Once a week or more - 5

Stress:
Not at all stressful - 0
Extremely stressful - 5

Scoring Procedures

A score is given for both stress and frequency, with lower scores indicating lower stress appraisal and lower frequency and higher scores indicating higher stress appraisal and higher frequency of gendered racial microaggressions.

Original Citation

Lewis, J. A., & Neville, H. A. (2015). Construction and initial validation of the Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale for Black women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(2), 289-302. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000062


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

Join the EMERGE Community

to get the latest updates on new measures and guidance for survey researchers