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.
Geographies Tested: United States of America
Populations Included: Female
Age Range: Adults
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
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.
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
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