"Get Under My Skin" Workshop

On Saturday the 6th of May from 4.00 p.m., at Parco XV Aprile (next to Ponte Tiberio), erasmus and the esner coordinator found a quiet spot in the grass to have the "Get Under my Skin" workshop about racism and microaggression.

FIRST ACTIVITY - write down examples of microaggressions (a term that represents the verbal insult or behavior which is usually unintentional, but still communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative attitudes toward stigmatized or culturally marginalized groups).

SECOND ACTIVITY - First impression: rapper, painter, unemployed, engineer... we showed to erasmus some pictures of real people from different ethnic groups, and without prompting or explanation, asked them to jot down their perceptions. Asked them to make notes on things like education level, socioeconomic status, occupation, personal life, legal history, and background. Then,  to share what they wrote. While providing some interesting answers, it also helped to shed light on what our "students’" subconscious biases were, and their preconceived notions about people. This, in turn, provoked interesting, stimulating, and transformative discussions on the causes and origins of such perceptions.

THIRD ACTIVITY - self love: we made students write down something they always felt insecure about (body, appearance, religion, language), something that other people made them feel ugly about. They read it out loud and put it in the bag. “Here in this bag, this is a part of you.” Throw away the bag with all the negative stuff.

On another paper they enlisted all the positive things they like about them or somebody told them (appearance, attitude, whatever they feel like). Read them out loud repeatedly. “This is who you are”. Outline the importance of the definition of one self: “you know what you are and even if people will say differently, you should never let them define you. Be who you want to be.”