“You Intimidate Me” as a Microaggressive Controlling Image to Discipline Womyn of Color Faculty

This essay rectifies limitations in existing microaggression literature by theorizing a particular controlling image as microaggressive. A controlling image operating within the academy is “you’re intimidating,” which carries representational meanings about Others that seeks to discipline womyn of color faculty. The intersectional nature of the controlling image is mired in power and contextual factors that reflect a racial–gendered microaggression. Explicating this argument draws on memorable messages from the author’s experiences. The force of the microaggressive controlling image rests on its expression and representation, which suggests a mutually informing and reinforcing dialectic. This essay advances understanding about controlling images, contributes to published literature on microaggressions via a communication lens simultaneously, and theorizes an intersectional microaggresssion that extends current literature.