Why the term “Highly Sensitive ” Doesn’t Work for People of Color
How Language Contributes to the Lack of Diversity in HSP Spaces
Over the past decade, the awareness and understanding of “highly sensitive person” has increased, particularly in the Western world. Many individuals have started identifying themselves as HSPs, which has given them a sense of relief, connection, and acceptance. Discovering or revealing new aspects of oneself can be a powerful and life-changing experience, providing a sense of belonging and authenticity that may have been lacking previously.
I had this same experience when I discovered my sensitivity in 2019. This discovery helped me to contextualize my experiences and history, allowing me to advocate for my needs and the things that would help me perform better at work or socialize more effectively without feeling ashamed or hesitant.
While I am grateful for discovering the term HSP, lately, I have come to realize that the term has its limitations and challenges for Black, Indigenous, and other People of color. The term Highly Sensitive Person is gaining in use. Still, my conversations with People of Color indicate that it does not fully encompass the experiences of people of the African, Asian, Indigenous North, Central, and South American, Oceanic, and other non-European diasporas. This is immediately evident when you search the terms compassionate person or HSP within any search engine. You will inevitably be inundated with images of a particular type of identity and phenotype, and odds are, they won’t look like this person:
If you enter into spaces that label themselves safe for Highly Sensitive People or cultivated to benefit and connect Highly Sensitive People, you will find that the founders of such spaces are almost always women of the European Diaspora and that the volunteers, moderators, and most active members also share that set of identities. The same is true if you were to search for an HSP coach, HSP speaker, or HSP advocate.
There are reasons why people of the global majority are, at this moment, systematically underrepresented within these spaces, platforms, and social media pages. It may not be intentional, but that does not mean that it is not important for us to reflect on how we got here and what ways our terminology and language attract and repel certain demographics. I offer this critique to illustrate the context and conditions that have shaped the current state of the HSP experience in the hope that we can more intentionally use language that is more neutral, welcoming, affirming, and reflects the experiences of the full diversity of the global population.
A quick Google search of the word sensitive will offer the definition that to be sensitive is to be “quick to detect or respond to slight changes, signals, or influences.” You are also likely to see a preponderance of images of women of the European diaspora or women who have light skin as examples of whom sensitivity is associated. This is more significant than it may appear.
In the fields of social science and neurology, there is a term called heuristics that helps to explain how our mind and environment influence us to make certain associations between things. For instance, there may be associations between words and images, words and sounds, or words and emotions. In short, our social, physical, linguistic, and mental environments shape the shortcuts that our minds make between “things” and what those things “mean.” This happens almost instantaneously and is difficult to counter, especially as we grow older.
If you are a Black, Indigenous, or other Person of Color who is not familiar with the term “highly sensitive person” and is trying to understand its meaning, or if you suspect it might apply to you but you see that it is mainly associated with women of European descent or those with a light skin tone, you may be less likely to identify with this trait and feel that it applies to you.
I am not arguing that the term ‘highly sensitive person’ is inherently incorrect. Rather, I believe it carries connotations related to gender, race, and physical bodies that may discourage individuals who genuinely identify with or could benefit from this experience from seeking it out.
It is important to acknowledge that in today’s Western society, not all individuals are allowed to claim the label of “sensitive” without facing repercussions. For example, the stereotype of the “strong Black woman” perpetuates the harmful notion that Black women should not express vulnerability or sensitivity.
Researchers found that Highly Sensitive People of color experienced more discrimination related to their sensitivity than highly sensitive white people, particularly in the workplace.
Medical studies and social scientific articles suggest that the notion that people of African descent have tougher skin than people of European descent is a myth. A 2016 study published in the National Library of Medicine found that beliefs about biological differences between Black Americans and white Americans — beliefs dating back to slavery — are associated with the perception that Black people feel less pain than white people and with inadequate treatment recommendations for Black patients’ pain.
Scientific research also confirms that not only do people of the European Diaspora hold beliefs about the sensitivity of Black people, but that when Black people name their sensitivity and attempt to achieve changes in their workplaces that would benefit them, we are more often dismissed and even punished for doing so. In a study titled “The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Sensory Processing Sensitivity: An Exploratory Study,” researchers found that Highly Sensitive People of color experienced more discrimination related to their sensitivity than highly sensitive white people, particularly in the workplace.
In my personal experience growing up in a household in America, raised by people who are of the African Diaspora, to be called sensitive was not a positive thing. To be sensitive was to be reactive, to be fearful of or not able to handle all that life has to offer you. I am not alone in this experience, recent Studies have shown that being highly sensitive does not translate to stronger social support and may even create distance between people out of the global majority and our social support systems which are statistically speaking more likely to be composed of people of the global majority.
Researchers R. L. Johnson and A. M. Smith published a 2018 study titled “The Role of Race in the Relationship Between Highly Sensitive People and Their Social Support Networks,” which showed that Highly Sensitive People of color reported lower levels of social support than highly sensitive white people, which may be due to cultural differences in how emotions are expressed and perceived.
I believe that individuals from the Global Majority are often hesitant to embrace the concept of sensitivity, as it has been portrayed as a threat to their survival for the past 500 years. Living in a world dominated by people of the European Diaspora, being called sensitive often resulted in being excluded and reminded that their actions were different from the norm. Most People of the Global Majority come from largely collectivist cultures and are thus oriented to view their actions as supporting the wider community.
High Sensitivity, on the other hand, embodies notions connected to the largely individualistic attitude of Westerners. HSPs, in their writings, discuss their experiences of feeling different from others and how they have improved their lives largely through self-help strategies, moving away from home, or some other strategies that weaken social ties. While this may be possible and less consequential for People of the European Diaspora, many People of the Global Majority find this approach too costly, both socially and economically.
I have been having conversations with People of the Global Majority for several years now. The more people I speak to about this, the more convinced I am that the term ‘Highly Sensitive Person’ is not appealing and can needlessly repel people. It doesn’t resonate with People of the Global Majority, especially people who are masculine of center.
I know if I were to give them another phrase with the same characteristics: depth of processing, overstimulation, emotional sensitivity, and other characteristics, they would embrace the characteristics and be more able to exercise their agency and awareness in crafting their relationships, professional careers, and other spheres of their life to better meet their needs. I’ve given reasons why I don’t think the term HSP resonates with a wider audience and why that might be. If this terminology doesn’t work, what might?
About a year ago, I tested out a new phrase, HRE, to see what responses I would get. HRE, an acronym for “Highly Responsive to our Environment,” offers us a more flexible and, at the same time, asset-based reframing of our experiences, traits, and characteristics. It suggests a relationship with our environment and alludes to possessing hidden wisdom and the capacity to transform our awareness into action.
It also suggests a more neutral and matter-of-fact understanding of how we operate in the world. I know from personal experience that if I say to a man of Afro-Indigenous descent in Central America, “I am highly sensitive,” or “I am a highly sensitive person,” and my aim is to help this man see himself as part of the highly sensitive community, that this won’t work. Those of us who understand the influence and history of machismo and gender dynamics in the Americas will immediately see the flaws in this approach and in this terminology.
Now, what if, instead, I say to this man, “I am responsive to my environment.” I know from experience that this slight shift in language will be received with more interest. He would be more likely to ask, “What does being highly responsive to your environment mean? How do you know?” Being highly responsive to our environment sounds like a skill or experience, not a fixed condition or state, and that’s the key advantage over the label highly sensitive person.
There are so many People of the Global Majority who don’t discover this trait. And when they do, they don’t see people who look, sound, talk, think, feel, and sense the way that they do. All of this combines to isolate and alienate People of Color who are responsive or sensitive to their social, emotional, and physical environments.
I know from personal experience how isolating it was growing up not knowing about my responsiveness and how I was encouraged to learn to internalize and suppress or deny my sensitivity. Eventually, I learned to accept that that was the cost of belonging anywhere and feeling any sort of connection. But it was always precarious belonging. I was always fearful that I’d notice something others didn’t, be moved to tears when I shouldn’t, or grow too close to a friend. It was excruciating to think that I was alone in this experience.
I have reason to believe that this wasn’t just my experience. In a study titled “Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Ethnic Minority Mental Health,” researchers E. A. Watson and S. C. Chen found that Highly Sensitive People of color may have unique mental health needs related to their sensitivity and that cultural values and beliefs may influence how they seek and receive mental health treatment.
There are a lot of things that we can’t change about how people perceive the traits that come with being responsive to our environments. What we can do is choose language with an awareness and an acceptance of where we currently are so that we can broaden our outreach and invite people into this experience and be willing to be enriched by what they have to offer.
Being highly responsive to our environment means that we see things other people miss. We are the early warning signs when something is off, and we process things deeply and see connections between seemingly unrelated things. The language we use to articulate these characteristics should point to this in a clear and direct way. In my experience, the term highly responsive to our environment has three main advantages when engaging people of the global majority, and in particular, men and people who are masculine of center within the global majority.
The phrase HRE, more so than HSP, connects to people’s heads, hearts, and hands. What I mean is that connecting to one’s head means that it makes sense and invites curiosity and openness. Saying HRE opens minds, whereas HSP tends to close minds. By “heart,” I mean that this HRE speaks to people emotionally or is more emotionally resonant to a wider audience.
I’ve lost count of the number of people within the global majority, and in particular, people who are masculine of the center, who say, “Yeah, I can see that. That sounds like me.” Then, you’ve got an opening to share more now that relatability has been established. Connecting to somebody’s hands means that the term or concept is within reach and is applicable to people’s lives. It has utility and is accessible. We can do something with it.
There are so many people in the world who have no frame of reference or don’t know that they are highly responsive to their environment. They think that they’re broken, wrong, odd, and they don’t deserve to belong or to connect. They think that they have to forgo their authenticity to establish and maintain attachments to others. This is not true, and being in a community with other people who are highly responsive to their environment showed me that I am not alone and that true attachment and authenticity are within reach. I didn’t discover this until someone like me or related to me made me aware of this experience and trait.
What do you think? Does the phrase “highly responsive to your environment” resonate with you, or is there something that I’m missing or something that I haven’t taken into consideration?
