[stcredzero]

The experience of those who are not just minorities, but even more so is unique and hard to understand. I'm not sure if it has terminology, so I'll call it "hyper-minority." Not only is a "hyper-minority" outnumbered, there are so few of them, in many contexts there is no minority community to fall back on, or even if there is, it's so small, its presence can often not be felt. Being a hyper-minority has many of the visibility drawbacks of being a celebrity, minus the personal fame and some of the benefits. Where I grew up, it was so predominantly white, the family had to drive 50 miles to visit other Asian friends, who weren't even in the same ethnic group. While there are more women in programming than before, there are still times and places where a woman can feel like a hyper-minority. Being defined by how you look, or some other external signal, instead of what you can do and what you know is a significant barrier. It's like a cuckoo that can eat up all of the energy and nourishment that should be going to growing genuine working relationships.