This article uses a combination of speech act theory and research on microaggressions to analyze statements made by scholars in the fields of literature and creative writing towards their colleagues in composition. We argue that framing these interactions as "hierarchical microaggressions," a term coined by Kathryn Young et al., helps explain compositionists' potentially defensive reactions to seemingly innocuous remarks, and also points towards ways of engaging in constructive communication among English department colleagues about the field of composition.