Terminology to Know
Identity
Identity: Essential aspect of who we are which influence our sense of self: including gender, race, ability, socioeconomic status, sexuality, religion, etc and locate us in the social world, particularly in relationship to social systems.
Intersectionality: A legal/analytic framework that examines how multiple social categorizations or identities such as race, class, gender orientation, sexual orientation, disability, etc., interact to form interconnected and compounding systems of marginalization among individuals and groups. Refers to compounding marginalization, rooted in our identities.
Race: Racial classifications are socially constructed and externally imposed, involuntary, and usually based on physical differences (such as skin color or facial features) or assumed regional origins (such as Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.). Example: White, Asian, African, and Pacific Islander are races.
Ethnicity: Self- or group-motivated communities sharing common or specific ancestry and cultural practices, usually associated to a geographic region or religious affiliation. Example: Italian and Samoan are ethnicities.
Biological Sex: A label – male or female - that one is assigned at birth based off of sex organs and chromosomes. Biological sex is distinct from gender identity.
Gender Identity: A complex system of roles, expressions, identities, performances, and one's inner concept of being a womxn, mxn, non-binary, bigender, or other. Inclusive pronouns can include (she/her/hers), (he/ him/his), (they/them/their), (she/they), (he/they), or (she/he/they).
Sexual Orientation: Sexual orientation describes patterns of attraction and one's sense of identity based on those attractions, including heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, pansexual, asexual, pansexual, questioning, and more! Sexual orientation is distinct from gender identity or biological sex.
LGBTQIA+: A common abbreviation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Pansexual, Genderqueer, etc.
Identity: Essential aspect of who we are which influence our sense of self: including gender, race, ability, socioeconomic status, sexuality, religion, etc and locate us in the social world, particularly in relationship to social systems.
Intersectionality: A legal/analytic framework that examines how multiple social categorizations or identities such as race, class, gender orientation, sexual orientation, disability, etc., interact to form interconnected and compounding systems of marginalization among individuals and groups. Refers to compounding marginalization, rooted in our identities.
Race: Racial classifications are socially constructed and externally imposed, involuntary, and usually based on physical differences (such as skin color or facial features) or assumed regional origins (such as Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.). Example: White, Asian, African, and Pacific Islander are races.
Ethnicity: Self- or group-motivated communities sharing common or specific ancestry and cultural practices, usually associated to a geographic region or religious affiliation. Example: Italian and Samoan are ethnicities.
Biological Sex: A label – male or female - that one is assigned at birth based off of sex organs and chromosomes. Biological sex is distinct from gender identity.
Gender Identity: A complex system of roles, expressions, identities, performances, and one's inner concept of being a womxn, mxn, non-binary, bigender, or other. Inclusive pronouns can include (she/her/hers), (he/ him/his), (they/them/their), (she/they), (he/they), or (she/he/they).
Sexual Orientation: Sexual orientation describes patterns of attraction and one's sense of identity based on those attractions, including heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, pansexual, asexual, pansexual, questioning, and more! Sexual orientation is distinct from gender identity or biological sex.
LGBTQIA+: A common abbreviation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Pansexual, Genderqueer, etc.
Racism and Injustice
Prejudice: A judgment of belief that is formed on insufficient grounds before facts are known or in disregard of facts that contradict it. Prejudices are learned and can be unlearned.
Discrimination: The acting out of prejudice. This results in the unequal allocation of goods, resources, and services and the limitation of access to full participation in society based on individual membership in a particular social group: reinforced by law, policy, and cultural norms that allow for differential treatment on the basis of identity.
Oppression: To hold down a group of people by harnessing prejudice and discrimination within legal, social, and day to day contexts that are rooted in historical, institutional, ideological, and structural forms of power.
Systemic Racism: Oppression occurring throughout the societies, based on institutionalized law and/or procedures.
Systematic Racism: Oppressive actions or behaviors which occur methodically or in an organized manner - again based on institutionalized laws and/or procedures.
Over-Representation: A situation where a group has a number of its members in some condition in greater numbers than their population would suggest. Example: Black men are over represented in the criminal justice system (13% of the US population identifies as Black, while 38% of inmates identify as Black).
Under-Representation: A situation where a group has a number of its members in some condition in fewer numbers than their population would suggest. Example: People of color are disproportionately absent in mainstream and prominent movies and TV shows.
Microaggression (Racially Motivated): Everyday, negative, and derogatory slurs, slights, or insults, both verbal and non-verbal, aimed at people of color based on their received race. Microaggression are rooted in stereotypes of false assumptions made about a person's race and are often not detected by dominant groups as "racist." Examples:
"You speak so well for a ___ person."
"So where are you really from?"
Speaking slowly to a person of color
Assuming a person of color does/can not speak English
Failing to learn to correctly pronounce a person's name after being corrected.
Cultural Appropriation: The act of taking on or adopting elements of a group's culture by those outside of it. On the surface, it can be perceived as a form of cultural exchange between groups. However, this act becomes problematic when cultural elements are adopted inaccurately or stereotypically, done for profit or aesthetic, or exploited by those in power. Example: The Kardashian family can often be seen exaggerating aspects of Black femininity for aesthetic and profiteering purposes, especially those which were once demonized by popular culture on Black women.
Color-blind Racism: The false concept that ignoring race and racial differences erases "racism" and promotes racial equality and harmony between racial groups. This type of racism ignores the insitutional nature of racism and is difficult to detect as it allows dominant groups to protect their own interests without "sounding racist." Examples:
"I don't see color."
"I don't see people as Black or Brown."
Actively avoiding conversations about race because it is "inappropriate."
#AllLivesMatter
Prejudice: A judgment of belief that is formed on insufficient grounds before facts are known or in disregard of facts that contradict it. Prejudices are learned and can be unlearned.
Discrimination: The acting out of prejudice. This results in the unequal allocation of goods, resources, and services and the limitation of access to full participation in society based on individual membership in a particular social group: reinforced by law, policy, and cultural norms that allow for differential treatment on the basis of identity.
Oppression: To hold down a group of people by harnessing prejudice and discrimination within legal, social, and day to day contexts that are rooted in historical, institutional, ideological, and structural forms of power.
Systemic Racism: Oppression occurring throughout the societies, based on institutionalized law and/or procedures.
Systematic Racism: Oppressive actions or behaviors which occur methodically or in an organized manner - again based on institutionalized laws and/or procedures.
Over-Representation: A situation where a group has a number of its members in some condition in greater numbers than their population would suggest. Example: Black men are over represented in the criminal justice system (13% of the US population identifies as Black, while 38% of inmates identify as Black).
Under-Representation: A situation where a group has a number of its members in some condition in fewer numbers than their population would suggest. Example: People of color are disproportionately absent in mainstream and prominent movies and TV shows.
Microaggression (Racially Motivated): Everyday, negative, and derogatory slurs, slights, or insults, both verbal and non-verbal, aimed at people of color based on their received race. Microaggression are rooted in stereotypes of false assumptions made about a person's race and are often not detected by dominant groups as "racist." Examples:
"You speak so well for a ___ person."
"So where are you really from?"
Speaking slowly to a person of color
Assuming a person of color does/can not speak English
Failing to learn to correctly pronounce a person's name after being corrected.
Cultural Appropriation: The act of taking on or adopting elements of a group's culture by those outside of it. On the surface, it can be perceived as a form of cultural exchange between groups. However, this act becomes problematic when cultural elements are adopted inaccurately or stereotypically, done for profit or aesthetic, or exploited by those in power. Example: The Kardashian family can often be seen exaggerating aspects of Black femininity for aesthetic and profiteering purposes, especially those which were once demonized by popular culture on Black women.
Color-blind Racism: The false concept that ignoring race and racial differences erases "racism" and promotes racial equality and harmony between racial groups. This type of racism ignores the insitutional nature of racism and is difficult to detect as it allows dominant groups to protect their own interests without "sounding racist." Examples:
"I don't see color."
"I don't see people as Black or Brown."
Actively avoiding conversations about race because it is "inappropriate."
#AllLivesMatter
