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Glossary of Terms & Ally Packs

Glossary of Terms

  • Allyship
    • Supporting an identity group that differs from your own (identities such as race, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, etc.). An ally acknowledges oppression and actively commits to reducing their own complicity, investing in strengthening their own knowledge and awareness of oppression.
  • Bias
    • An opinion, feeling, or influence that strongly favors one side in an argument or one item in a group or series. A preconceived negative opinion or attitude about a group of people who possess common physical characteristics or cultural experiences. Bias can be implicit/unconscious, which is when we automatically make an assumption (positive or negative) about someone without realizing it.
  • BIPOC
    • An acronym for Black, Indigenous, People of Color. Another term might be POC (or PoC) for People of Color, which is broader.
  • Cultural Appropriation
    • Appropriation occurs when aspects of a marginalized culture are adopted by a dominant culture without permission or understanding. It often leads to the trivialization or commodification of cultural symbols and practices.
  • Disability
    • Any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions).
  • Diversity
    • The practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.
  • Ethnicity
    • A group of people who are connected by a common language, culture, spiritual tradition, and/or ancestral history.
  • Equity
    • Providing differential treatments and resources that address individual barriers in order to create opportunities where all can participate and thrive. Equity differs from equality in that equality provides the same resources to everyone, regardless of individual needs and differences.
  • Gender
    • The socially prescribed and enforced roles, behaviors, and expectations that are assigned to individuals at birth based on their biological sex. Gender is a social construct, and individuals can reject or create a gender identity that feels true to their sense of who they are.
  • Inclusion
    • The act of creating an environment in which any individual or group will be welcomed, respected, supported and valued as a fully participating member. An inclusive and welcoming climate embraces and respects differences. ·
  • Intersectionality
    • The complex, cumulative manner in which the effects of different forms of discrimination combine, overlap, or intersect; the crucial ways in which identities (race, gender, sexuality, etc.) exist together.
  • LGBTQIA+
    • An acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual or Ally, and more. These terms are used to describe a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • Marginalization
    • A process of social exclusion in which individuals or groups are denied economic, political, and/or symbolic power and pushed towards being ‘outsiders’ to a society.
  • Microaggression
    • Indirect, subtle, or unintentional discriminatory actions against members of a marginalized group.
  • Nationality/ National Origin
    • Your membership in a country where you were born and/or where you have citizenship.
  • Non-Binary
    • People whose gender is not male or female use many different terms to describe themselves, with nonbinary being one of the most common (sometimes spelled with a hyphen, as “non-binary”). Other terms include genderqueer, agender, bigender, genderfluid, and more. None of these terms mean exactly the same thing – but all speak to an experience of gender that is not simply male or female.
  • Oppression
    • A combination of prejudice and institutional power that creates a system that regularly and severely discriminates against some groups and benefits other groups.
  • Prejudice
    • A preconceived judgement or preference, especially one that interferes with impartial judgment and can be rooted in stereotypes, that denies the right of individual members of certain groups to be recognized.
  • Privilege
    • An advantage or benefit that certain groups of people have, often unknowingly, based on their identity, background, or social status.
  • Pronoun
    • The third person personal pronouns (such as he/him, she/her, and they/them) that a person goes by. Examples include he/him, she/her, they/them as well as combinations, such as she/they.
  • Race
    • A socially constructed system of classifying humans based on their skin color and other physical characteristics. Race is not grounded in genetics or scientific fact.
  • Sex
    • A label that individuals are assigned at birth that is based on chromosomes and the physical characteristics that distinguish male and female bodies.
  • Sexual Orientation
    • The inner feelings of who a person is attracted to emotionally and/or physically, in relation to their own gender or non-binary identity. People may identify as “asexual,” “bisexual,” “gay,” “lesbian,” “pansexual,” “queer,” “straight,” or in other ways.
  • Socioeconomic Status
    • A way of describing people based on their education, income, and type of job. Socioeconomic status is usually described as low, medium, and high. People with a lower socioeconomic status usually have less access to financial, educational, social, and health resources than those with a higher socioeconomic status. Also called SES.
  • Structural/Systemic Inequality
    • Systemic disadvantage(s) of one social group compared to other groups, rooted and perpetuated through discriminatory practices (conscious or unconscious) that are rein