A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Ableism (n) - Prejudice and/or discrimination against people with mental or physical disabilities.
African-American (adj) - Relating to the culture of African Americans.
African American (n) - 1. Refers to Black individuals living in the United States with African ancestry. 2. Refers to individuals of African heritage living in the United States having similar experiences, culture heritage and ancestry of former slaves.
Ageism (n) - Discrimination of individuals based on their age, i.e. of the elderly based on the notion that they are incapable of performing certain functions such as driving, or of the young based on the notion that they are immature and therefore incapable of performing certain tasks.
Agender (Also Non-gender)- not identifying with any gender, the feeling of having no gender.
All-Gender-Descriptive phrase denoting inclusiveness of all gender expressions and identities.
All-Gender Pronouns- Any of the multiple sets of pronouns which create gendered space beyond the he, him, and his/she, her, and hers binary. Sometimes referred to as gender neutral pronouns, but many prefer third gender as they do not consider themselves to have neutral genders. Examples: ze, hir, and hirs; ey, em, eirs; ze, zir, and zirs, or singular they.
Ally- Someone who confronts heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, heterosexual and cisgender privilege in themselves and others; 2) A concern for the well being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, and intersex people; 3) A person who believes that heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia are social justice issues; A person who identifies with the privileged group.
Anti-bias (n) - An active commitment to challenging prejudice, stereotyping and all forms of discrimination.
Anti-Semitism (n) - Hatred toward Jews; prejudicial belief in the "racial" or religious inferiority of Jews. The term itself was first used in 1879.
Asian-American (adj) - Relating to the culture of Asian Americans.
Asian American (n) - Refers to individuals living in the United States with Asian ancestry.
B
Bias (n) - An inclination or preference either for or against an individual or group that interferes with impartial judgment.
Bigotry (n) - An unreasonable or irrational attachment to negative stereotypes and prejudices.
Bisexual (n) - Individuals attracted to members of the male and female sex.
Bi-phobia-The fear, hatred, or intolerance of people who identify or are perceived as bisexual.
C
Class (n) - Category of division based on economic status; members of a class are theoretically assumed to possess similar cultural, political and economic characteristics and principles.
Classism (n) - Discrimination based on class.
Coming Out-The process by which one accepts one’s own sexuality, gender identity, or intersex status (to come out to oneself); 2)The process by which one shares one’s sexuality, gender identity, or intersex status with others (to come out to friends, etc.).
Culture (n) - The patterns of daily life learned consciously and unconsciously by a group of people. These patterns can be seen in language, governing practices, arts, customs, holiday celebrations, food, religion, dating rituals, and clothing.
Cultural Diffusion (n) - The spread of objects and ideas from one culture to another.
Cultural Encapsulation (n) - A lack of contact with other cultures.
D
Diaspora (n) - A historical dispersion of a group of people deriving from similar origins, i.e. the African Diaspora includes African Americans, Africans, Caribbeans, Afro-Russians, Black Brazilians, Afro Latinos, etc.
Disadvantaged (adj) - 1. A historically oppressed group having less than sufficient resources to fund all of basic needs; without expendable income. 2. A group characterized by disproportionate economic, social, and political disadvantages.
Discrimination (n) - A biased decision based on a prejudice against an individual group characterized by race, class, sexual orientation, age, disabilities, etc.
Diversity (n) - A situation that includes representation of multiple (ideally all) groups within a prescribed environment, such as a university or a workplace. This word most commonly refers to differences between cultural groups, although it is also used to describe differences within cultural groups, e.g. diversity within the Asian-American culture includes Korean Americans and Japanese Americans. An emphasis on accepting and respecting cultural differences by recognizing that no one culture is intrinsically superior to another underlies the current usage of the term.
E
Emigrant (n) - One who leaves his/her country of origin to reside in a foreign country.
Ethnicity (n) - A quality assigned to a specific group of people historically connected by a common national origin or language. Ethnic classification is used for identification rather than differentiation.
Essentialism (n) - The practice of categorizing a group based on an artificial social construction that imparts an "essence" of that group, which homogenizes the group and effaces individuality and difference.
Ethnicity (n) - A quality assigned to a specific group of people historically connected by a common national origin or language. Ethnic classification is used for identification rather than differentiation.
Ethnocentrism (n) - A practice of unconsciously or consciously privileging a certain ethnic group over others. This involves judging other groups by the values of one's own group.
Eurocentrism (n) - The practice of consciously or unconsciously privileging the culture of Europe over other cultures.
European-American (adj) - Relating to the culture of European Americans.
European American (n) - An individual living in the United States with European ancestry.
F
Feminism (n) - Movement advocating equal rights, status, ability, and treatment of women, based on the belief that women are not in any way inferior to men.
G
Gay-Term used to refer to homosexual / same gender loving communities as a whole, or as an individual identity label for anyone who does not identify as heterosexual; 2) Term used in some cultural settings to specifically represent male identified people who are attracted to other male identified people in a romantic, erotic, and/or emotional sense.
Gender (n) - System of sexual classification based on the social construction of the categories "men" and "women," as opposed to sex which is based on biological and physical differences which form the categories "male" and "female."
Glass ceiling (n) - Term for the maximum position and salary some claim minorities and women are allowed to reach without any chances of further promotion or advancement within an employment scenario.
H
Hate Crime (n) - An act or attempted act by any person against the person or property of another individual or group which in any way constitutes an expression of hostility toward the victim because of his/her race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, gender, or ethnicity.
Hate Incident (n) - Behavior which constitutes an expression of hostility against the person or property of another because of his/her difference. Such incidents include actions motivated by bias, but do not meet the necessary elements required to prove a crime.
Heterosexism (n) - Social structures and practices which serve to elevate and enforce heterosexuality while subordinating or suppressing other forms of sexuality.
Heterosexual (adj) - Pertaining to individuals attracted to the opposite sex.
Hispanic American (adj) - Pertaining to Americans with direct ancestry from Hispanic, or Spanish-speaking countries.
Hispanic American (n) - Individuals living in the United States with ancestry from Hispanic, that is Spanish-speaking countries.
Homophobia (n) - The irrational fear of people who are believed to be lesbian, gay or bisexual.
Homosexual (adj) - Individuals attracted to members of one's own sex.
Hot Buttons (n) - Language that triggers negative reactions from people who view it as insulting and derogatory.
I
Immigrant (n) - A person who resides in a nation, country, or region other than that of his/her origin. Also known as nonnative, outlander, outsider, alien, etc. (ant. emigrant)
Indigenous (adj) - Originating from a culture with ancient ties to the land in which a group resides.
Isms (n) - Refer to the thinking by those in power that certain types of people are inherently inferior; therefore, unequal treatment is justifiable. A variety of isms exist, each focusing on a different dimension of diversity.
J
Jew(s) (n) - members of a people based on a background of shared historical experience and of religious heritage (Judaism). Membership is through birth or conversion. Not all Jews are religious. Most North American Jews are descended from immigrants from Eastern Europe. Jews can be understood in both ethnic and religious terms.
L
Latino/a (n) - Individual living in the United States originating from, or having a heritage relating to Latin America.
Lesbian (n) - Female homosexual. Lesbian ( adj ) - Pertaining to female homosexuality.
LGBTQPIA- Acronym representing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Pansexual, Intersex, Asexual, Ally. Often seen as LGBT or LGBTQ.
Linguicism (n) - Discrimination based on language.
Linguistic Diversity (n) - The many languages spoken in the United States and throughout the world.
M
Minority (n) - Term used to describe a group that represents a relatively smaller percentage of the overall population of a nation/state/ continent etc. . .
Mulitcultural (n) - Many or multiple cultures. The United States is multicultural because its population consists of people from many different cultures.
Multiculturalism (n) - The practice of acknowledging and respecting the various cultures, religions, races, ethnicities, attitudes and opinions within an environment.
N
National Origin (n) - System of classification based on nation from which a person originates, regardless of the nation in which he/she currently resides.
Native-American (adj) - Refers to the descendants of the various indigenous populations that occupied the land now designated America.
Neo-colonialization (n) - Term for contemporary policies adopted by international and western "1st world" nations and organizations that exert regulation, power and control over poorer "3rd world" nations disguised as humanitarian help or aid. These policies are distinct from but related to the "original" period of colonization of Africa, Asia, and the Americas by European nations.
O
Oriental (adj) - Relating to or deriving from the language, traditions, or cultures of the peoples of Asian nations in the region designated as "the Orient," or "the East," by Europeans. This term is conspicuously Eurocentric as "the East" is constructed as being opposed to a fixed reference point, "the West," or western Europe.
P
Pan-Africanism (n) - 1. Describes the theory relating to the desire to educate all peoples of the African Diaspora of their common plight and of the connections between them, e.g. a problem faced by one group affects the lives of other groups as well. 2. Theory relating to the desire to link all African countries across the continent through a common government, language, ideology, or belief.
Pansexual- A sexual orientation where a person desires sexual partners based on personalized attraction to specific physical traits, bodies, identities, and/or personality features which may or may not be aligned to the gender and sex binary
People of Color (n) - A term used to describe all non-white racial or ethnic groups.
Prejudice (v) - Exerting bias and bigotry based on uniformed stereotypes.
Privilege (n) - Power and advantages benefiting a group derived from the historical oppression and exploitation of other groups.
Q
Queer-An umbrella term representative of the vast matrix of identities outside of the gender normative and heterosexual or monogamous majority. Reclaimed after a history of pejorative use, starting in the 1980s; 2) An umbrella term denoting a lack of normalcy in terms of one’s sexuality, gender, or political ideologies in direct relation to sex, sexuality, and gender.
Questioning- A person is in the process of questioning or analyzing their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
R
Race (n) - 1. Classification of humans based on genetic characteristics. 2. Classification of people based on common nationality, history, or experiences.
Racism (n) - An act of discrimination based on an ideology of racial superiority.
Religion (n) - 1. An organized belief system based on certain tenets of faith. 2. A belief in a supreme supernatural force or god(s)
S
Scapegoating (v) - The action of blaming an individual or group for something when, in reality, there is no one person or group responsible for the problem. It targets another person or group as responsible for problems in society because of that person's group identity.
Sex (n) - System of sexual classification based on biological and physical differences, such as primary and secondary sexual characteristics, forming the categories "male" and "female" as opposed to gender which is based on the social construction of the categories "men" and "women."
Sexism (n) - Prejudice and/or discrimination based on gender.
Stereotype (v) - To categorize people based on an artificial construction of a certain group designed to impart the "essence" of that group, which homogenizes the group, effacing individuality and difference.
Social Constructionism (n) - A perception of an individual, group, or idea that is "constructed" through cultural and social practice, but appears to be "natural," or "the way things are." For example, the idea that women "naturally" like to do housework is a social construction because this idea appears "natural" due to its historical repetition, rather than it being "true" in any essential sense.
Social Distance (n) - A concept created by scientist Emory Bogardus, refers to the degree to which we are willing to interact and develop relationships with certain racial and ethnic groups.
Sociocultural Theory (n) - A perspective that focuses on the social and cultural context of one`s thoughts and actions.
Stereotype Vulnerability (n) - The danger of not performing up to our ability because of our anxieties and fears about perpetuating a stereotype.
T
Tolerance (n) - Acceptance and open-mindedness to different practices, attitudes, and cultures; does not necessarily mean agreement with the differences.
Transculturation (n) - The process by which a person adjusts to another cultural environment without sacrificing his or her own cultural identity.
Transgender (TG)- An umbrella term describing a diverse community of people whose gender identity differs from that which they were designated at birth; 2) Expressions and identities that challenge the binary male/female gender system in a given culture; 3) Anyone who transcends the conventional definitions of man and woman and whose self-identification or expression challenges traditional notions of male and female.
Transsexual (also Transexual)(TS)-A person whose gender identity is different from their designated sex at birth and has taken steps of physical transition so that their body is congruent to both their gender identity and the conventional concept of sexually male and female bodies.