The following terms and definitions were adapted from “How to be a Good Ally and Create Safer Spaces in New Music” by Joel Zigman, Alex Temple, Alejandro t. Acierto, Meerani Shim and Matthew Evan Taylor (2016), the LGBTQIA Resource Center (2020), and BIPOC Project (2020).
ABLEISM: A system of oppression consisting of discrimination and prejudice against people with intellectual, emotional, and physical disabilities.
ALLY THEATER: When a person performs public displays of allyship — usually on social media — that are not backed up by other anti-oppression action and/or that are geared more towards making them look good rather than toward helping the marginalized group they are claiming to support. This term was coined on the blog “Black Girl Dangerous”.
BIPOC: Acronym that stands for “Black, Indigenous, People of Color” to unite all people of color, while intentionally acknowledging and undoing Native invisibility.
CISGENDER: A cisgender person is someone whose gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth. “Cis-” is a Latin prefix meaning “on the same side as”, and is therefore an antonym of “trans-” meaning “across”. Cisgender can be abbreviated as “cis”, just as “transgender” can be abbreviated as “trans”.
CLASS: Relative rank in terms of income, wealth, and education. Interchangeable with socio-economic status (often grouped into lower/middle/upper). Rough categories of class include: persistent poverty, working class, professional-middle class, owning class.
DECOLONIZATION: Reclaiming what was taken from native peoples and honoring what they still have.
GENDER IDENTITY: An internal, deeply held sense of one’s gender. People whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth are referred to as “transgender”. Most people have a gender identity of “man” or “woman” (or “boy” or “girl”). Some, however, have a gender identity that does not fit neatly into either category. Unlike gender expression, gender identity is not visible to others.
GENDER EXPRESSION: External manifestations of gender, such as one’s name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics. Society identifies these cues as masculine and feminine, although what’s considered masculine and feminine changes over time and varies by culture. Typically, transgender people seek to make their gender expression align with their gender identity, rather than the sex they were assigned at birth.
GENDER EXPANSIVE: A term that breaks the notion that gender is binary and extends beyond gender constructs. An umbrella term for individuals who broaden their own culture’s culturally held definitions of gender, including expectations for its expression, identities, roles and/or other perceived gender norms.
IMPERIALISM: The ideological foundation that justifies and normalizes domination and exploitation of people, culture, and territories.
INTERSECTIONALITY: A term established by professor Kimberle Crenshaw in the 1980s to describe the way multiple systems of oppression interact in the lives of those with multiple marginalized identities. Intersectionality looks at the relationships between multiple marginalized identities and allows us to analyze social problems more fully, shape more effective interventions, and promote more inclusive advocacy amongst communities.
LGBT/LGBTQIA: An umbrella acronym that is used to raise awareness and reference to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual communities.
LGBTQIA ALLYSHIP: Confronting hetrosexism, sexism, genderism, allosexism and monosexism in oneself and others out of self-interested and concern for the wellbeing of LGBTQIA people. Founded in the understanding that dismantling heterosexism, monosexism, trans oppression/trans misogyny/cissexism and allosexism is a social justice issue.
MARGINALIZED: Refers to groups who have suffered past institutional discrimination and continue to suffer discrimination contemporarily. According to the US Census, these groups may include, but are not limited to: people of color, adult learners, veterans, people with disabilities, queer, intersex, and transgender people, those who follow religions other than Christianity, and working class people. This is revealed by the imbalance in the representation of these groups in common pursuits such as education, jobs, housing, etc. Related to and sometimes used interchangeably with the term underrepresented.
MINORITY STRESS: Chronically high levels of stress faced by members of marginalized groups. It may be caused by a number of factors, including poor social support and low socioeconomic status, but the most well understood causes of minority stress are interpersonal prejudice and discrimination. Numerous studies have shown that marginalized individuals experience a high degree of prejudice, which causes stress responses (such as high blood pressure, anxiety) that accrue over time, eventually leading to poor mental and physical health. Possible concerns include depression, self-harm, compulsivity, substance abuse, sexual dysfunction, personality disorders, eating disorders, and psychotic disorders. Though some consider the term “minority” outdated, the phrase “minority stress” has become standard in the field of social science and public health.
MICROAGGRESSIONS: Brief, subtle behaviors (intentional or not) that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative messages of commonly oppressed identities. These actions cause harm through invalidation of the target person’s identity and may reinforce stereotypes.
PEOPLE OF COLOR: A collective term for individuals of Asian, African, Latin, (sometimes) Middle Eastern, and (sometimes) First Nations backgrounds. As opposed to the collective “white” for those of European ancestry. Often abbreviated as “POC”.
PERSON-FIRST LANGUAGE: Putting the word “person” or “people” before the word “disability” or the name of a particular disability, rather than placing the disability first and using it as an adjective. For example, saying “person with a disability,” “woman with cerebral palsy,” or “man with an intellectual disability.” The purpose is to promote the idea that a disability is only one characteristic of a person, and not inherently a defining one. While it is generally a safe bet to use people-first language, some Deaf and autistic people consider their disabilities to be fundamental to their identity and prefer disability-first language.
PRONOUNS: Most people have particular pronouns they expect others to use for them. Most cisgender and some transgender people use pronouns that line up with their birth-assigned sex (he/him, she/her). Many genderqueer and trans folks have selected pronouns that best suit who they are, such as the gender-neutral singular they/them or new terms like ze/hir. The best way to find out someone’s preferred pronoun is to ask rather than assume.
QUEER: Adjective. Used as an umbrella term to describe individuals who identify as non-straight. Also used to describe people who have a non-normative gender identity, or radical/counter-cultural approach to the politics of gender and sexuality. Due to its historical use as a derogatory term, it is not embraced or used by all members of the LGBTQIA community. The term “queer” can often be used interchangeably with “LGBTQIA”.
SELF-EFFICACY: One’s belief in one’s ability to succeed at something. This term comes from social learning theory, particularly the research of psychologist Albert Bandura.
TRANSGENDER: Adjective. Sometimes abbreviated as “trans” or “trans*”. An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. People under the transgender umbrella may describe themselves using a wide variety of terms, including transgender, genderqueer, non-binary, bigender, third gender, neutrois, genderfluid, agender. If you’re not sure how to refer to someone, ask for the descriptive term they prefer. Many transgender people are prescribed hormones by their doctors to change their bodies. Some undergo surgery as well, but not all transgender people can or want to take those steps, and a transgender identity is not dependent upon medical procedures.
TRANSSEXUAL: Adjective. An older term that originated in the medical and psychological communities. Still preferred by some people who have changed, or seek to change, their bodies through medical interventions (including hormones and/or surgeries). Unlike “transgender”, “transsexual” is not an umbrella term. Many transgender people do not identify as transsexual and prefer the word transgender. It is best to ask which term an individual prefers. If the person prefers the term “transsexual”, use it as an adjective, as in “transsexual woman” or “transexual man”.
VICTIM BLAMING: Holding people responsible for wrongs that others have committed against them. In sexual violence education, where the term is most commonly used, this includes blaming the survivor for “risky” behaviors such as walking alone at night, drinking and/or taking drugs, wearing “provocative” clothing, having multiple sex partners, and doing things that “imply” consent like flirting or going to the assaulter’s room. The term can also refer to a member of a marginalized group being shamed (for example, called “coddled” or “entitled”) for stress or discrimination in the face of systemic oppression. This shaming is a form of gaslighting (mental abuse in which information is twisted, spun, selectively omitted or outright invented in order to favor the abuser and make the victim doubt their own memory, perception, and sanity).
This is not an exhaustive list! There are many more social justice terms you can get familiar with to help Girls Rock Denver create the space and world we want to exist within!
ABLEISM: A system of oppression consisting of discrimination and prejudice against people with intellectual, emotional, and physical disabilities.
ALLY THEATER: When a person performs public displays of allyship — usually on social media — that are not backed up by other anti-oppression action and/or that are geared more towards making them look good rather than toward helping the marginalized group they are claiming to support. This term was coined on the blog “Black Girl Dangerous”.
BIPOC: Acronym that stands for “Black, Indigenous, People of Color” to unite all people of color, while intentionally acknowledging and undoing Native invisibility.
CISGENDER: A cisgender person is someone whose gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth. “Cis-” is a Latin prefix meaning “on the same side as”, and is therefore an antonym of “trans-” meaning “across”. Cisgender can be abbreviated as “cis”, just as “transgender” can be abbreviated as “trans”.
CLASS: Relative rank in terms of income, wealth, and education. Interchangeable with socio-economic status (often grouped into lower/middle/upper). Rough categories of class include: persistent poverty, working class, professional-middle class, owning class.
DECOLONIZATION: Reclaiming what was taken from native peoples and honoring what they still have.
GENDER IDENTITY: An internal, deeply held sense of one’s gender. People whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth are referred to as “transgender”. Most people have a gender identity of “man” or “woman” (or “boy” or “girl”). Some, however, have a gender identity that does not fit neatly into either category. Unlike gender expression, gender identity is not visible to others.
GENDER EXPRESSION: External manifestations of gender, such as one’s name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics. Society identifies these cues as masculine and feminine, although what’s considered masculine and feminine changes over time and varies by culture. Typically, transgender people seek to make their gender expression align with their gender identity, rather than the sex they were assigned at birth.
GENDER EXPANSIVE: A term that breaks the notion that gender is binary and extends beyond gender constructs. An umbrella term for individuals who broaden their own culture’s culturally held definitions of gender, including expectations for its expression, identities, roles and/or other perceived gender norms.
IMPERIALISM: The ideological foundation that justifies and normalizes domination and exploitation of people, culture, and territories.
INTERSECTIONALITY: A term established by professor Kimberle Crenshaw in the 1980s to describe the way multiple systems of oppression interact in the lives of those with multiple marginalized identities. Intersectionality looks at the relationships between multiple marginalized identities and allows us to analyze social problems more fully, shape more effective interventions, and promote more inclusive advocacy amongst communities.
LGBT/LGBTQIA: An umbrella acronym that is used to raise awareness and reference to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual communities.
LGBTQIA ALLYSHIP: Confronting hetrosexism, sexism, genderism, allosexism and monosexism in oneself and others out of self-interested and concern for the wellbeing of LGBTQIA people. Founded in the understanding that dismantling heterosexism, monosexism, trans oppression/trans misogyny/cissexism and allosexism is a social justice issue.
MARGINALIZED: Refers to groups who have suffered past institutional discrimination and continue to suffer discrimination contemporarily. According to the US Census, these groups may include, but are not limited to: people of color, adult learners, veterans, people with disabilities, queer, intersex, and transgender people, those who follow religions other than Christianity, and working class people. This is revealed by the imbalance in the representation of these groups in common pursuits such as education, jobs, housing, etc. Related to and sometimes used interchangeably with the term underrepresented.
MINORITY STRESS: Chronically high levels of stress faced by members of marginalized groups. It may be caused by a number of factors, including poor social support and low socioeconomic status, but the most well understood causes of minority stress are interpersonal prejudice and discrimination. Numerous studies have shown that marginalized individuals experience a high degree of prejudice, which causes stress responses (such as high blood pressure, anxiety) that accrue over time, eventually leading to poor mental and physical health. Possible concerns include depression, self-harm, compulsivity, substance abuse, sexual dysfunction, personality disorders, eating disorders, and psychotic disorders. Though some consider the term “minority” outdated, the phrase “minority stress” has become standard in the field of social science and public health.
MICROAGGRESSIONS: Brief, subtle behaviors (intentional or not) that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative messages of commonly oppressed identities. These actions cause harm through invalidation of the target person’s identity and may reinforce stereotypes.
PEOPLE OF COLOR: A collective term for individuals of Asian, African, Latin, (sometimes) Middle Eastern, and (sometimes) First Nations backgrounds. As opposed to the collective “white” for those of European ancestry. Often abbreviated as “POC”.
PERSON-FIRST LANGUAGE: Putting the word “person” or “people” before the word “disability” or the name of a particular disability, rather than placing the disability first and using it as an adjective. For example, saying “person with a disability,” “woman with cerebral palsy,” or “man with an intellectual disability.” The purpose is to promote the idea that a disability is only one characteristic of a person, and not inherently a defining one. While it is generally a safe bet to use people-first language, some Deaf and autistic people consider their disabilities to be fundamental to their identity and prefer disability-first language.
PRONOUNS: Most people have particular pronouns they expect others to use for them. Most cisgender and some transgender people use pronouns that line up with their birth-assigned sex (he/him, she/her). Many genderqueer and trans folks have selected pronouns that best suit who they are, such as the gender-neutral singular they/them or new terms like ze/hir. The best way to find out someone’s preferred pronoun is to ask rather than assume.
QUEER: Adjective. Used as an umbrella term to describe individuals who identify as non-straight. Also used to describe people who have a non-normative gender identity, or radical/counter-cultural approach to the politics of gender and sexuality. Due to its historical use as a derogatory term, it is not embraced or used by all members of the LGBTQIA community. The term “queer” can often be used interchangeably with “LGBTQIA”.
SELF-EFFICACY: One’s belief in one’s ability to succeed at something. This term comes from social learning theory, particularly the research of psychologist Albert Bandura.
TRANSGENDER: Adjective. Sometimes abbreviated as “trans” or “trans*”. An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. People under the transgender umbrella may describe themselves using a wide variety of terms, including transgender, genderqueer, non-binary, bigender, third gender, neutrois, genderfluid, agender. If you’re not sure how to refer to someone, ask for the descriptive term they prefer. Many transgender people are prescribed hormones by their doctors to change their bodies. Some undergo surgery as well, but not all transgender people can or want to take those steps, and a transgender identity is not dependent upon medical procedures.
TRANSSEXUAL: Adjective. An older term that originated in the medical and psychological communities. Still preferred by some people who have changed, or seek to change, their bodies through medical interventions (including hormones and/or surgeries). Unlike “transgender”, “transsexual” is not an umbrella term. Many transgender people do not identify as transsexual and prefer the word transgender. It is best to ask which term an individual prefers. If the person prefers the term “transsexual”, use it as an adjective, as in “transsexual woman” or “transexual man”.
VICTIM BLAMING: Holding people responsible for wrongs that others have committed against them. In sexual violence education, where the term is most commonly used, this includes blaming the survivor for “risky” behaviors such as walking alone at night, drinking and/or taking drugs, wearing “provocative” clothing, having multiple sex partners, and doing things that “imply” consent like flirting or going to the assaulter’s room. The term can also refer to a member of a marginalized group being shamed (for example, called “coddled” or “entitled”) for stress or discrimination in the face of systemic oppression. This shaming is a form of gaslighting (mental abuse in which information is twisted, spun, selectively omitted or outright invented in order to favor the abuser and make the victim doubt their own memory, perception, and sanity).
This is not an exhaustive list! There are many more social justice terms you can get familiar with to help Girls Rock Denver create the space and world we want to exist within!