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With knowledge comes the ability to help and understand others. Below is a list of terms and definitions adapted from the UC Davis LGBTQIA Center Glossary. We believe everything in the glossary is important, however here are some core terms to get you started discussing and understanding folks in the community. Check out the entire list here:

 

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Feel free to ask us any questions or post in the forum.

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Ability:

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Allistic: 

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Allyship: 

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Asexual: 

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Bisexual: 

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BlaQ/BlaQueer: 

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Cisgender: 

 

 

 

Cissexism/Genderism: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming Out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cross Dresser (CD):

 

 

 

Cultural Humility: 

 

 

 

 

 

Discrimination: 

 

 

Gay:  

 

Gender: 

 

 

Gender Expression: 

 

 

 

 

Gender Fluid: 

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Gender Identity: 

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Gender Non conforming (GNC): 

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Gender Queer: 

 

 

Heteronormativity: 

 

 

 

 

Heterosexism:  

 

 

 

 

Heterosexuality: 

 

 

Homophobia:  

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Homosexual: 

 

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Internalized oppression: 

 

 

 

 

Intersectionality: 

 

 

 

 

 

Intersex: 

 

 

 

 

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Latinx: 

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Lesbian: 

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LGBTQIA Allyship:

 

 

 

 

 

Microaggressions: 

 

 

 

Neurodivergent: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-binary: 

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Oppression: 

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Institutional Level: 

 

 

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Pansexual, Omnisexual: 

 

 

Polyamory: 

 

 

 

 

Privilege: 

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Pronouns:

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Queer:

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Questioning: 

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Race: 

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Racism: 

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Sex: 

 

 

Sexuality:  

 

 

Sexual Orientation:

 

 

 

 

Stereotype: 

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Trans*: 

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Transphobia: 

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Trans woman: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transition: 

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Transvestite: 

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Two Spirit: 

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Womyn/Womxn:

The quality of being able to do something.

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 An adjective used to describe a person whose neurology functions in a way that society deems to be acceptable, or “the norm.” A term used to call attention to the privilege of people who are not autistic.

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The action of working to end oppression through the support of, and as an advocate with and for, a group other than one’s own.

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A sexual orientation generally characterized by not feeling sexual attraction or a desire for partnered sexuality. Asexuality is distinct from celibacy, which is the deliberate abstention from sexual activity. Some asexual people do have sex. There are many diverse ways of being asexual.

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A person whose primary sexual and affectional orientation is toward people of the same and other genders, or towards people regardless of their gender.

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Folks of Black/African descent and/or from the African diaspora who recognize their queerness/LGBTQIA identity as a salient identity attached to their Blackness and vice versa. (T. Porter)   

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A gender identity, or performance in a gender role, that society deems to match the person’s assigned sex at birth.  The prefix cis- means "on this side of" or "not across." A term used to call attention to the privilege of people who are not transgender.

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The pervasive system of discrimination and exclusion that oppresses people whose gender and/or gender expression falls outside of cis-normative constructs.  This system is founded on the belief that there are, and should be, only two genders & that one’s gender or most aspects of it, are inevitably tied to assigned sex. Within cissexism cisgender people are the dominant/agent group and trans*/ gender non-conforming people are the oppressed/target group.

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“Coming out" describes voluntarily making public one's sexual orientation and/or gender identity. It has also been broadened to include other pieces of potentially stigmatized personal information. Terms also used that correlate with this action are: "Being out" which means not concealing one's sexual orientation or gender identity, and "Outing, " a term used for making public the sexual orientation or gender identity of another who would prefer to keep this information secret.

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A word to describe a person who dresses, at least partially, as a member of a gender other than their assigned sex; carries no implications of sexual orientation. Has replaced “Transvestite”

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An approach to engagement across differences that acknowledges systems of oppression and embodies the following key practices: (1) a lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self-critique, (2) a desire to fix power imbalances where none ought to exist, and (3) aspiring to develop partnerships with people and groups who advocate for others on a systemic level.  (Melanie Tervalon & Jann Murray-García, 1998)

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Inequitable actions carried out by members of a dominant group or its representatives against members of a marginalized or minoritized group.

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A sexual and affectional orientation toward people of the same gender.

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A social construct used to classify a person as a man, woman, or some other identity. Fundamentally different from the sex one is assigned at birth.

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How one expresses oneself, in terms of dress and/or behaviors.  Society, and people that makeup society characterize these expressions as "masculine,” “feminine,” or “androgynous.”  Individuals may embody their gender in a multitude of ways and have terms beyond these to name their gender expression(s).

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A person whose gender identification and presentation shifts, whether within or outside of societal, gender-based expectations. Being fluid in motion between two or more genders.

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A sense of one’s self as trans*, genderqueer, woman, man, or some other identity, which may or may not correspond with the sex and gender one is assigned at birth.

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People who do not subscribe to gender expressions or roles expected of them by society.

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A person whose gender identity and/or gender expression falls outside of the dominant societal norm for their assigned sex, is beyond genders, or is some combination of them.

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A set of lifestyle norms, practices, and institutions that promote binary alignment of biological sex, gender identity, and gender roles; assume heterosexuality as a fundamental and natural norm; and privilege monogamous, committed relationships and reproductive sex above all other sexual practices.

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The assumption that all people are or should be heterosexual.  Heterosexism excludes the needs, concerns, and life experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer people while it gives advantages to heterosexual people.  It is often a subtle form of oppression, which reinforces the realities of silence and erasure.

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A sexual orientation in which a person feels physically and emotionally attracted to people of a gender other than their own.

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See Heterosexism above.

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An outdated term to describe a sexual orientation in which a person feels physically and emotionally attracted to people of the same gender.  Historically, it was a term used to pathologize gay and lesbian people.

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The fear and self-hate of one’s own target/subordinate identity/ies, that occurs for many individuals who have learned negative ideas about their target/subordinate identity/ies throughout childhood.  One form of internalized oppression is the acceptance of the myths and stereotypes applied to the oppressed group.

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A term coined by law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in the 1980s to describe the way that 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.

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Adjective used to describe the experience of naturally (that is, without any medical intervention) developing primary or secondary sex characteristics that do not fit neatly into society's definitions of male or female. Intersex is an umbrella term and there are around 20 variations of intersex that are included in this umbrella term.  Many visibly Intersex people are mutilated in infancy and early childhood by doctors to make the individual’s sex characteristics conform to society’s idea of what normal bodies should look like. Intersex people are relatively common, although society's denial of their existence has allowed very little room for intersex issues to be discussed publicly. Hermaphrodite is an outdated and inaccurate term that has been used to describe intersex people in the past.

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Pronounced “La-TEEN-ex”, is a non-gender specific way of referring to people of Latin American descent. Other commonly known ways of referring to people of Latin American descent are Latinos, Latina, Latin@, Latino. The “x” at the end replaces “o” and “a” which have been gendered suffixes, it moves beyond terms like Latino/a & Latin@, which still reinforce a gender binary.  

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A woman whose primary sexual and affectional orientation is toward people of the same gender.

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The practice of confronting heterosexism, sexism, genderism, allosexism, and monosexism in oneself and others out of self-interest and a concern for the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual people. Is founded on the belief and believes that dismantling heterosexism, monosexism, trans oppression/trans misogyny/cissexism and allosexism is a social justice issue.

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Brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative slights and insults about one’s marginalized  identity/identities. (D.W. Sue)

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Neurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a brain that functions in ways that diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.” A person whose neurocognitive functioning diverges from dominant societal norms in multiple ways – for instance, a person who is Autistic*, has dyslexia, and has epilepsy – can be described as multiply neurodivergent." From Nick Walker (http://neurocosmopolitanism.com/neurodiversity-some-basic-terms-definitions/)

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A gender identity and experience that embraces a full universe of expressions and ways of being that resonate for an individual. It may be an active resistance to binary gender expectations and/or an intentional creation of new unbounded ideas of self within the world. 

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Oppression: exists when one social group, whether knowingly or unconsciously, exploits another social group for its own benefit.

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Institutions such as family, government, industry, education, and religion are shapers of, as well as shaped by, the other two levels. The application of institutional policies and procedures in an oppressive society run by individuals or groups who advocate or collude with social oppression produces oppressive consequences.

  ***We can consider athletics an institution that shapes our relationship and views of the LGBTQIA community. 

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Terms used to describe people who have romantic, sexual or affectional desire for people of all genders and sexes.  

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Denotes consensually being in/open to multiple loving relationships at the same time. Some polyamorists (polyamorous people) consider “polyam” to be a relationship orientation. Sometimes used as an umbrella term for all forms of ethical, consensual, and loving non-monogamy.

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A set of unearned benefits given to people who fit into a specific social group.  The concept has roots in WEB DuBois’ work on “psychological wage” and white people’s feelings of superiority over Black people.  Peggy McIntosh wrote about privilege as a white woman and developed an inventory of unearned privileges that she experienced in daily life because of her whiteness.

 

Linguistic tools used to refer to someone in the third person.  Examples are they/them/theirs, ze/hir/hirs, she/her/hers, he/him/his.  In English and some other languages, pronouns have been tied to gender and are a common site of misgendering (attributing a gender to someone that is incorrect.)

 

One definition of queer is abnormal or strange. Historically, queer has been used as an epithet/slur against people whose gender, gender expression and/or sexuality do not conform to dominant expectations. Some people have reclaimed the word queer and self identify as such. 

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The process of exploring one’s own gender identity, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation. Some people may also use this term to name their identity within the LGBTQIA community.

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A social construct that divides people into distinct groups based on characteristics such as physical appearance, ancestral heritage, cultural affiliation, cultural history, ethnic classification, based on the social, economic, and political context of a society at a given period of time.

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The systematic subordination of marginalized racial groups (Indigenous/Native American, Black, Chicanx, Asian, Pacific Islander, and non-white Latinx people, non-white Middle Eastern people, etc.) who have relatively little social power in the United States, by members of the agent/dominant/privileged racial group who have relatively more social power (white).

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a medically constructed categorization. Sex is often assigned based on the appearance of the genitalia, either in ultrasound or at birth.

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The components of a person that include their biological sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual practices, etc.

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Sexual Orientation is an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual or affectional attraction or non-attraction to other people.  Sexual orientation can be fluid and people use a variety of labels to describe their sexual orientation. See also Orientation.

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A generalization applied to every person in a cultural group; a fixed conception of a group without allowing for individuality. When we believe our stereotypes, we tend to ignore characteristics that don’t conform to our stereotype, rationalize what we see to fit our stereotype, see those who do not conform as “exceptions,” and find ways to create the expected characteristics.

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The asterisk placed after Trans has been used in many different ways. Some folks think of it as being more inclusive towards gender non-conforming and non-binary folks. But others have offered critique that it feels exclusionary towards GNC and non-binary folks for enforcing a binary expectation to “fill in the blank" for trans man or trans woman.  There have also been discussions/critique regarding the origin of the asterisk.

Trans man: A person may choose to identify this way to capture their gender identity as well as their lived experience as a transgender person.  Some trans men may also use the term FTM or F2M to describe their identity.

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See Cissexism above.

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A person may choose to identify this way to capture their gender identity as well as their lived experience as a transgender person.  Some trans women may also use MTF or M2F to describe their identity.

Transgender: Adjective used most often as an umbrella term, and frequently abbreviated to “trans.” This adjective describes a wide range of identities and experiences of people whose gender identity and/or expression differs from conventional expectations based on their assigned sex at birth. Not all trans people undergo medical transition (surgery or hormones).  Some commonly held definitions:

  1. Someone whose determination of their sex and/or gender is not validated by dominant societal expectations; someone whose behavior or expression does not “match” their assigned sex according to society.

  2. A gender outside of the man/woman binary.

  3. Having no gender or multiple genders.

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An individualized process by which transsexual and transgender people “switch” from one gender presentation to another. There are three general aspects to transitioning: social (i.e. name, pronouns, interactions, etc.), medical (i.e. hormones, surgery, etc.), and legal (i.e. gender marker and name change, etc.). A trans individual may transition in any combination, or none, of these aspects.

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This is an outdated and problematic term due to its historical use as a diagnosis for medical/mental health disorders.  Cross Dresser has replaced transvestite, see above definition.

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“[This] term stems from the Ojibwe phrase niizh manidoowag and replaces the outdated, oversimplified term berdache, which appeared frequently in research and anthropological studies that aimed to describe the place of gay men in Native society in the 18th and early 19th centuries […]

There are a variety of definitions and feelings about the term “two spirit” – and this term does not resonate for everyone.  

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some womyn spell the word with a “y” or an “x” as a form of empowerment to move away from the “men” in the “traditional” spelling of women..

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