Next Step 2014 Participant Manual
A Next Step Glossary of Terms and Concepts
Class, Gender, Race, and Sexuality
The following glossary of definitions for identities and terms related to gender, sexuality, class, and race come
from a number of sources:
The social justice terms are largely informed by Teaching Tolerance and The Washington Consulting
Group
The gender and sexuality terms draw heavily on an extensive LGBTQI glossary written by Eli R. Green
and Eric N. Peterson at the LGBT Resource Center at UC Riverside, with updates from the UVM LGBTQ
Service office, a booklet titled “Talking Trans” published by Vermonters Ending Transgender Oppression (VETO), with additions by Llu Mulvaney-Stanak, and the Rainbow Research Project
Terms regarding race are borrowed from R. Bhopal’s article, “Glossary of terms relating to ethnicity and race: for reflection and debate,” Suzanne Lipsky’s writing on Black Reemergence, the organization
“Taking Action Against Racism
The class terms come largely from Class Action, a training non-profit which inspires action to end
classism.
This glossary is, by its very nature, incomplete. Language and definitions in marginalized communities are
constantly evolving. All of these terms can and do vary in usage across lines of ethnicity, culture, and age.
Terms are divided into social justice identity and alphabetized by group and within each section for ease of
reference.
Common Social Justice Terms Glossary
Ally: A person with unearned identity privilege who chooses to use that privilege to enact change, address
prejudice and injustice, and assist people without the privilege to be treated with equity and justice. Allies
must be chosen by groups with marginalized identities and are individually recognized for using their
unearned identity privilege as agents of change.
Bias: Is an unexamined preference used to limit experience(s) and inform all other future interactions and
assumptions. This becomes systemic when bias is integrated into an organization(s) or system(s) of thought.
Often by this point it has become “unconscious” to those involved. Examples of everyday bias are derogatory
jokes or everyday language like, “that’s so gay” and “quit being such a bitch.” Bigot: a prejudiced person who is intolerant of opinions or identities differing from his or her own. (BIGOTRY:
the state of mind of a bigot; acts or beliefs characteristic of a bigot).
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Culture: The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization,
group, or population. This encompasses things like tradition, history, music, art, practices, and beliefs, among
other traits, and is often created around groups defined by their geographical location or common identity.
Discrimination: The denial of rights or unfair and different treatment based on prejudice. This can happen on
an individual or institutional/system level.
Diversity: The difference that exist among people’s identities.
Dominant Identity: With social identity privileges there is traditionally a binary dynamic between two groups:
dominant and subdominant or subordinated. The dominant identity (white folks, men, upper-class,
heterosexual, able-bodied, Christian, 35-60 years old, U.S. citizen, and certain body types/appearance) often
hold social/economic/political power
Multiculturalism: Appreciation and the need of differences and diversity amongst and within groups of
people.
Oppression: Systemic exploitation of one social group by another for its own benefit. This is often the result
of those with social power (dominant identity groups) exerting their power over those without social power
(subordinated identity groups).
Prejudice: Injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action; preconceived judgment or opinion.
Privilege: A set of social, economic, political, and other forms of power that is unearned and directly attached
to certain social identities.
Subordinated Identity: With social identity privileges there is traditionally a binary dynamic between two
groups: dominant and subdominant or subordinated. The subordinated identity (people of color, queer folks,
women, folks with disabilities, poor, Transfolk, people younger than 35 or older than 60, people from outside
the U.S., and folks of size/different physical appearance) often do not hold social/economic/political power.
Social Justice: Working towards equity, where everyone is welcomed, heard, and has a voice.
Stereotype: A conventional and usually oversimplified conception or belief; One considered “typical of a kind of person” and without individuality.
Triggers: Experiences that activate emotional, physical, and mental reactions (positive and negative) that are
directly related to a past experience. For example, a queer person may have a negative trigger when they
hear the phrase “that’s so gay.” Or, a person of color may have a positive trigger when they hear other people
of color use the term “brown” when referring to other people of color. 21
Next Step 2014 Participant Manual
Class Glossary
Class: Relative social rank in terms of income, wealth, education, status and/or power.
Classism: Differential treatment based on social class or perceived social class. Classism is the systematic
assignment of worth based on social class; policies and practices set up to benefit more class-privileged people
at the expense of the less class-privileged people, resulting in drastic income and wealth inequality and
causing basic human needs to go unmet; the rationale and the culture which perpetuates these systems and
this unequal valuing. It’s the systematic assignment of characteristics of worth and ability based on social
class.
Class Ally: A person from the more privileged classes whose attitudes and behaviors are anti-classist, who is
committed to increasing his or her own understanding of this issue related to classism, and is actively working
towards eliminating classism on many levels.
Class Mover: A person who moves into a class status due to family, job, education, inheritance, or other life
factors.
Class Privilege: Tangible or intangible unearned advantages of higher-class status, such as personal contacts
with employers, good childhood health care, inherited money, speaking with the same dialect/accent as
people with institutional power.
Individual Classism: This term refers to classism on a personal or individual level, either in behavior or
attitudes, either conscious and intentional, or unconscious and unintentional.
Institutional Classism: This term refers to the ways in which intentional and unintentional classism is manifest
in the various institutions of our society.
Internalized Classism: The fear and self-hate of one's own class status that affects a person’s self-worth and
self-esteem. This can also negatively affect how an individual responds to others in the same class status. This
includes the acceptance and justification of classism by working class and poor people. Examples include:
feelings of inferiority to higher-class people; disdain or shame about traditional patterns of class in one’s family and a denial of heritage; feelings of superiority to people lower on the class spectrum than oneself;
hostility and blame towards other working-class or poor people; and beliefs that classist institutions are fair.
Lower-Class/Poor/Low-Income (Not Enough): This term refers to a socio-economic status assigned to those
living with a combination of “not enough” factors including financial, educational status (some high school or a high school degree), job status. In pure salary terms, this level of class is often defined as those living with a
household income of less than $14,000 a year. This is about 18% of the U.S. population. The federal poverty
level for a four-person household in the U.S. in 2009 was: $22,050. This is the level of income that is used to
determine eligibility for access to government assistance such as Food Stamps, Housing & Energy assistance,
the National School Lunch Program, and the Children’s Health Program. 22
Next Step 2014 Participant Manual
Class Glossary (con’t)
Middle-Class/Working Class/Middle-Income (Enough): This term refers to a socio-economic status assigned
to those living with a combination of “enough” factors including financial, educational status (some college or a bachelor’s degree), inherited wealth, job status. In pure salary terms, this level of class is often defined as those living with a household income of: (middle class, $32,000-$99,999 and working-class, $15,000-$31,000).
This is about 62% of the U.S. population.
Wealthy/Owning Class/High-Income (More Than Enough): This term refers to a socio-economic status
assigned to those living with a combination of “more than enough” factors including financial, educational status (graduate degree or higher), inherited wealth, job status. In pure salary terms, this level of class is often
defined as those living with a household income of more than $100,000. This is about 18% of U.S. households
according to the U.S. Census Bureau (2006).
This is by no means a complete list of class glossary terms.
Please consider this a starting point!
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Next Step 2014 Participant Manual
Gender Glossary
Androgynous: A person appearing and/or identifying as neither man nor woman, presenting a gender either
mixed or neutral.
Butch: Masculine or macho dress and behavior, regardless of sex or gender identity.
Cisgender(ed): Someone who is not transgender or transsexual (i.e. their assigned sex and gender identity are
in alignment). This term is growing in popularity in transgender and ally communities and discussions and is
sometimes claimed by advocates as an identity. Often abbreviated as cis. Sometimes the word Cissexual is
also used.
Cross-dresser: Someone who wears clothes of another gender but who has no intent to live full time in that
gender. Also known as transvestites, which is no longer the preferred term in the U.S.
Drag Kings: People, usually women, who dress as men and perform masculinity to entertain others at bars,
clubs, or other events.
Drag Queens: People, usually men, who dress as women and perform femininity to entertain others at bars,
clubs, or other events. It is also used as slang, sometimes in a derogatory manner, to refer to all trans women.
Femme: Feminine or effeminate dress and behavior, regardless of sex or gender identity (see Butch).
Gender Binary: The idea that there are only two genders – man/woman – and two biological sexes –
male/female – and that a person must be strictly gendered as either one or the other.
Gender Expression: How a person represents and expresses his/her gender identity, which can include
hairstyle, gait, voice, and clothing. Within the gender binary, men are supposed to be masculine and women
are supposed to be feminine. What is considered to be masculine and feminine varies from culture to culture.
Gender Forward: An inclusive term used to capture the constantly evolving and expanding community of
individuals who are creatively building their genders beyond the binary. This includes many of the more
specific gender terms listed (and not listed) in this glossary.
Gender Free: A general term that includes people are internally ungendered; folks who identify as agendered
(non-gendered identity); neutrois (a gender free or non-gendered identity often connected to body alterations
to assist in being physically gender free).
Gender Identity: A person’s internal sense of being a woman, a man, or other gendered.
Gender Neutral Pronouns: New terms proposed to serve as gender-neutral, third person, singular pronouns in
English. They are used by some people who feel that there are problems with gender-specific pronouns. Some
examples are se or ze for he and she and hir for him and her.
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Next Step 2014 Participant Manual
Gender Glossary (con’t)
Genderqueer: A gender variant person whose gender identity is neither a woman nor a man, is between or
beyond genders, or is some combination of genders. Often includes a political agenda to challenge gender
stereotypes and the gender binary system.
No-Pronouns/No-Prono: An emerging trend among genderqueer, trans, and gender-forward or free
individuals to drop all pronouns when being referred to in conversation. Often these individuals request that
their chosen names be used in place of pronouns, requiring a very mindful attention to the conversation.
Passing: When used by transgender and transsexual people, it means being seen and accepted in their chosen
gender identity. (For example a trans woman being seen as a woman.) For LGB people, passing means being
perceived as heterosexual.
Queer: In the past, a derogatory term for gay men and lesbians. This has been reclaimed by more GLBT
activists during the 1980s and used in such slogans as, "We're here, we're queer, get used to it!" Considered a
more inclusive term than "gay," queer also refers to some radical politics and GLBT scholarly studies. Queer is
a fluid term that references gender, politics, academics, sexuality and beyond. To be queer, is to cover many
elements of many identities.
Sexism: differential treatment based on gender and biological sex. Sexism is the systematic assignment of
worth based on gender (masculinity and femininity) and biological sex (male and female) manifesting in
policies and practices set up to benefit men/males, at the expense of women/females, resulting in unequal
treatment of women/females.
Trans: An abbreviation that is sometimes used to refer to transgender and transsexual people (as in a trans
person). This is expanded to include the terms: trans man and trans woman, and is often used as a standalone adjective.
Transgender: An umbrella term for people whose gender identity, expression, or behavior is different from
those typically associated with their assigned biological sex at birth, including but not limited to transsexual,
cross-dressing, genderqueer, and gender variant people.
Transition: The period during which a person begins to live as their chosen gender. Transitioning may include
changing one’s name, taking hormones, having surgery, or changing legal documents (e.g. driver’s license, Social Security number, birth certificate) to reflect their chosen gender.
Transphobia: The irrational fear and oppression of gender variant or transgender people and/or the inability
to deal with gender ambiguity.
Transsexual: People whose gender identity is different from their assigned biological sex at birth and who
often, but not always, alter their bodies through hormones or surgery in order to make it match their chosen
gender identity.
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Gender Glossary (con’t)
Transvestite: An outdated term used to describe people who cross dress. See Cross Dresser.
Two-Spirit: The definition of a two-spirit person varies across the Native American cultures in which they live.
In general, two-spirit people are born one biological sex and end up fulfilling the roles assigned to other
genders, or roles specifically reserved for two-spirit people. Some people consider two-spirit a term that can
refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, while others think it is best used for people known in
Western cultures as transgender.
This is by no means a complete list of gender glossary terms. These are broad categories that attempt to
capture the range of gender identities represented at UVM.
Please consider this a starting point!
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Next Step 2014 Participant Manual
Race Glossary
African American: A person of African ancestral origins, who self-identifies or is identified, as Black, African or
Afro-Caribbean. This term continues to be widely used, especially in the United States, but is fading in use.
Afro-Caribbean/African Caribbean: A person of African ancestral origins whose family settled in the Caribbean
before emigrating and who self identifies, or is identified, as Afro-Caribbean.
Asian: This is a term broadly used in the United States for people with family origins from countries in the
western and southern regions of the continent of Asia/the Indian subcontinent. For example: Chinese,
Japanese, and Filipinos.
Asian Indian: A term used synonymously with South Asian, but with the important limitation that the major
South Asian populations (e.g. Pakistani and Bangladeshi) may not identify with it.
Asian/Pacific Islander: A term used to refer to people in the United States with family origins from countries
and islands of the Pacific and areas of southern Asian.
Black: A person of African ancestral origins, who self-identifies or is identified, as Black, African or AfroCaribbean. This term was widely used in the 20th century, especially in the United States, but is fading in use.
Brown: A term used to refer to people in the United States, similar to people of color. This is a term emerging
in use among people of color and is commonly not used by white allies.
Ethnicity: A term often confused with race, “ethnicity” is the cultural characteristics that connect a particular
group or groups of people to each other.
Hispanic: A person of Spanish decent, who self-identifies or is identified, as Hispanic irrespective of other
racial or ethnic considerations. This is sometimes used in the United States interchangeably with
Latino/Latina, but is found offensive to some and is fading in use.
Institutionalized racism: A form of racism which is structured into political and social institutions. It occurs
when institutions, including corporations, governments and universities, discriminate either deliberately or
indirectly, against certain groups of people to limit their rights. Race-based discrimination in housing,
education, employment and health for example are forms of institutional racism. It reflects the cultural
assumptions of the dominant group, so that the practices of that group are seen as the norm to which other
cultural practices should conform (Anderson and Taylor, 2006). Institutional racism is more subtle, less visible,
and less identifiable than individual acts of racism, but no less destructive to human life and human dignity.
The people who manage our institutions may not be racists as individuals, but they may well discriminate as
part of simply carrying out their job, often without being aware that their role in an institution is contributing
to a discriminatory outcome.
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Next Step 2014 Participant Manual
Race Glossary (con’t)
Internalized Racism: The fear and self-hate of one's own racial identity. Internalized racism is the personal
conscious or subconscious acceptance of the dominant society’s racist views, stereotypes and biases of one’s ethnic group. It gives rise to patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that result in discriminating, minimizing,
criticizing, finding fault, invalidating, and hating oneself while simultaneously valuing the dominant culture.
Latino/Latina: A term used to refer to people in the United States with family origins from countries south of
the United States in the Western Hemisphere.
Multi-racial/bi-racial/mixed: Terms used to refer to people whose ancestors are not of a single race.
Nationality: A term often confused with race and/or ethnicity, “nationality” is a term that refers to individuals who share a common home country/nation.
Native American: A term used to refer to people in the United States whose family is indigenous to the
United States.
People of Color: A term increasing in use among all groups of people in the United States as a means to speak
inclusively of people of distinct and mixed races (not inclusive of white folks).
Race: By historical and common usage the group a person belongs to as a result of a mix of physical features
such as skin color and hair texture, which reflects ancestry and geographical origins, as identified by others or,
increasingly, as self-identified. The importance of social factors in the creation and perpetuation of the racial
categories has led to the concept broadening to include a common social and political heritage, making its use
similar to ethnicity. Race and ethnicity are increasing used as synonyms causing some confusion and leading
to the hybrid terms race/ethnicity.
Racism: differential treatment based on race or perceived race. Racism is the systematic discrimination and
oppression by individuals and institutions of people of color.
White: A person of European descent, who self-identifies or is identified, as White. This group is often also
referred to by the term Caucasian.
This is by no means a complete list of race glossary terms. These are broad categories that attempt to
capture the range of racial identities represented at UVM.
Please consider this a starting point!
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Next Step 2014 Participant Manual
Sex and Sexuality Glossary
Asexual: in its broadest sense, is the lack of sexual attraction or the lack of interest in and desire for
sex.
Biological Sex: While not a type of sexuality, biological sex is often confused with gender and intertwined into
sexuality. It is the designation of people as male or female based upon gonads (testes, ovaries), chromosomes,
external sex organs (penis, vagina, clitoris), secondary sex characteristics (facial hair, breasts, balding patterns,
body shape, etc.), and hormones (estrogen, testosterone, etc.). This system of categorization does not
recognize the existence of intersex bodies. (Also referred to as Sex.)
Bisexual: A person that is primarily attracted (emotionally, spiritually, and physically) to members of both the
binary sexes/genders.
Coming Out: Refers to the process in which one accepts one’s own sexual orientation or gender identity, as in coming out to oneself. Also refers to the process by which one shares one’s sexual orientation or gender identity with others, as in coming out to friends, family, employers, co-workers, etc. This can be a continual,
life-long process for LGBT people.
Female: One of the physical/biological sexes. Normally based on the primary sex characteristic of having a
vagina. (See Primary Sex Characteristics).
Gay: Usually refers to a homosexual male, but can also refer to a homosexual female, as well as the gay
community in general.
Hermaphrodite: An out-of-date and offensive term for an intersex person.
Intersex: One of the physical sexes. Used as a general term used for a variety of bodily phenotypes in which a
person is born with reproductive organs, secondary sex characteristics, or genitals that do not seem to fit the
typical definitions of female or male. Intersex bodies fall outside of the traditional cultural understandings of
biological sex and gender binary. A general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with
reproductive organs, genitals, chromosomes, or other body parts that don’t seem to fit the typical definitions
of female or male. Not all intersex conditions can be identified at birth; some become noticeable later in life,
such as during puberty, while others can only be detected with specific testing.
Internalized Homophobia: is defined as directing cultural antigay messages toward the self. It operates on
both a conscious and unconscious level, and it has been empirically linked to depression, anxiety, suicidal
ideation, substance abuse, low self-esteem, psychological distress, self-hatred, shame, loneliness, and
intimacy problems. Internalized homophobia is one of the main barriers to the development of a positive gay
identity and understanding its significance is a vital first step in the treatment of gay people living in
homophobic environments.
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Next Step 2014 Participant Manual
Sex and Sexuality Glossary (con’t)
Heterosexual: A person that is primarily attracted (emotionally, spiritually, and physically) to persons of the
same binary sex/gender. Many gay people prefer that the terms “gay men and lesbians” or “gay people” or even “queer” be used to describe homosexual(s) as a group or as an individual.
Heterosexism: The system of oppression which promotes beliefs and behaviors which consider
heterosexuality and heteronormativity superior to other sexual orientations and sexual identities. This system
grants a wide array of privileges to heterosexual people simply because they are heterosexual.
Homosexual: A person that is primarily attracted (emotionally, spiritually, and physically) to persons of the
same sex. Many gay people prefer that the terms "gay men and lesbians" or "gay people" be used to describe
homosexuals as a group than the term "homosexuals" be used.
Homophobia: The irrational fear and oppression of homosexual or other non-heterosexual people and/or the
inability to understand/deal with/cope with different sexual orientations.
Lesbians: Women who form their primary loving and sexual relationships with other women. Some lesbians
prefer to call themselves "lesbians" and use the term "gay" to refer to gay men. Others use the term "gay" to
refer to both gay men and lesbians.
Male: One of the physical/biological sexes. Normally based on the primary sex characteristic of having a penis
(See Primary Sex Characteristics).
Pansexual: (also referred to as omnisexuality) is a sexual orientation, characterized by the potential
for aesthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire towards people without regard for their
gender identity or biological sex.
Questioning: A person unsure of who they are attracted to, based on biological sex or gender. This term could
also refer to questioning one’s gender or biological sex.
Sexual Orientation: An identity-based understanding of who you are sexually attracted to. This does not
necessarily mean that you will act on this attraction.
This is by no means a complete list of sex or sexuality glossary terms.
Please consider this a starting point!
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