Women & Gender Studies - Introduction

Misgender

to refer to someone in a way that does not correctly reflect the gender with which they identity; such as refusing to use a person's name or pronouns

Homophobia

A fear or hostility toward lesbian, gay, and/or bisexual people ; often expressed as discrimination, harassment, and violence

Heteronormative

A worldview or ideology that assumes and promotes heterosexuality as a preferred sexual orientation and expression

Privilege

Cultural benefits and power granted to people through social and institutional inequalities

Patriarchy

Cultural system in which men hold power and are the central figures in the family, community, government, and larger society

agender

Describes a person who does not identify with any gender

GenderQueer

Describes a person who rejects static categories of gender (i.e. the gender binary of male/female) and whose gender expression or identity falls outside of the dominant social norms of their assigned sex. they may identify as having aspects of both male and female identities, or neither

Queer

Once a derogatory term, it has been reclaimed to describe sexual identities and political issues in lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, polyamorous, transgender, question, asexual, and intersexed communities; used to push back against oversimplified and assumed definitions of lesbian and gay identity.

Bisexual, Bi

a person emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to more than one sex gender or gender identity through not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way, or to the same degree

Social Institutions

Rule-governed social arrangements that have survived across time and appear natural and normal but in fact represent onw way of being in the world (e.g. the nuclear family, a well-armed military, and a capitalist economy)

Ally

a person who does not identify as LGBTQ. but stands with and advocates for LGBTQ people

Praxis

The integration of learning theoretical concepts with social justice actions so that one's behaviors in the world reflect the liberatory philosophies of feminism and queer approaches

Gender Roles

The social behaviors and expression that a culture expects from people based on their assigned sex (e.g. girls wear pink, boys don't cry, women care for home and child; men are more violent), despite a spectrum of various other possibilities

Social Construction

Theory that our knowledge of gender, race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, body size, ability, religion, and nationality is tied to social processes that have their basis in relations of power and is therefore constantly being created and recreated by human beings within specific cultural contexts

Gender-Fluid

a person who does not identify eighth a single fixed gander and whose identification and presentation may shift, whether within or outside of the male/female binary

Third World Women

Women who inhabit or whose familial origins reflect Asian, African, and Latin American geographies; used as a political term to reflect the colonial power relations between the first world (the West or Global North) and the third world (or Global South)

Gender Non-Conforming

a broad term referring to people who do not behave in a way that conforms to the traditional expectations of their gender or whose gender expression does not fit neatly into a category. Also, gender expansive

Third Gender

a gender identity that is neither male nor female, existing outside the idea that gender represents a linear spectrum between the two. Sometimes a catchall term or category in societies, states, or countries that legally recognize genders other than male and female

Latinx

a gender-expansive term for people of Latin American descent used to be more inclusive of all fenders than the binary terms Latino or Latina

Transsexual

a less frequently used term (considered by some to be outdated or offensive) which refers to people who use medical interventions suach as hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery (GAS), or sex reassignment surgery (SRS) as part of the process of expressing their gender. Some people who identify as transsexual do not identify as transgender and vise versa. Only use this term if someone who specifically identifies as such asks you to

Coming Out

a lifelong process of self-acceptance and revealing one's queer identity to other. this may involve something as private as telling a single confidant or something as public as posting to social media

Biological Sex

a medical classification that refers to anatomical, physiological, genetic, or physical attributes that determine if a person is assigned male, female, or intersex identity at birth. Biological sex is often confused or interchanged with the term "gender", which encompasses personal identity and social factors, and is not necessarily determined by biological sex

Transitioning

a process during which some people strive to more closely align their gender identity with their gender expression. this includes socially transitionally, during which a person may change their pronouns, the name they ask to be called or the way they dress to be socially recognized as another gender. This includes legal transitioning, which may involve an officail name change and modifies IDs and birth certificates. and this includes physically transitioning, during which a person may undergo medical interventions to more closely align their gender identity. Transgender and nonbinary people transition in various degrees; self-identification alone is enough to validate gender identity

Aromantic

a romantic orientation generally characterized by not feeling romantic attraction or a desire for romance

Gender

a set of social, physical, psychological, and emotional traits, often influenced by societal expectations, that classify an individual as feminine, masculine, androgynous, or other. Words and qualities ascribed to these traits vary across cultures

oppression

a social system of barriers that operate institutionally and interpersonally to disempower people because of their gender, race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, body size, ability, and/or nationality

Cissexism

a system of discrimination and ecxclusion that oppresses people whose gender and/or gender expression falls outside of normative social constructs. This system is founded on the belief that there are, and should be, only two genders- usually tied to assigned sex

Same-Gender Loving

a term coined in the early 1990s by activist Cleo Manago, this term was and is used by some members of the Black community who feel that terms like gay, lesbian, and bisexual (and sometimes the communities therein) are Eurocentric and fail to affirm Black culture, history, and identity

Cisgender

a term that describes when an individual's gender assigned at birth aligns with their gender identity and gender expression

Questioning

a term used to describe people who are in the process of exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity

LGBTQ

an acronym for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer." Less often, the Q stands for "questioning". Acronyms like LGBTQIA also include the intersex and asexual communities, while acronyms like LGBTQ attempt to envelop an entire community of people who hold identities that are not cisgender or heterosexual

LGBTQPAI+

an acronym used to identify and politically unite lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, pansexual, and polyamory, asexual, and ally, and intersexed communities. The plus indicates that the acronym is fluid; as more queer identities are named, they can be added. The plus can also signify that people identify with more than one of these categories.

Gender Identity

an individual's gendered sense of self

Sexual Orientation

an inherent or immutable emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to other people; oftentimes used to signify the gender identity (or identities) to which a person is most attracted

Intersex

an umbrella term describing people born with reproductive or sexual anatomy and/or a chromosome pattern that can't be classified as typically female or male

Two Spirit

an umbrella term in Native culture to describe people who have both a male and female spirit within them. This encompasses many tribe-specific names, roles, and traditions, such as the winkte of the Lakota and nadleeh of the Navajo people. This term often describes Native people who performed roles and gender expression associated with both men and women. This term should be used only in the context of Native culture.

Nonbinary

an umbrella term that refers to individuals who identify as neither man or woman, or as a combination of man or woman. Instead, nonbinary people exhibit a boundless range of identities that can exist beyond a spectrum between male and female

Transgender

an umbrella terms for people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Not all trans people undergo transition. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore, transgender people may identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or something else. Also, trans.

Gender Dysmorphia

clinically significant distress caused when a person's assigned birth gender is not the same as the one with which they identify

Heteronomativity

coined by social critic Michael Warner, the term refers to a societal assumption of certain norms : 1) that there are two distinct sexes; 2) that male and female functions and characteristics are distinctly different; and 3) that traits such as attraction and sexual behavior correspond to anatomy. Those who do not fit these norms - be it through same-sex attraction, a nonbinary gender identity, or nontraditional gender expression - are therefore seen as abnormal, and often marginalized or pressured to conform to norms as a result

Cisgender

describes a person whose gender identity and expression align with sex assigned at birth

Gender Expression

extremal appearance of one's gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, haircut, or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being masculine or feminine

Genderqueer

individuals who self-identify outside of the woman/man gender binary

Gender Neutral

not gendered, usually operating outside the male/female binary. Can refer to language (e.g. pronouns), spaces (e.g. bathrooms) or identities

Queer

once a derogatory word, a term reclaimed and used by some within academic circles and the LGBTQ community to describe sexual orientations and gender identities that are not exclusively heterosexual or cisgender

Gender Identity

one's innermost feeling of maleness, femaleness, a blend of both or neither. One's gender identity can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth

Heterosexual / Cisgender Privilege

refers to societal advantages that heterosexual people and cisgender people have solely because of their dominant identities. This can include thing as simple as safely holding hands with a romantic partner in public or having safe access to public bathroom. This can also include systematic privileges such as the right to legally donate blood, to adopt children without facing possible rejection because of your sexual orientation, or to play organized sports with other of the the same gender identity

Binary System

something that contains two opposing parts; binary system are often assumed despite the existence of a spectrum of possibilities. Gender (man/woman) and sex (male/female) are examples of binary systems often perpetuates by our culture

Transgender

term used to represent a diverse group of people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the gender assigned at birth. Trans may includes but is not limited to transwomen, transmen, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, gender fluid, genderqueer, genderless, agender, thirdgender, and two-spirited

Hetero Sexism

the assumption that sexuality between people of different sexes is normal, standard, superior, or universal while other sexual orientations are substandard, inferior, abnormal, marginal, or invalid

Self-Reflexivity

the deliberate examination of how and why people come to their beliefs, ideas, and knowledge in the context of broader (gender, race, class, sexuality, abilities, age, religion, and nationalities) power relation; a necessary step in pursuing feminist and queer scholarship, activism, and institutional practices

transphobia

the fear and hatred of, or discomfort with, transgender people. This may manifest into transphobic actions such as violence, harassment, misrepresentation or exclusion

Gender Status

the gender assigned to children and used to socialize them into boy/man and girl/woman; may also be referred to as 'gender assignment'

Affirmed Gender

the gender by which one whishes to be known. This term is often used to replace terms like "new gender" or "chosen gender", which imply that a person's gender was chosen rather than simply innate

Outing

the inappropriate act of publicly declaring (sometimes based on a rumor and/or speculation) or revealing another person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent

Preferred Pronouns

the pronoun or set of pronouns that an individual personally uses and would like other to use when talking to or about that individual. Can include variations of he/him/his, she/her/hers, they/their/theirs, among others. THis term is being used less and less in LGBTQ circles, as it suggests one's gender identity is a "preference" rather than innate. Recommended replacement: Your pronouns, my pronouns, their pronouns, etc."

Assigned Sex

the sex that is assigned to an infant at birth based on the child's visible sex organs, including genitalia and other physical characteristics. Often corresponds with a child's assigned gender and assumed gender.

Intersectionality

the two-fold idea that people's identities are complex, often not fitting easily into names social categories of gender, race, class, and sexuality, and that sexism, racism, classism, homophobia, ableism, religious persecution and nationalism are interlocking systems of power that shape our lives and social institutions

Lesbian

used to describe a woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women

Gay

used to describe people (often, but not exclusively, men) whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions are to people of the same sex or gender identity

Asexual

used to describe people who do not experience sexual attraction or do not have a desire for sex. Many experience romantic or emotional attraction across the entire spectrum of sexual orientations. Asexuality differs from celibacy, which refers to abstaining from sex. Also ace, or ace community

Pansexual

used to describe people who have the potential for emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to people of any gender identity, though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree. The term panromantic may refer to a person who feels these emotional and romantic attractions, but identifies as asexual

Hetero Sexual

used to describe people whose enduring physical , romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to people of the opposite sex; also "straight"

Demisexual

used to describe someone who feels sexual attraction only yo people with whom they have an emotional bond - often considered to be on the asexual spectrum

Androgynous (adj.) Androgyne (noun)

used to describe someone who identifies or presents as neither distinguishably masculine or feminine

double binds

when a person faces two problematic choices as the only ones socially available (e.g., a woman can be labeled as a 'slut' if sexually active and a 'tease' or 'prude' if not)