Lateral Violence

"Lateral violence is a term that describes the way people in positions of powerlessness, covertly or overtly direct their dissatisfaction inward toward each other, toward themselves, and toward those less powerful than themselves." Source: Bullying & lateral violence - Creative Spirits

Ally

Someone who makes the commitment and effort to recognise their privilege (based on gender, class, race, sexual identity, etc.) and work in solidarity with oppressed groups in the struggle for justice. Allies understand that it is in their own interest to end all forms of oppression, even those from which they may benefit in concrete ways.

CARM

"Culturally and Racially Marginalised [refers] to people who are not white – research shows this group experiences racial marginalisation. This includes people who are Black, Brown, Asian, or any other non-white group, who face marginalisation due to their race. The term "culturally" is added because these people may also face discrimination due to their culture or background – e.g., a woman who is a Muslim migrant from South Sudan may face discrimination because of her race and her religion and cultural background." Source: Diversity Council Australia

Feminism

"The belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state." Source: Cambridge Dictionary

Patriarchy

"Social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line" Source: Merriam-Webster

Misogyny

"Hatred or prejudice against women, typically exhibited by men. It is generally accepted that misogyny is a consequence of patriarchy (male-dominated society), and the term may be applied to certain individuals as well as larger systems, societies, or cultures. Source: Britannica

Microaggressions

"A comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as a racial minority)" Source: Merriam-Webster

Victim-Blaming

"A social psychological phenomenon in which individuals or groups attempt to cope with the bad things that have happened to others by assigning blame to the victim of the trauma or tragedy. Victim blaming serves to create psychological distance between the blamer and the victim, may rationalize a failure to intervene if the blamer was a bystander, and creates a psychological defence for the blamer against feelings of vulnerability." Source: APA Dictionary of Psychology

Splaining

"(slang) To condescendingly explain something, often extensively, especially to someone that knows more about it; for example, to mansplain, whitesplain, etc." Source: Wiktionary

Gaslighting

"Psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator." Source: Merriam-Webster

Race Conscious

"The awareness of membership in a racial or ethnic group by both group members and the larger society in which they reside." Source: Sociology

Orientalism

"Orientalism is a way of seeing and thus defining Middle Eastern and Asian cultures as inferior, backward, exotic or in need of rescuing by the western world. Though not explicitly stated in such terms, it is a common or intrinsic driver behind stereotypes, advertising, latent prejudice, appropriation, and attempts to “honor” such cultures." Source: Science ABC

Racial Erasure

"a) the exclusion of a minority group or group member from the historical record, or from the discussion of current events b) the replacement or whitewashing of a minority character or group with a member or members of the dominant cultural group in fictional representations of historical events c) the denial of an individual’s or group’s minority identity, or the misidentification of a minority group member" Source: Dictionary.com

Media Representation

"Representation is how media texts deal with and present gender, age, ethnicity, national and regional identity, social issues and events to an audience. Media texts have the power to shape an audience’s knowledge and understanding about these important topics. This makes them very powerful in terms of influencing ideas and attitudes." Source: BBC

Sovereignty

"Supreme and independent power or authority in government as possessed or claimed by a state or community." Source: Dictionary.com

Anti-Blackness

Anti-Blackness is defined as the beliefs, attitudes, actions, practices, and behaviours of individuals and institutions that devalue, minimise, and marginalise the full participation of Black people - visibly (or perceived to be) of African descent.

Meritocracy

"A social system, society, or organization in which people get success or power because of their abilities, not because of their money or social position" Source: Cambridge Dictionary

Model Minority

"The term model minority refers to a minority group or a member of such a group stereotypically viewed as being more successful than other such groups or individuals. It is most often applied to Asian Americans." Source: Dictionary.com

Discrimination

"The unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, or sexual orientation." Source: APA

Violence

"The use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy." Source: Merriam-Webster

Racism

"Racism is the process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. Racism is more than just prejudice in thought or action. It occurs when this prejudice – whether individual or institutional – is accompanied by the power to discriminate against, oppress or limit the rights of others." Source: Australian Human Rights Commission

Bi-Racial/Mixed Race

"Having parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents of different races"

Texturism

"Texturism is a preference for hair with smoother/looser texture, and the discrimination against people with kinkier, coarse hair within the same race." Source: The Black Story

Featurism

"Featurism is society accepting or preferring certain features over others. It is the preferential treatment of people with features that have historically been considered better or “easier on the eyes”. The preferred features are predominantly European features that uphold the Eurocentric standards of beauty. Featurism, just like colourism, affects all ethnicities with characteristic features that challenge Eurocentric norms." Source: The Black Story

Colourism

"Prejudice or discrimination especially within a racial or ethnic group favouring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin" Source: Merriam-Webster

Commodification of Blackness

"The integration of Black culture in contemporary capitalist frameworks has served to “domesticate” the stereotype of the dangerous African American, but only insofar as it can be consumed... Black culture is intentionally being made palatable to a White audience, with the goal of making a profit. This is neither an accidental development nor the natural progression of anti-racist activism. It was a planned transformation orchestrated by capitalists who saw an economic opportunity." Source: Sage Journals

Blackfishing

"Blackfishing is a type of interpersonal racism that can be harmful, even when a person does not have discriminatory or harmful intentions... [it] includes a wide range of behaviours, such as falsely claiming to be Black, co-opting the experiences of Black people, or using cosmetics to appear either Black or racially ambiguous. Sociologists sometimes describe it as a modern form of blackface." Source: Medical News Today

Multicultural

"Consisting of or relating to people of many different nationalities and cultures." Source: Collins Dictionary

White-Washed

"Defined by Merriam Webster as "to alter (something) in a way that favors, features, or caters to white people," whitewashing typically involves eliminating or replacing Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) for their white counterparts on TV and film." Source: Shape

White Saviour Complex

"White savior complex, sometimes called white savior syndrome or white saviorism, refers to those who work from the assumption that they know best what BIPOC folks need... They believe it’s their responsibility to support and uplift communities of color — in their own country or somewhere else — because people of color lack the resources, willpower, and intelligence to do it themselves." Source: Healthline

Whiteness

"Though the term invokes ideas related to skin colour, whiteness refers more specifically to a structural position—that is, to a racialised social identity that is positioned as superior relative to other “races” within a system of racial hierarchy. Indeed, because race is socially constructed—and not biological—whiteness can be understood as the result of social and cultural processes, rooted in a global history of European colonialism, imperialism, and transatlantic slavery, and maintained today through various institutions, ideologies, and everyday social practices." Source: Oxford Bibliographies

Cultural Appropriation

"The adoption, usually without acknowledgment, of cultural identity markers from subcultures or minority communities into mainstream culture by people with a relatively privileged status." Source: Dictionary.com

Marginalisation

"To relegate to an unimportant or powerless position within a society or group." Source: Merriam-Webster

Voluntourism

"Tourism in which travellers do voluntary work to help communities or the environment in the places they are visiting." Source: Collins Dictionary

Activism

The use of direct and noticeable action to achieve a result, usually a political or social one.

Culture

"Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts." Source: Live Science

Code Switching

"Broadly, code-switching involves adjusting one’s style of speech, appearance, behaviour, and expression in ways that will optimise the comfort of others in exchange for fair treatment, quality service, and employment opportunities. Research suggests that code-switching often occurs in spaces where negative stereotypes of black people run counter to what are considered “appropriate” behaviours and norms for a specific environment." Source: The Costs of Code-Switching - Harvard Business Review

Hyphenated

"Of, relating to, or being an individual or unit of mixed or diverse background or composition." Source: Merriam-Webster

Diasporas

"A group of people who live outside the area in which they had lived for a long time or in which their ancestors lived" Source: Britannica

Critical Race Theory

"Critical Race Theory (CRT), intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour." Source: Britannica

CALD

"The term CALD that stands for ‘culturally and linguistically diverse.’ It’s vital to keep in mind that CALD isn’t a person’s identity. CALD means is a bureaucratic acronym that we use in the public and community sectors, but it isn’t always a label that people identify with. In terms of a person who was raised in a family where a language other than English was spoken and whose cultural values and upbringing differed from those of the mainstream society." Source: Australian Translation Services

POC

"Person of colour or people of colour (POC): a person who does not consider themselves to be white, or people who do not consider themselves to be white." Source: Cambridge Dictionary

Anti-Racism

Anti-Racism is defined as the work of actively opposing racism by advocating for changes in political, economic, and social life. Anti-racism tends to be an individualised approach, and set up in opposition to individual racist behaviours and impacts.

White Supremacy

"Beliefs and ideas purporting natural superiority of the lighter-skinned, or “white,” human races over other racial groups. In contemporary usage, the term white supremacist has been used to describe some groups espousing ultranationalist, racist, or fascist doctrines." Source: Britannica

Indigenous Dispossession

"People being taken away or forced from their land, their economic base, their way of life and cultures. Dispossession was experienced by many Aboriginal peoples." Source: MIROMAA

Positioning/Positionality

"Positionality is the social and political context that creates your identity in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality, and ability status. Positionality also describes how your identity influences, and potentially biases, your understanding of and outlook on the world." Source: Dictionary.com

Decolonisation

"Decolonisation seeks to reverse and remedy the aftermath of colonisation through direct action and listening to the voices of First Nations people... Decolonisation means also revisiting and rewriting the past, and understanding colonisation as "unfinished business". [2] It involves assessing how colonisation has affected Aboriginal culture and business, and starting to tell Aboriginal rather than non-Aboriginal stories and doing things the Aboriginal way." Source: Decolonisation: What does it mean for me? - Creative Spirits

Settler-Colonialism

"Settler colonialism more specifically is a term for when the colonizer comes to stay and as such the distinction between the colony and the imperial nation is lost. Settler colonialism as a structure requires genocide. It is enacted through practices like the creation of reserves, residential schools, enfranchisement and abduction into state custody as well as practices like the extraction of natural resources through mining, pipelines and more. In settler colonialism “colonizers impose their own cultural values, religions, and laws, make policies that do not favour the Indigenous Peoples. They seize land and control the access to resources and trade.”" Source: The Indigenous Foundation

Colonialism

"Colonialism is a practice by which a country controls people or areas, often by establishing colonies, generally for strategic and economic advancement. There is no clear definition of colonialism; definitions may vary depending on the use and context." Source: Colonialism - Wikipedia