Self-Defined

women and people of colour

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

often used as a phrase to encompass “non-white, non-men,” seeking to provide solidarity for these two groups

Issues

What happens to women of colour? As a woman of colour, I am split between both women and people of colour.

Impact

As such, it elicits feelings of erasure for women of colour. It also neglects non-binary individuals.

Other Languages

Français

junkie

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a drug addict; a person who suffers from a complex disease of the brain and body that involves compulsive use of one or more substances despite serious health and social consequences

Issues

Junkie is commonly used as a term for someone whose enthusiasm or zeal for something may be considered extreme or beyond normal interest by others. However, this diminishes the seriousness of drug addiction and substance use disorder.

Impact

By using ableist language, we are perpetuating violence against people who experience mental or psychological disabilities. Using this language perpetuates those systems and language of harm, regardless of our intent.

Latin American/Latino/Latina

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

Serves as an umbrella term for people of Latin American ancestry. Latino (and Latina) are inherently gendered terms due to Spanish's gendered language. Latino is considered a pan-ethnic term that does not provide context for someone's language, country of origin, or race.

Also can be written in gender neutral forms of Latinx, or Latin@s. When in doubt, default to Latino, and ask individual parties their preference, if possible.

Note

People who self-identify as Latin American or Latino/Latina may also self-identify as Chicano/Chicana, Hispanic, or Latinx.

Latinx

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

Latinx arose as a gender-neutral alternative to the gendered Latino/Latina in the United States.

This is a term that is seeing expanded usage and evolution among academic circles. Latinx is considered a pan-ethnic term that does not provide context for someone's language, country of origin, or race.

Note

People who self-identify as Latinx may also self-identify as Chicano/Chicana, Hispanic, or Latin American

Mansplain

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

the act of explaining (usually by a man) something without asking consent to do so, often to someone who already knows and/or after someone else has already explained it (usually a woman or femme person)

Issues

Mansplaining places men (usually without authority) in a position of default authority, and places women and gender minoritised people with authority in a position of default subordination, which reinforces the power differential in men's favour.

Mansplaining occupies real time in meetings, leading to men gaining more air time and exposure, despite the stereotype that women speak more.1

Impact

Mansplaining can reinforce toxic masculinity and rape culture, as it fundamentally is about disbelieving women and gender-minoritised individuals.

Mansplaining contributes to the invalidation and disbelief of any women and gender-minoritised individuals and their credentials. The disbelief and intrinsic questioning of women and gender-minoritised individual especially reinforces systemic bias and injustice against them.

Someone who is repeatedly mansplained can be perceived as lacking credentials or knowledge they very well may have, which can lead to missed career opportunities or systematic exclusion from leadership, for example.

Examples include but aren't limited to: a man explaining to a woman how to pronounce her own name, explaining menstruation, or explaining the history of a country with which the woman is associated but the man has never been to.

Considerations

A good way to check if you're mansplaining is to ask yourself whether:

(1) the person explicitly asked for the explanation

(2) you are assuming incompetence because of the person's gender, race, ability, etc, and,

(3) how your systematic and individual bias, particularly gender bias in this context, affects your interpretation of (1) and (2)

Master Slave

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

A model of asymmetric communication or control where one device or process has total control over one or more other components.

Issues

Master/slave terminology is problematic because it serves as a reminder that slavery was and continues to be a globally institutionalised practice. Yet, this type of offensive language is still used casually in many programming languages.

Impact

The outdated "master/slave" convention has strong associations with slavery which is exclusionary to members of our community who may continue to live with the negative impacts of slavery. It also demonstrates how pervasive and casual racism is throughout our culture and language.

Usage Tip

Seek to change any existing "master/slave" terminology to one of the suggested terms, as there are many alternative terminologies to describe the relationship between two components, many of which are much more specific. Avoid creating new projects with this terminology.

Even if you may not be negatively impacted by this terminology, it can negatively impact other existing and prospective contributors onto your project. The terminology isn't so unique that it's irreplaceable; the lift tends to be trivial in comparison to the potential impact.

Métis

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

A distinct Indigenous culture originating from the children of intermarriages between First Nationspersons and European Settlers (most often French). The homeland of the Métis is considered the Canadian Prairies with the Red River Settlement being the most well known.

minorities

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

the smaller in number of two groups constituting a whole

Issues

Minorities is not always accurate and is vague. As it deals with numbers, the term minorities can often be inaccurate, as is the case when speaking of communities of colour, who often outnumber white communities.

By referring to a group as 'minorities,' it can suggest the group hasn't taken initiative to show up, thereby blaming the oppressed for systemic issues that prevent their participation.

Impact

By repeatedly referring to groups as "minorities," they are being infantised to their numerical representation and made to feel minor. The vagueness also abstracts the identify of the marginalised group, making it difficult to address why they are minoritised to begin with.

minoritised

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

groups, resulting from social constructs, that have been granted less power or representation compared to other members or groups in society

Preferable To

minorities

Benefits

Minoritised places the emphasis on the power struggle, and on the systemic issues at play. It's also an adjective, which requires you to add "group" or "people" so it's people-first language.

Impact

It removes the pejorative nature of "minorities", illuminating that this is an effect upon the individual or group, rather than the singular way to identify the group.

Monoculture

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

state of culture in which there is a relevant lack of diversity in cultural objects produced, both by organizations and audiences.

Other Languages

Français

Mx.

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

gender-neutral honorific or title of courtesy, equivalent to Ma'am, Madam, Miss, Mr, Mrs, Mrs, Sir.

Considerations

In formal settings, defaulting to gendered titles of courtesy can misgender people. While titles and salutations are not necessarily indicative of gender, there tends to be a corrolation. For example, Ma'am tends to be used to refer to woman- or femme-assumed individuals.

Mx allows you to maintain formality without making assumptions about people's titles/saluations and/or gender.

In the same vein of pronouns, it's important to not make assumptions about which honorific to use for someone and instead ask for explicit consent whenever possible.

Many (though not all) nonbinary people might opt to use Mx.

Pronunciation

mix (məks, ˈmiks)

neo-colonialism

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

the continued influence and impact of colonial-era ideologies and practices in a country or region by former dependencies, generally enforced by its own government and/or citizens as a lingering effect of colonialism

Note

Neo-colonialism is a modern and more pervasive form of imposing ideological and economic dominance on a country after it has been declared independent from its coloniser. The stealth nature of neo-colonialism can be traced to treaties, agreements, and ideologies that have been imparted from the oppressors onto the oppressed from previous dependencies.

Impact

In most African nations that were colonised by the British empire, western countries' ideals are seen as civilized and the best representation of societal progress. Standards of living that are ancestral are often dismissed as uncivilised and unconventional, erasing what is often thousands of years of culture.

Governments limiting freedom of speech and other civil liberties of their citizens. A recent manifestation of this is seen in the 2020 #EndSARS campaign in Nigeria.

neopronouns

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a set of words that go alongside traditional third-person pronouns (he/she/singular they) such as ze/zir, ze/hir, xe/xem, and plural they.

Note

Some people find using neopronouns helpful to disrupting the gender binary, as traditional pronouns he and she usually carry connotations of male/masculine and female/feminine and they can carry connotations of being non-binary. Neopronouns are not recognised "officially" in the English language and tend to be less known as a result of their newness and lack of institutional support.

nerd

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

"an overly intellectual person, usually obsessive or lacking social skills, focusing their interests on non-mainstream activities, generally highly technical or related to fiction or fantasy narratives. It is used as a stereotype for either derogatory or praising purposes, depending on who's wielding it." –Dictionary of Digital Humanities

Self-Identification

Individuals may use this term to self-identify and to indicate their extreme passion for hobbies and interests. Acknowledging this usage and supporting people who self-identify and reclaim this term can validate the way people perceive their passions as it relates to their identity.

Issues

When used in reference to someone else without their consent, the term can weaponise a person's passion against them, or bully someone based on their appearance or background.

Impact

By assigning negativity to the passion that someone exhibits for the things they enjoy, we invalidate their individuality and reduce the enjoyment they derive from their passions. As a result, we may cause these people to abandon hobbies or interests, instilling a feeling of wrongness in finding joy how they see fit (provided their methods of finding joy are not harmful).

Non-binary

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

of, relating to, or characterised by being any gender that does not fit into the male-female gender binary; an umbrella term.

For example, a non-binary person may have some gender between male and female, have multiple genders, no gender, a culturally-specific gender (e.g., two-spirit).

Note

Non-binary people may or may not also identify as transgender.

Although non-binary is commonly used as an umbrella term, just because someone identifies as a term under the umbrella, does not necessarily imply that they identify as non-binary as well. For example, someone may be agender, but not identify with the term "non-binary".

Other Languages

Français

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a mental illness usually embodied by unwanted repeated thoughts (obsession) coupled with repeated behaviour, routine, or action (compulsion)

Issues

OCD is commonly misused to highlight personality quirks or fussiness, usually involving a preference for order or cleanliness. Use of 'OCD' as a noun or adjective in this manner diminishes the actual condition, resulting in reductive and over-normalised perception of a someone with these specific mental or psychiatric disabilities.

Impact

By conflating arbitrary quirks or behaviours with OCD, we are invalidating OCD as a medical condition and the people who experience it. Generally by using medically appropriative language, we are invalidating the existences of people with OCD, minimising their experiences, perpetuating violence against people who experience mental or psychological disabilities. Using this language perpetuates those systems and language of harm, regardless of our intent.

Usage Tip

Be more specific. Typically we can find an alternate definition by taking time to reflect on what emotion we're really feeling. In this case, be particularly aware if the behaviour is actually unwanted or uncontrollable.

👌 [ok-hand]

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

hand gesture where right thumb and right index finger form a circle, remaining fingers fan out; in American Sign Language, gesture means number nine; in diving, gesture indicates “OK” as question or confirmation; gesture is used in an innocuous children's game called “The Circle Game,” where the gesture is held low—if another child looks at it, they get punched.

In 2017, the hand gesture was appropriated by White Supremacists on 4chan to mean White Power (the three fingers forming at 'W' and thumb and index forming the circle of the 'P'). It was framed as a hoax to "own" Leftists through trickery and gaslighting.

The hand gesture has been used by White Supremacists as a dogwhistle to identify other White Supremacists at rallies, in forums, and even at court hearings. In 2019, the hand gesture was added to the Anti-Defamation League's list of official symbols of hate.

Issues

While it can be argued that the symbol's origins and many of its uses do not imply racist connotations, and that the 4chan-ers "framed it as a hoax," it is undeniable that the symbol has evolved and become a gesture used sincerely by white supremacists.

The uncertainty created by the 4chan-ers is a critical part of their strategy. The strategy employs plausible deniability: Because they self-identified it as a hoax, they can fall back on that explanation. Meanwhile, if people begin to adapt the symbol, as they did, it becomes a dogwhistle for White Supremacists. It should be noted that this approach of indoctrinating symbols of hate is one long-documented, and used for the Swastika as well.

Impact

The people most vulnerable to the oppressive impact of White Supremacy will never know for certain if the symbol is being used in one of its non-violent manners or if it's being used in its racist violent manners. The oppressed must choose the option that protects them, which is typically erring on the side of caution.

Continuing to use the symbol with its non-hateful connotations to "take it back," does not eliminate its pervasive new meaning associated with White Supremacy. Instead, continuing usage only perpetuates emotional and psychological harm upon the most vulnerable and susceptible populations.

Other Languages

Français

optical allyship

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a form of allyship.

when an individual or group of power/majority/privilege (e.g., white, male, abled, unqueer, etc) creates a public display in the name of 'allyship,' serving only themselves and not the group they claim to support, often to receive praise and attention, without taking critical action to dismantle the systems of harm.

allyship that only serves at the surface level to platform the 'ally,' it makes a statement but doesn’t go beneath the surface and is not aimed at breaking away from the systems of power that oppress.

performative allyship, corporate blackface, non-optical allyship

Impact

Optical allyship detracts from the stories of the oppressed and the impact that oppression has on them in favour of the stories of the oppressors and their intent to help. Optical allyship centres the perspectives of the oppressor. The cost of optical allyship can also be that the stories of the oppressed people are appropriated, watered down, and inaccurately retold by people who should not be telling those stories. For example, in #BlackOutTuesday, many rushed to publicly respond without understanding the intent which "derailed the conversation."

Oriental

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

Issues

The word Oriental is rooted in the concept of Orientalism, which is strongly articulated by Edward Said in eponymous book, Orientalism. In his book, Said illustrates the Orient as being the observed "other" or "foreigner," whereas the Occident (or the West) is centred as the default. All Eastern culture is prescribed through this imperialist, pejorative lens, where it is deemed as strange, exotic, dirty, effeminate, and weak. By presenting Eastern culture through this lens, Western culture may set itself up for dominance through cultural hegemony and colonisation.

Calling someone Oriental reinforces those hegemonic ideas even if you're unaware of its historical context.

Impact

By continuing use of this term, we are perpetuating anti-Asian sentiments and the centralisation of Western (i.e., Occidental) imperialism. Diverse Asian people, nations, and cultures are flattened into one caricature of itself, which is dehumanising.

overrepresented majority (ORM)

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

group resulting from social constructs have grant less power or representation compared to other members or groups in society; acts as a contrast to underrepresented minority (URM)

Usage

When using any term for a group, it's important to contextualise it into people. So, for example, "people from the overrepresented majority are less likely to be affected by this change" over "the overrepresented majority are less likely to be affected by this change."

As the underrepresented minority (URM) is the more commonly used term, it has an impact of focusing issues on that that group, which often can imply and place the burden of fixing the problem is onto that group. Underrepresented can imply that the group can do more to represent themselves.

Meanwhile, the overrepresented majority is usually the group that possesses the power to influence which groups are majoritised (and subsequently receive power) and which groups are minoritised. It renders this power dynamic invisible.

Preferable To

minorities underrepresented minority

Benefits

Naming the overrepresented majority allows us to discuss the power dynamic involved, and places emphasis on the fact that it's not about minoritised groups being underrepresented, but that it is also about majoritised groups being overrepresented.

It also allows prevents the false dichotomy where everyone is either "default/unnamed" or from an underrepresented minority. Without it, people from underrepresented minorities are forced to carry a label when people from overrepresented majorities are not.

Impact

The term overrepresented majority allows us to discuss the holistic systems and all of the players involved.

Pansexual

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

someone who is sexually attracted to people regardless of their gender, or to people of any gender.

Other Languages

Français

peanut gallery

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a group of people who are giving unsolicited (and unvalued) advice. Before microphones and opera glasses were common, balcony seats were the least desireable in Vaudeville theaters and were typically where Black people sat. The term "peanut gallery" became a nickname for these seats, in part due to the peanuts being served at the theatre that were rumored to be thrown at the performers on stage to convey patrons' disapproval.

Issues

The term perpetuates and reinforces the historic silencing of Black voices and speaking of them in a pejorative nature. Phrases such as "no comments from the peanut gallery" or "quiet in the peanut gallery" are extensions of the name.

Impact

The phrase implies that the opinions expressed by those from the gallery were unsolicited, unwarranted and unhelpful, which then perpetrates that Black people's critiques are irrelevant or insignificant. This is particularly problematic when they are critiquing oppressive systems and their oppressors. Using such terms perpetuate the imbalance of power and the delegitimisation of their critiques.

By continuing the use of the term, rooted in its subordination to white power structures, regardless of whether we intend to carry its racist origins or not, we are contributing to the perpetuating of harm against Black people and their voices. Seemingly small actions like this contribute to the normalisation of the harm.

Denying the etymology or power of the word as irrelevant is denying the history of its strength: "Peanut gallery" has been used to dehumanise Black people and their voices, which leads to justify oppressing them or denying their rights.

Usage Tip

Consider context and the power you possess in an interaction. The term becomes even worse if you are using it in reference to a group of Black people and you are non-Black. You are carrying the historical power you have in your usage.

performative allyship

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

when an individual or group of power/majority/privilege (e.g., white, male, abled, unqueer, etc) loudly profess(es) their actions in the name of 'allyship,' while actively conducting harm to, taking focus away from, and generally being unhelpful towards the group they claim to support, often to receive praise and attention, without taking critical action to dismantle the systems of harm.

Impact

Performative allyship detracts from the stories of the oppressed and the impact that oppression has on them in favour of the stories of the oppressors and their intent to help. The cost of performative allyship can also be that the stories of the oppressed people are appropriated, watered down, and inaccurately retold by people who should not be telling those stories.

Plural

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

denoting more than one entity living in a host body.

Other Languages

Français

Polyamory

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

belief that romantic and/or sexual exclusivity is not necessary for a happy, committed relationship; an umbrella term for various types of relationships (coded as romantic or quasi-romantic, sexual or non-sexual) where all partners involved consent to ethical non-monogamy, such as polycules, throuples, group marriages, etc.

Note

One can be polyamorous despite currently being single or in a monogamous relationship.

pow-wow

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

comes from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning "spiritual leader; (also spelled powwow, powaw, pawaw, powah, pauwau and pawau); social gathering, ceremony, or celebrations held in different Native American communities that can be spiritually symbolic in nature, involve dancing and regalia, and involve months of planning with hundreds of people in attendance; colloquially is culturally appropriated and used to mean "to meet" (verb) or meeting, working session, or gathering (noun).

Issue

Non-Native/non-Indigenous people using pow-wow outside of the context of its Native American meaning and significance is culturally appropriation through terminology.

Using culturally appropriative language while Native American and Indigenous people are systematically harmed reinforces settler colonial oppression.

Impact

Cultural appropriation is problematic because it robs the culture from the people without their consent, while the people behind the culture are left behind and systemically excluded from the spaces using their culture.

Using Native and Indigenous culture outside of its intended meaning also demeans its value to the culture. Connoting that your five-person meeting about making an app is somehow the same as culturally significant event minimises what powwows are.

preferred pronoun

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a word that substitutes for a noun, in particular, a person's name; a person's pronouns does not necessarily align with their gender presentation or their gender identity; a person gets to say what pronouns they and others use to refer to them; pronouns can be fluid based on context and presentation and change over time.

Issues

Preferred pronoun can imply that this is merely what is preferred rather than what is real. Using this can reinforce the idea that someone's pronouns are a choice rather than what is true for them or it's merely a preference and that you can use whatever pronouns you'd like for them.

Impact

Preferred pronouns can delegitimise pronouns of trans and non-binary people in particular, especially when their pronouns are wrongly assumed to be different than they are or neopronouns that are less commonly known. Delegitimising their pronouns delegitimes aspects of their identity, reinforces transmisia and non-binary erasure, and leads to harm against them.

Usage Tip

Use pronouns instead.

Pronouns

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

Usage

If you're in a group setting, it's best to lead by example by sharing your own pronouns if you feel comfortable. "I'm Jack, my pronouns are they/them."

When referring to someone's pronouns, it's best to follow their lead. People will say "My pronoun(s) is/are..."

When you are not sure, ask what pronouns you should use and for what context, in particular if you will be writing or speaking about them in a public setting. If you can, it's best to ask them one-on-one in a private setting. If you can't, likely they'll tell you the pronouns that make sense for that public setting.

Sometimes people will list their pronouns on their websites, email signatures, social media bios, etc. While you can refer to those places for usage, it generally doesn't hurt to confirm how you should refer to the person in the particular context, as some people use different pronouns in different settings. (For example, someone might not feel comfortable using a set of pronouns that might "out them" (reveal aspects of their gender identity) in a place they don't feel safe doing so.

When you are not sure and unable to confirm (such as if the person is deceased), it's generally best to use they/them pronouns. However, note that some people do not like the use of they/them pronouns, which is sometimes the case for someone who has to work very hard to match their perceived gender identity to their pronouns.

If it seems complicated, it is because it is. Pronouns can be really important to people as they can represent a lot to a person about their identity. It's best to try your hardest then course-correct as needed.

Tips for Asking

Keeping your question simple usually is best:

"What pronoun(s) should I use for you [add context if it's beyond one on one usage, including who might see it]?"

Avoid adding extra words, like, "preferred pronoun" or "gender pronoun"

Tips for Correction

If you get someone's pronouns wrong and you're alerted of it or realise, correct the pronoun, apologise swiftly, and move on. Avoid dwelling on it (providing long back story or berating yourself and expecting them to console you).

It can be very uncomfortable for whom you used the wrong pronoun, as it can often mean misgendering them. When you dwell on your mistake, you're asking someone who just had an uncomfortable, potentially oppressive experience, to then console you. Gross.

If you notice someone use the wrong pronouns for someone, correct the pronoun. "Jack uses they/them pronouns." Be certain that you are sure that the person would want you to use these pronouns in this setting, as you can accidentally "out" somebody if you're not careful.

Considerations

Usually people will list the pronouns as they/them or they/them/theirs.
Some people use multiple pronouns, such as she/they or they/he. Sometimes the order of these can imply which pronoun they use more frequently or if there is a slight preference to one over the other. It can also sometimes imply that they are in transition between using one pronoun to another. It can also imply none of these things, so it is best not to assume.
Some people change their pronouns based on settings. For example, if someone is transitioning and does not want to be outed in one setting, they may use different pronouns in that setting. Hence, why it is important to follow someone's lead and to confirm usage based on context.
They/them is a singular pronoun and has been since the late 1300s, so if someone tries to tell you that it's only plural, it's unlikely they take issue with the grammar but with something else.
Some plural people will refer to themselves as "we" to represent their plural identities.

Places to Put Pronouns

Generally speaking, whereever your name appears, including your pronouns is a good place to do so. The website pronoun.is is helpful as it appends someone's pronouns to a link, and gives explanation to pronoun usage. You may see people include this in their various bios.

Some ideas of places to put pronouns include:

Conference talks/webinars
Email signatures
Introductions (If you're introducing two or more people, make sure you confirm their pronouns if you're not certain)
Nametags
Social media bios
Video conference name fields
Websites

Impact

By respecting others' pronouns, asking them for consent, and sharing our own pronouns, we can normalise this step in socialisation. Doing so causes us to pause before presuming someone's pronouns. When people presume pronouns, it can lead to misgendering, which causes harm toward people, particularly trans and non-binary folks.

It is particularly important for people whose gender presentation and identity aligns with their pronouns to take this step, as they have the most power to influence society.

Read Also

gender pronouns preferred pronoun

R-word

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

Previously, the word "retard" (often referred to by the euphemism "the r-word") was used in a medical context as an umbrella term to describe people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).

In modern use, the r-word is generally used as a denigrating term for a person with an I/DD, or to compare someone without an I/DD to someone with an I/DD in a derogatory sense.

Issues

While the term was previously used in a medical context, use of the word has transitioned to having a negative connotation in modern language. Changes are being made in both the medical and legal fields to reflect that conversational shift.

Rosa's Law was passed in 2010 to eliminate all references to "mental retardation" in U.S. federal law, replacing them with "intellectual disability".

The DSM-5 update in 2013 replaced "mental retardation" with "intellectual disability". The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the handbook used by health care professionals in the United States and much of the world as the authoritative guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders. The DSM is periodically revised to align the manual's content with modern language and in reflection of the most up-to-date research and diagnostic criteria.

Impact

Regardless of whether r-word is being used to describe someone with or without an I/DD, use of the word contributes to the dehumanisation, stigmatisation, and negative perceptions of people with an I/DD.

Alt Words

If you are using it to describe or refer to a person with an I/DD in a context where their I/DD is relevant, first be certain that they have an I/DD. Use a term that does not have a derogatory connotation ("intellectual disability", or the name of the actual disability, if applicable). If you use the name of the actual disability, be certain that you are correct, and be certain that they are comfortable with using the name.

If you are using it to describe or refer to a person with an I/DD in a context where their I/DD is not relevant, don't. Describe something else about them as a person. if someone is writing an article about a person with an I/DD, the relevance of their I/DD should be led by them. Avoid "inspiration porn", which is the portrayal of people with disabilities as inspirational solely or in part on the basis of their disability. (Coined by Stella Young).

If you are using it to describe or refer to a person without an I/DD, don't. Use a different, more relevant, descriptive word.

sane

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

of sound mind, mentally healthy

Issues

While "insane" might seem more obvious to people as an ableist word to use, the subtle connotation that sanity is good implicitly suggests that insanity, its opposite, is bad.

Connoting sanity (which is an assessment of a person's neurological status—a medical condition that largely can't be changed) with being well-thought out, reasonable, sensible (or mindful of an event or series of events) reinforces the ableist idea that sanity (being neurotypical or mentally well and abled) is good, and its opposite of insanity (being neurodivergent or mentally ill and disabled), is bad.

Impact

Using "sane" reinforces the system that excludes mentally ill and disabled people, reinforcing negative biases against them. Using this language causes harm to mentally ill, neurodivergent, and disabled people.

By using this ableist language, we are perpetuating violence against people who experience mental or psychological disabilities. Using this language perpetuates those systems and language of harm, regardless of our intent.

Usage Tip

Be more specific. Typically we can find an alternate definition by taking time to reflect on what criteria we hope our test can meet and what kind of feedback we're hoping to gain.

sanity check

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a basic test to quickly evaluate whether a claim or the result of a calculation can possibly be true; when expressed literally, examines if the author of a test was sane when they wrote it; commonly used in software engineering to assess whether something is reasonable and sound or meets its goals/acceptance criteria.

Issues

Connoting sanity (which is an assessment of a person's neurological status—a medical condition that largely can't be changed) with the thoroughness of a piece of software (which is an object we create by decisions, which can be changed) reinforces the ableist idea that sanity (being neurotypical or mentally well) is good and its opposite of insanity (being neurodivergent or mentally ill) is bad.

Impact

Using "sanity check" in our engineering processes reinforces a system that excludes mentally ill and disabled people, reinforcing negative biases against them and making unsafe places for them to work and to be. Using this language causes harm to our mentally ill, neurodivergent, and disabled colleagues.

Usage Tip

Be more specific. Typically we can find an alternate definition by taking time to reflect on what criteria we hope our test can meet and what kind of feedback we're hoping to gain.

savage

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

(adj) not domesticated, primative or civilised; wild, uncultivated; cold-blooded; colloquially used to mean ruthless or unconscionable. (noun) an undomesticated person, subhuman.

Issues

"Following the discovery of America, the phrase "savage" for indigenous peoples was used disparagingly to justify colonialism. The concept of the savage gave Europeans the supposed right to establish colonies without considering the possibility of preexisting, functional societies."1.

The term savage is deeply rooted in settler colonialism, used primarily to justify colonisation by dehumanising Indigenous people, in particular, with regard to North American Indigenous peoples.

The theories behind the "noble savage" led to scientific racism. Boarding schools were constructed to separate Indigenous children from their parents, because white colonisers didn't believe that they were equipped to be parents.

“When the school is on the reserve the child lives with its parents, who are savages; he is surrounded by savages, and though he may learn to read and write his habits, and training and mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage who can read and write … [T]he Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men.”2

Impact

By continuing to use this word, rooted in colonist history and context, while Indigenous people's lands are still being occupied and unceded, while more and more Indigenous women and girls continue to go missing, we are perpetuating a word that has been used to justify the past and the ongoing harm we commit against Indigenous peoples. Seemingly small actions like this contribute to the normalisation of the harm.

Denying the etymology or power of the word as irrelevant is denying the history of its strength: Savage has been used to dehumanise Indigenous people in order to justify oppressing them or granting them fewer rights. The justifications have even included Supreme Court cases.

The imagery associated with the "savage" is used to justify oppressive and systematic racism against Indigenous peoples; that they somehow deserve injustice because it is their own fault.

Considerations

Rihanna has a lingerie line called Savage by Fenty. Megan Thee Stallion has a song called "Savage."

The intersection of oppression of Black and Indigenous cultures is one worth noting. Gwen Benaway's piece, Rihanna’s Lingerie Line Brings Up a Complicated Discussion About Language addresses this complexity: "As much as we like clear right and wrongs with easy retweetable hot takes, some issues—like the dialogue about savage between Indigenous and Black communities—isn’t one to simplify."

Semitic

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

related to languages, races, and culture of people who live or come from across part of western Asia and northern Africa, which include Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Amharic.

Note

While Semitic refers to a broad spectrum of languages, races, and cultures as described above, it is often mistakenly only used to speak about Arabic and Hebrew.

antisemitism

South Asian

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

umbrella term for people of South Asian descent. South Asian countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Considerations

As many countries and cultures are enveloped within this umbrella term, try to be as specific as possible. If you know or can ask someone if they are Nepalese, for example, that's better as it's more specific.

Do not assume someone is South Asian because of certain physical characteristics or language knowledge.

Additionally, these Asian subregions are important to differentiate as some regions were most fraught to imperialism and colonisation than others.

Southeast Asian

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

umbrella term for people of Southeast Asian descent. South Asian countries include two sub-regions:

Mainland Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Maritime Southeast Asia: Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India), Ashmore and Cartier Islands (Australia), Brunei, Christmas Island (Australia), the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia), East Malaysia, East Timor, Indonesia (except Western New Guinea, which is considered a part of the Australian continent), the Philippines and Singapore.

Considerations

As many countries and cultures are enveloped within this umbrella term, try to be as specific as possible. If you know or can ask someone if they are Laotian, for example, that's better as it's more specific.

Do not assume someone is Southeast Asian because of certain physical characteristics or language knowledge.

Additionally, these Asian subregions are important to differentiate as some regions were most fraught to imperialism and colonisation than others.

Spaz

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

irrationally nervous person; hyperactive

Issues

The origin of the word “Spaz” is a shortened version of “Spastic.” Spastic refers to an alteration in muscle tone affected by the medical condition spasticity, which is seen in spastic diplegia and many other forms of cerebral palsy.

Impact

Usage Tip

Be more specific. Typically we can find an alternate definition by taking time to reflect on what emotion we're really feeling.

spiritual bypassing

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a behaviour that uses spiritual ideas and practices to delay or ignore acknowledging hardship; the pursuit of “good vibes only” or “oneness” that can downplay difficulties brought up by others, especially from minoritised groups; commonly exhibited by Western wellness and self-help practitioners, including spiritual teachers and leaders, Yoga instructors, preachers, and motivational speakers.

Issues

Spiritual bypassing avoids deeply addressing discomfort by offering surface-level platitudes, often in the form of co-opted religious, philosophical, and spiritual practices, terminology, and imagery.

Spiritual bypassing is also referred to as toxic positivity. It is commonly found in wellness spaces, temples, churches, hospitals, therapy centers, and self-help groups.

Wellness instructors often perpetuate spiritual bypassing by modeling the behavior they see from others practitioners, notably on social media. They are oftentimes unaware of its negative aspects and view the behavior as a deeper investment in the practice.

Furthermore, co-opted language and imagery is often drawn specifically from tenets of faith. These concepts are often presented by people who do not identify with the underlying belief system. They are also often presented without attribution or context, and the instance of application may be in conflict with the original cultural context.

It is also worth noting that when spiritual bypassing is practiced by individuals in positions of authority it directly and indirectly exercises power. Suppressing expressions of hardship is a regulatory behaviour that invalidates lived experiences.

Examples

Saying a phrase such as, “we are all one” or “we are all human” when confronted with difficulty or hardship, in particular when that hardship or oppression is specific to an axis of someone's identity, such as their race, gender, neurodiversity, ability, etc.

Impact

Not addressing discomfort means an individual will not process and internalise difficult or painful events. Escapism of this form prevents the individual from working through hardship.

Failing to acknowledge hardship is especially problematic in the context of minoritised groups. Downplaying invalidates both their lived experiences and creates an environment that both disincentives further participation and suppresses trauma.

Other possible effects of spiritual bypassing include dichotomous thinking, obsession, codependence, narcissism, spiritual materialism, and abdication of personal responsibility.

Also understand the chilling effects it has on minoritised communities, and how it affects their presence (or lack of presence) in spaces where spiritual bypassing is practiced.

What to do instead

Understanding how to identify spiritual bypassing as a discrete behavior and any co-opted concepts that are used to perform it is an important first step. It can be present both in-person and on social media channels.

Identification means an individual can cease these behaviors, if practising them. If witnessed, it is advised to use indirect questioning techniques such as motivational interviewing to ascertain the underlying factors compelling this behaviour.

Direct confrontation may have opposite of the desired effect. It may be construed as an attack on the person's authority, or cause them to double-down and further incorporate it into their sense of identity.

Split Attraction Model (SAM)

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a way of describing attraction as two separate things: romantic attraction and sexual attraction.

Note

Used by many (but not all) people on the asexuality spectrum or aromantic spectrum, as well as many bisexual and pansexual people (though not exclusive to any of these identities), the split attraction model is one way to describe not experiencing both sexual and romantic attraction, or not experiencing both in the same way.

For example, an asexual person may experience romantic attraction but not sexual attraction, someone who is aromantic may experience sexual attraction but not romantic attraction, and someone who is bisexual may experience romantic attraction to some genders and sexual attraction to others.

SpongeBob case

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

text styling that randomly alternates lowercase and uppercase letters to indicate sarcasm or to take a deragatory tone, popularised with a meme of SpongeBob Squarepants where he is deformed; also known as Mocking SpongeBob, SpongeMock, or alternating caps.

Context

The meme, Mocking SpongeBob or SpongeMock, shows SpongeBob Squarepants in a deformed state (from an episode where SpongeBob is acting like a chicken, with his arms and torso askew). Read more about the meme's evolution. People overlaid text onto this image in the SpongeBob casing, typically in a call and response way to show mockery or a response to mockery.

The meme went viral and gained so much ubiquity that multiple libraries, packages, and online tools were made for people to convert text into SpongeBob case.

Issues

The meme and associated text styling mocks SpongeBob's appearance and erratic speech (implied by the random casing of the text). Disabled people are often abused, harassed, and mocked for their physical appearance, manner of speaking, and neurodivergence.

Further, writing in this way can add unnecessary cognitive load to both screenreader users and sighted readers. Sarcasm and mockery can also be difficult for people with intellectual disabilities, neurodivergent people, and people with anxiety.

Impact

By using and spreading both the meme and text styling, we are perpetuating ableist) language, violence, systems and of harm against Disabled people, regardless of our awareness and/or intent.

Usage Tip

Mockery in general is unkind and unhelpful. To convey sarcasm, closing with "/sarcasm" or "/s" or "🙄" for annoyance are some options to help people distinguish.

suicide

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

the deliberate act of voluntarily ending one's own life. Motivation for suicide can be the result of conscious or unconscious thoughts and feelings.

Common Issues

Commonly referred to in conversation and journalism as "committed suicide", "took their own life", or similar, which can have negative connotations with criminality and judgement, and can place blame on the individual.

Can also be used in combination with a related measure of "success" which promotes suicide as a desirable result.

Suicide is sometimes used colloquially to mean something will severely negatively impact you (e.g., "social suicide" and "career suicide"). Replace "career suicide" with "career-ending," which conveys the same intent. Replace "social suicide" with a complete rephrase where you avoid placing blame on the individual: "Doing this will negatively impact your social life."

Impact

Unless used with sensitivity and care, discussion of suicide can reinforce negative stereotypes and stigma around mental illness. Sensationalist reporting of suicide also risks inadvertently promoting suicide.

Usage Tips

When discussing suicide and suicidal ideation:

Avoid mentioning details of methods used and suggesting that these are "easy" or "painless" to reduce the risk of imitation.
Avoid suggesting that suicide is an "easy way out".
Avoid speculation over possible triggers: Suicide and suicidal ideation is complex and not necessarily the result of a single event or condition. Attempting to explain away suicide with a specific cause or condition downplays the wider circumstances and the impact on all those affected.
Instead of saying that a person "committed suicide", say that a person "died by suicide." Framing suicide as a symptom of wider/unknown-to-us conditions validates the individual as a victim, rather than a perpetrator.
Discussing or reporting on suicide can be an opportunity to signpost the support available and educate people about the importance of mental wellbeing.
Include local resources for people to gain help, such as links to suicide hotlines, mental health resources, etc. Ensure these resources are appropriately linked for ease of use (e.g., ensure telephones are linked with tel tags, for example).
Follow Reporting on Suicide's guidelines (or similar linked resources below), especially if your reporting will be largely publicised.

third-world country

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

describes a country that doesn’t quite align with Western ideology or the Western image of society. (Also common are terms such as “third-world” (adj.), “first-world”, “developing/developed nations”, etc.)

History

“Three worlds” terminology originally arose during the cold war to define countries that were aligned with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (“1st world”), aligned with the Warsaw Pact (“2nd world”), or non-aligned (“3rd world”). Because many third-world countries were economically poor, it became common to refer to poor countries as third-world.

Issues

First off, the term is archaic and refers to a /NATO vs The Communists/ worldview that is no longer relevant. Secondly, and more importantly, it presupposes a hierarchy between countries, ranked by Western ideals and homogeneity. Western ideology is a fairly narrow way to perceive global socioeconomics. In the words of Zeeshan Aleem: “Social democracy in Scandinavia, oil-funded theocracy in Saudi Arabia, and a one-party, partially planned, partially free market economy in China are all vastly different models for generating and harnessing prosperity.”

Impact

This language is wrought in Western or American/Anglo-centric worldview. It treats any country, region, or culture that didn't or doesn't follow the Western ideal of "progress" or "development", et al., as lesser. It lacks context and is dehumanizing to those people.

Usage Tip

Be more specific or contextual. If we mean “countries with high infant mortality rates”, or “countries experiencing an HIV/AIDS outbreak”, we probably ought to say that. It’s much more clear to be specific. Further, consider the context of what we replace the phrase with — are we still imposing Western/colonialist values with our language?)

tone-deaf

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

amusia, a neurological disorder that can be congenital (from birth) or acquired (due to comorbidity or injury) that results in the inability to differentiate speech, loss of ability to sing or produce pitch, or other disassociations with music (like rhythm); colloquially, when something is insensitive or poorly thought through.

Appropriate Usage

Referring the medical condition (amusia) as described above

Inappropriate Usage

As a literary metaphor for insensitive or negligent

Issues

Connoting negligence with a medical disorder implies that actions we can control (bad choices) are the same as actions that cannot necessarily be controlled (deafness). It reinforces the discriminatory idea that disability is bad.

Impact

Using the word tone-deaf reinforces the idea that Deaf and/or non-speaking/non-verbal people are somehow less than and that disability is bad (see Ableism).

Usage Tip

Be mindful if you're referring to the medical condition or using it as a literary metaphor. If the latter, substitute by being more specific. Typically we can find an alternate definition by taking time to reflect on what emotion we're really feeling.

Transfeminine

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

describes a transgender person for whom femininity forms part of their gender.

For example, a transfeminine person may be a binary transgender woman; they may also be a non-binary person with a gender adjacent to female, or with multple genders including female.

Other Languages

Français

Transgender

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

of, relating to, or characterised by a gender that does not match the gender they were assigned at birth.

The opposite of cisgender.

Other Languages

Français

underrepresented minority (URM)

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

group whose representation is disproportionately less than their proportion in the general population; often racial or ethnic minority is implied, but can be used to represent any identifier, such as LGBTQIA+, disabled, gender, etc.

abbreviated often to URM

Issues

Often people use URM to mean "minoritised racial group", when it doesn't explicitly mean racial group in all contexts (even if that's the most commonly used context). It can cause confusion when which minoritised group is being spoken of, and can also lessen/erase additional intersections of identity. For example, if someone is disabled and of a minoritised racial group, using URM to imply racial group can erase their disability.

Using a term like URM can also erase meaningful specificity. For example, an issue might specifically be relevant to Black folks, but by referring to the group as URM, it erases their Blackness, conflates/waters down issues, and reinforces the power dynamic of white and everyone else.

URM can also imply that the group in question isn't "showing up" to be represented; that the burden is on the URM group to show up or to do more to improve their numbers and representation. Meanwhile, the complement, the overrepresented majority, tends to be unnamed.

Impact

By naming the underrepresented minority often without the overrepresented majority, we are often reinforcing the idea that people harmed by oppressive systems are on the hook to fix them.

By repeatedly referring to groups as "minorities," they are being infantilised to their numerical representation and made to feel minor. The vagueness also abstracts the identity of the marginalised group, making it difficult to address why they are minoritised to begin with and often erasing the complexity of those intersections.

Usage

When using any term for a group, it's important to contextualise it into people. So, for example, "people from the underrepresented minorities are more likely to be affected by this change" over "the underrepresented minority are more likely to be affected by this change."

Additionally, it's important to examine the context of the usage:

Why are you placing focus on the URM groups?
Will you also be speaking of the role overrepresented majorities play as well?
Would examining and speaking of overrepresented majorities be more accurate to your context?
Is URM accurate?
If no, can you be more specific than URM?

unreal

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

very impressive; amazing; larger or more fantastic than typical of real life.

Other Languages

Français

white feminism

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a form of "feminism" that prioritises the issues of and denies the privileges of abled, white, cisgender, hetero Western/Anglo women, while ignoring to outwardly denying the issues of disabled, Black/brown, trans, queer women; actively denies intersectional forms of oppression including but not limited to racism, sexism, transmisia, Islamomisia, queermisia.

White feminism is a tool of white supremacy, as it reinforces the power and default/idealised setting of whiteness.

Examples

White feminists marching in the Women's March but absent for #BlackLivesMatter, and/or calling cops on Black/brown people for no reason other than existing.
White feminists ensuring that there is women represented on a panel, but being fine if the panel is still all white, able-bodied, cisgender, etc.
White feminists appropriating yoga, colonising its purpose from meditation to weight-loss, or improving vanity and outward appearance by white Westernised, able-bodied beauty standards.
White feminists supporting "women's empowerment" for choice, while sex work-shaming.
White feminists supporting "women's choices" while participating in fat-shaming or otherwise reinforcing conventional Western/Anglo beauty standards.
White feminists employing microaggressions, weaponised compliments, or white women tears to invalidate the lived experiences of Black/brown women.
White feminists aligning with their whiteness as a "pick me", denying the intersectional issues that they do not face, but other multiply marginalised women do.
White feminists calling attention to reproductive rights, while actively using trans-exclusive language (such as, associating menstrating with womanhood).
White feminists exploit the duality of both being presented as someone can do no harm, while actively doing harm to multiply marginalised women.

Notes

Not all white women are necessary white feminists. However, as white feminism is a tool of white supremacy, it is one that every white woman (and white-/woman- presenting person) receives at birth by nature of their appearance as a form of white privilege. Furthermore, every white woman is empowered to use it to reinforce the power of the white supremecist capitalist patriarchy.
For a white woman to not be a white feminist, they must engage in actively dismantling their unearned privilege and fight their engrained nature. This usually involves learning how to become anti-racist, anti-ableist, anti-transmisic, etc.
While it is not a white feminist's fault that they were born into, indoctrinated with, and socialised to use white feminist tools, it is their responsibility to examine and to unpack the harm they can intentional and unintentionally commit. Just like it's not minoritised women's fault that they were born into bodies that are harmed by white feminism.
White feminists can come in any gender, ability, race, orientation, nationality. White men benefit from supporting white feminism and white feminists, as it supports white supremacy. For Black/brown folks, the white feminism may take a form of internalised oppression and require a decolonialisation of self to understand.
Other forms of oppression do not negate this white privilege. So, a disabled white woman still is indoctrinated with the power of and benefits from white feminism and white privilege, at the harm of Black/brown disabled women. Same goes for size-privilege, etc.

Impact

Black/brown women's issues become secondary and subordinate to the needs of white women. White feminism only advances white women, and often at the harm of Black and brown women and minoritised genders. In fact, often, once the needs of white women are met, Black/brown women are left behind.

White feminism destroys the work against integrated and intersectional dismantling of the white supremecist capitalis patriarchy and kyriarchy.

What To Do

If you suspect you might be a white feminist, examine your brand of feminism.

What privileges do you possess that other women do not?
How have you reinforced the systems of oppression (intentionally or unintentionally)?
When reading feminist texts or thinking of feminist icons, who are you centring? Who is missing?

If you are white, examine your own white fragility. Reading Black feminist and womanist texts by authors like Angela Davis, bell hooks, and Audre Lorde is a good place to start.

Editor's Notes

Non-binary, agender, gender non-conforming, and other gender minoritised people are often neglected in traditional feminist rhetoric. In this entry, we've explicitly not conflated and used the term "non-binary people and women" as many non-binary people do not like being lumped in with women. Exploring the nuance between even Black/brown women and Black/brown non-binary people, as one example, requires separate subtext beyond the scope of this singular definition.

In our definition of women, we include trans women, because trans women are women.

White fragility

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

the tendency for dominant white culture to respond to racism with defensive, dismissive, and angry responses; “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves.” (Robin DiAngelo).

Impact

White fragility detracts from critical conversations about the systemic oppressors at play. The cost of white fragility is that it centres the feelings of white people while ignoring and invalidating the systemic harm conducted towards people of colour. White fragility also prevents white people from doing anti-racist work to unpack their socially internalised racism.

Other Languages

Français

-misia

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

from Greek for hate or hatred

Use

-Misia can be appended to minoritised identifiers that are targeted for hate, such as fat (fatmisia), trans (transmisia), or Islam (Islamomisia).

Issues

-Phobia is Greek for 'fear of'.

When used as a suffix in the context of Islamophobia, transphobia, or fatphobia, it is implied that the individual or group has a fear of individuals and communities who identify in those ways. Rather than a direct translation, however, the implication and subtext of these terms is one of prejudice and discrimination. Using the term phobia falsely masks hate as fear.

Additionally, people with anxiety disorders and mental illness can also experience phobias, so conflating prejudice and discrimination (attitudes and behaviours that can be changed) with medical conditions that cannot be changed additionally harms people who experience phobias from their anxiety disorders.

As such, using the term phobia removes the responsibility from those who exhibit prejudice and discrimination as it implies it is outside of their control.

Impact

Hateful actions of prejudice and discrimination are unfairly conflated with mental illness. It can create a false parallel where one could imply that actual phobias are something that can be controlled, which harms people who experience actual phobias.

Meanwhile, people exhibiting prejudice and discrimination are given excuses for their bigoted behaviour and not held accountable for their actions.

Preferable To

-phobia

Ableism

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a system that places value on people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy, intelligence, excellence, and productivity. These constructed ideas are deeply rooted in anti-Blackness, eugenics, colonialism, and capitalism.

— Talila "TL" Lewis

Impact

To paraphrase Lewis, ableism "leads to people and society determining who is valuable and worthy based on a person’s appearance and/or their ability to [...] produce, excel, and 'behave.'" You do not have to be disabled to experience ableism, and Disabled people can also reinforce ableism internally (manifesting as harm to themselves) and externally (harm to other disabled people).

Other Languages

Français Português

ADD/ADHD

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

Overview

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (initialised to ADHD) is a neurodivergence which presents as a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that has a direct negative impact on academic, occupational, or social functioning. Inattention refers to significant difficulty in sustaining attention to tasks that do not provide a high level of stimulation or frequent rewards, distractability and problems with organisation. Hyperactivity refers to excessive motor activity and difficulties with remaining still, most evident in structured situations that require behavioural self-control. Impulsivity is a tendency to act in response to immediate stimuli, without deliberation or consideration of the risks and consequences.

There are several common traits and behaviors that can be associated with ADHD:

Hyperfocus

The following traits are examples of hyperfocus:

performing hyperfocused tasks for an extraordinary amount of time
becoming unresponsive to outside prompts (even to body signals like the need to eat or sleep)
repetition of tasks to "perfection" rather than "good enough"

Naturally there could be positive outcomes when someone with ADHD hyperfocuses on beneficial tasks (e.g. studying a musical piece for an upcoming recital). In contrast, hyperfocus on non-beneficial tasks (like staying up late playing video games) can have the opposite effect. ADHD is a lifelong condition that some professionals believe should not be "cured". Rather the recommendation is to help the person with ADHD build coping mechanisms to direct their hyperfocus on beneficial tasks and minimize the impact of non-beneficial tasks.

Executive Dysfunction

Per ADDitude, Executive Dysfunction affects a person's ability to "engage in goal-directed action." This typically manifests in difficulty planning, completing tasks, and staying organized. This may mean someone with ADHD frequently has trouble starting chores, for example. In other cases, people with ADHD find it difficult to break large goals into small, actionable tasks.

Working Memory Issues

People with ADHD often have issues with their working memory. Working memory is important for decision-making and reasoning - it allows people to keep and reference multiple thoughts quickly when synthesizing information and also when context-switching. A deficit in working memory means that people with ADHD can seem forgetful and it makes context-switching especially difficult. It can also result in someone bouncing around between several tasks, especially when those tasks are mundane or uninteresting.

Emotional Dysregulation

ADHD makes it hard to regulate emotional reactions. According to How to ADHD, Emotional Dysregulation is often overlooked, but it can be partly attributed to deficits in inhibition, self-soothing, focus, and working memory. In children, this can cause tantrums. Adults with ADHD are often expressive, excitable, and they often show atypically intense emotion.

Distractibility

Distractibility is one of the "hallmark" traits people think of when they think of ADHD. Because ADHD causes interest-driven behavior, people with ADHD often have trouble maintaining focus on uninteresting tasks. This means people with ADHD often jump between several tasks, and it can be very easy for them to become distracted by other things. Common distractors are loud sounds, other people, the Internet, and bright lights. Everyone experiences distraction at some point. However, for people with ADHD, distraction can be nearly constant and it disrupts focused, deep work.

Distractibility also has social consequences - in conversation, it can seem to others that someone with ADHD is not listening or does not care. A common behavior to counteract distractibility is "stimming", which is commonly associated with Autism. Many people with ADHD use fidget devices or other tools to stimulate their senses and keep themselves focused on a task or a conversation. Stimming is a natural reaction to anxiety or sensory overload, and it can help regulate focus.

Appropriate Usage

People with ADHD often experience some combination of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It is a diagnosable neurodivergence that affects both children and adults. What used to be diagnosed as either ADD or ADHD is now a single diagnosis called ADHD. ADHD has a few distinct subtypes: Inattentive, Hyperactive, and combined type.

Inappropriate Usage

People often say "I'm so ADD/ADHD" when they're referring to short periods of hyperactivity or inability to focus. It's used colloquially much like "I'm so OCD," and has many of the same negative ramifications for neurodivergent folks.

When people think of ADHD, they think of a very specific character. This character is almost always an able-bodied white boy, and he is usually hyperactive and extremely distractible. In TV, movies, and books, ADHD characters are almost always played by white boys, and the emphasis is on their tendency to get into trouble or their inability to listen to instructions.

Alt Usage

Rather than saying "I was so ADD/ADHD" when meant without the medical diagnosis context, instead use:

distracted
foggy
hyper
unclear
unfocused

Impact

The long-time emphasis on the hyperactive subtype of ADHD has resulted in a lot of gender and racial inequity in ADHD diagnosis and treatment. To parahprase René Brooks, it's very difficult for women, especially Black women, to obtain a proper diagnosis and treatment for their ADHD. Traits like inattentiveness and hyperfocus can be harder to recognize than the hallmark hyperactivity, which results in missed diagnoses in girls and women.

The casual usage of ADHD to refer to occasional focus or hyperactivity issues creates the stigma that ADHD is a "fixable", "temporary", or "fake" mental state that you grow out of, rather than a chronic neurodivergence that can involve medical treatment. As is the case with many disorders, the symptoms and behaviors can happen to many people regardless of diagnosis. What results in a diagnosis is when those symptoms create a significant impairment in someone's ability to function on a regular basis and they have access and means to obtaining that care.

agender

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

of, relating to, or characterised by being someone for whom one or more of the following is true:

They are genderless, or without a gender
Their gender is neutral
Their gender is undefineable using the binary gender model
They don't know, understand, or care about their gender
They don't want to label their gender

Notes

Some agender people also identify as non-binary, gender non-conforming, genderfluid, and/or genderqueer, but being agender does not preclude being any of those things.
Cisgender and transgender people can be agender. Being agender does not preclude either of those things.
The term "non-binary" is often used to include agender people, when as mentioned above, some agender people identify as both while others do not. Be mindful of not making this assumption when using the term.

antisemitism

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

aggression towards, discrimination, or prejudice against Jewish people.

Antisemitism can arise in many different ways, including:

racial, which implies that Jews constitute a distinct race or ethnic group with inherent traits or negative characteristics;
economic, which infers certain activities become harmful when performed by Jews, often specifically links Jews and money;
religious, which includes discrimination against Jewish religious beliefs and religious teachings by other groups implying the inferiority of Jews;
and political, which implies Jews seek national and/or world power.

Antisemitic ideology includes dehuminisation and degradation of Jews.

Origin in brief

Antisemitism began in European Christianity as ideological oppression, and functions to protect the ruling class and divert blame for hardship. While it began as a religious intolerance, antisemitism has always in-part been xenophobic.

How it works

Many groups are oppressed due to a fixed hierarchy, such as anti-Black racism in the United States. Historically, antisemitism has been described as cyclical. Jewish communities rotate between periods of stability, including some success, and periods of increased negative visibility which sometimes lead to violence. This cycle further perpetuates myths about Jewish power.

Antisemitism tends to be most visible in moments when people are forced to compete for scarce resources.

Jewish diversity

It's important to understand that Jews are a diverse group of people, inclusive of various ethnicities and races.

Some Jews come from European and Russian ancestry (Ashkenazi); Spanish and Portuguese (Sephardi); Ethiopian and Ugandan (African); and Middle Eastern, North African, Central Asian, and Balkan (Mizrahi).

There are Jews who are white, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indigenous, and every census classification of race. There are mixed-race Jews whose ancestors could include any group of people. Jews are a global people, multi-racial and multi-ethnic.

Note

The unhyphenated spelling of antisemitism is preferred as a way to delegitimize the idea that antiseminism is inclusive of all Semitic people (e.g., non-Jewish Arabs, Assyrians, and Arameans).

Asian-American

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

umbrella term for people of Asian descent (immigrant or natural born) who live in and/or are from the United States.

Considerations

As many countries and cultures are enveloped within this umbrella term, try to be as specific as possible. When speaking of Vietnamese-Americans or Chinese-Americans, use those terms instead. Be careful to not assume that every English-speaking Asian person you meet in the U.S. is necessarily Asian-American (for one, they could be Asian-Canadian or have any other number of nationalities). In general, be mindful of accuracy and confirm with relevant parties.

Note

Can be shortened to AsAm or AA by those who identify as Asian American. Be mindful of context and always spell out on first reference. If you aren't Asian-American, it's best to keep it spelled out.

Barbaric

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

something which is obscenely cruel; primitive; unsophisticated

Issues

Barbarian originates from the Greek word bárbaros meaning "babbler", to denote the "unintelligible sounds" ("bar bar bar") made by foreign speakers. Similar words exist in many other languages, for the identical purpose labeling a "strange"/"foreign" person/culture.

In modern day usage, you can notice this rhetoric being employed almost always for the purpose of demonizing "foreign" (more often than not from the global south) cultures - cultures that need to be civilized; cultures that need to be colonized to rescue them from themselves. A perfect lingual weapon for warmongers and racists alike. Equally repulsive sibling of "savage".

Impact

When you use words, that are in vogue primarily inside circles of bigots, with racist etymologies, it's a wilful act of violence, ignorance and an indication to the vilified and minoritised communities that their history of wounds and abuses are inconsequential to our words.

Usage Tip

Avoid words that have obscene etymologies. There is almost always a better alternative: an inclusive and a less hurtful one.

bi-erasure

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

or, bi erasure; the questioning or denial of the existence or legitimacy of Bisexuality; the shortened form of "bisexual erasure"

Examples

Telling a bi person that they're going through a phase or are confused
Falsely connoting being bi with a certain sexual status or gender—bi people can be asexual, monogamous, polygamous and/or cis or trans, non-binary, agender, etc. Being bi-sexual does not necessitate other characteristics of identity
Questioning our "queerness" because of our current partner (when a bi woman is with a man, for one example)
Using phrases like "Bi now, gay later"
Saying bisexuality isn't real
Excluding us from LGBTQ+ conversations

Impact

"Bi+ people experience discrimination from both heterosexual and sexual minority communities, related to repeatedly needing to “come out” as bi+.

This double discrimination can lead to isolation and loneliness, which can be harmful for mental health." — Sabra Katz-Wise

Biromantic

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

of, relating to, or characterised by being romantically attracted to more than one gender.

Note

Biromantic does not imply any particular kind of sexual attraction, or sexual attraction at all. A biromantic person may be asexual, homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, pansexual, etc.

Biromantic does not preclude romantic attraction to non-binary or transgender people.

Other Langues

Français

Bisexual

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

of, relating to, or characterised by being sexually attracted to more than one gender.

Note

Bisexuality does not preclude attraction to non-binary or transgender people.

Other languages

blacklist whitelist

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

colloquially: umbrella term used to represent a list of entities/people who are to be allowed or denied access to a service, privilege, or recognition: to "blacklist" is "to exclude", to "whitelist" means "to include;" carries anti-Black sentiments

Issues

The first problem is the admittance and denial of people based on their race or skin color. Using "black" and "white" to determine whether an entity is excluded or included, respectively, from a group supports the systemic racism that denies Black people entry while allowing white people entry. Similarly to the concept of master/slave, blacklist/whitelist is used abundantly and casually in the realm of software development, which can reinforce the systemic exclusion of Black people from the industry.

The second issue with these terms is the implication that black is bad and white is good. A "blacklist" often refers to a list of undesirable things (spammy phone numbers, undesired guests, etc.) whereas a "whitelist" refers to a list of virtuous things (important guests, emails we want to receive, etc.) In 1610, when the enslavement and deportation of Africans by Europeans was in full effect, the Douglas Harper Etymology Dictionary defined the term "blacklist" as a "list of persons who have incurred suspicion".

While the origins predate the transatlantic slave trade, the concept of a blacklist as eliciting "suspicion" reinforces the systemic racism that causes disproportionately higher incarceration and incrimination of Black people for equivalent crimes to non-Black people.

From this NCBI article:

"To compound the issue, it is also striking how often the term “whitelist” is used for a supposedly good, respectable, or safe list of publishers. The racism in such “black is bad, white is good” metaphors is inappropriate and needs to cease."

These terms not only reflect, but they also reinforce and perpetuate a racist culture.

Usage Tip

Be more specific: not only are "blacklist/whitelist" racist, they tend to be jargony and their meaning changes depending on the context.

Even if you may not be negatively impacted by this terminology, it can negatively impact other existing and prospective contributors onto your project and spaces. The terminology isn't so unique that it's irreplaceable; the lift tends to be trivial in comparison to the potential impact.

Boogaloo

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

original meaning: A type of music made up of a mix of mambo, cha cha, pachanga, doo-wop and soul. "Boogaloo" has since been appropriated by Alt-Right and White Supremacists groups to refer to a race-based civil war. Other terms for Boogaloo include: boog, boojahideen, big igloo, and big luau.

The co-opted use of “Boogaloo” is a dog-whistle, used to communicate about, and signal support for militias inciting violence to escalate and accelerate violent uprisings against the government. Part of electing to use this term, as well as Hawaiian shirts and igloos is to avoid existing automated content flags used on social media sites.

Its usage is derived from memes about the film Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, riffing on the title – notably, as “Civil War 2: Electric Boogaloo”. Appending “Electric Boogaloo” to other concepts as a joke was born in and largely popularized by early internet message boards such as Something Awful and 4chan.

Some Alt-Right members self-identify as "Boogaloo Boys" (or "Bois"), or speak of "preparing / showing up for the Boogaloo". Many dress in Hawaiian shirts and/or military wear to distinguish themselves at protests and gatherings. One effect of wearing the Hawaiian shirt is to co-opt the public’s existing notions about Hawaiian culture with peaceful, impartial observation, and not radical militarism.

Issues

Similarly to the OK Hand symbol, the word itself does not have racist origins (and in fact, is a product of the Latinx music community) and neither does the original meme (a joke about movie sequels). However, language evolves, and "Boogaloo" has become a term used quite seriously by Alt-Right and White Supremacist communities.

It should be noted that this approach of indoctrinating symbols of hate is one long-documented, and used for the Swastika as well

Both the Hawaiian shirt and Igloo snow huts are associated with Indigenous cultures. Before being co-opted by the Boogaloo movement, both symbols were co-opted by American popular culture.

Hawaiian shirts were popularized by the Tiki culture movement, created after American military returned from being stationed in the South Pacific during World War II. Due to a lack of including and elevating Polynesian people in the movement, it is considered to be both cultural appropriation and colonial nostalgia.

Impact

Although this was previously a non-violent / non-hateful meme, continuing to use it supports the plausible deniability of those who do use it with serious intent. Those who are most vulnerable will not know your intent, and therefore will feel the impact of hurt and fear, regardless.

circle the wagons

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

colloquially: taking a defensive position; gathering a group of people; working together to protect from external danger

Issues

"[Circle the wagons] is rooted in stories about "brave pioneers" who were "under attack" by "hostile savages." Hit the pause button.

Those "brave pioneers" were seeking land that belonged to Native peoples who fought to defend that land, their homes, their moms and their kids. Anyone would do that, but the imagery of "circle the wagons" makes Native peoples out as barbaric and aggressive. Who, in fact, was the aggressor?!

More facts: The wagons were circled at night in order to keep the cattle enclosed so they wouldn't wander off. I've also read that, if there was an attack, the wagons were too far apart and slow moving to have actually been put into that circle."1

Alt Words

collect the team
huddle
self-protect

Cisgender

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

of, relating to, or characterised by being a gender that matches the gender they were assigned at birth.

The opposite of transgender.

Other Languages

Français

colonialism

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

the act of forcing a group of people in a region or country to live under the policies and ideologies of an invading government or group of people for the purposes of asserting geo-political dominance.

Note

Though often associated with imperialism, the two words have different Latin etymologies that drive how the connotation of colonialism and the word colony have evolved. The most notable instances of colonialism to the general public are Western colonialism and recently, neo-colonialism.

The practice of colonialism was most prominent with the British, Ottoman, and other European empires upon regions in the Americas, Asia, and Africa where slave trade(s) was(were) implemented as an economic vehicle. Contrary to popular belief, the colonialism also affected people of European descent, most notably, the Irish. Some studies have tried to clarify the question of whether or not this is true, but they tend to be written by non-Native researchers, therefore muting a much needed context. Be mindful when researching this topic to note the origin of the researchers with respect to the colonies and colonisers that they are writing about.

Also see neo-colonialism for an extension on this concept.

colourblind

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a condition where someone can only see a limited range of colors or is unable to clearly distinguish different colors; condition can be congenital (from birth) or acquired (due to chronic illness, disease, injury, old age, etc); colloquially, belief that "one does not see race," and, that racism is no longer is a systemic problem; also post-racial.

(Also spelled color-blind.)

Appropriate Usage

Referring the medical condition as described above

Inappropriate Usage

As a literary metaphor for ignorance of racial injustice

Issues

Connoting ignorance or racist microagression with a medical disorder implies that actions we can control (bad choices) are the same as actions that cannot necessarily be controlled (colorblindness). It reinforces the discriminatory idea that disability is bad.

Impact

Using the word colorblind in a medically appropriative way can reinforce the idea that blind and/or vision-impaired people are somehow less than and that disability is bad (see Ableism).

By using ableist language, we are perpetuating violence against people who experience disabilities. Using this language perpetuates those systems and language of harm, regardless of our intent.

Using the word colorblind in a racial context perpetuates the falsehood that we live in a post-racial society. "I'm colorblind" is a microaggression used to ignore the lived experiences of racially oppressed people, silence those seeking racial justice, and prevent discussions of race needed for racial equity.

Usage Tip

Be mindful if you're referring to the medical condition or using it as a literary metaphor. If the latter, substitute by being more specific.

Corporate Blackface

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

the idea that corporations publicly declare support of the Black Lives Matter movement, often with vague language, without actually committing to or implementing real, systemic change within their company to support Black employees, clients, customers, and community

Examples

When a company:

releases statements, claiming to support Black lives, but fails to fix the toxicity and discrimination against Black people within their own company culture
openly showcases illustrations and or stock photography of Black people in its marketing materials, but doesn't actually include them in any of its teams and/or user research
has an all-white leadership team and tweets about its support of Black Lives Matter without addressing its complicity within white supremacy
does little to impact policy that disproportionately and negatively influences their Black employees, clients, and/or customers
claims to care about diversity and representation, but then retaliates against/terminates a Black employee for identifying and speaking out on anti-Blackness they experience in the workplace
no longer actively tries to increase diversity and inclusion in their company after Black Lives Matter is no longer trending on social media

While the list above is finite, there are many more ways that corporations show again and again that they only really care about their image, rather than Black lives.

digital blackface

crazy

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

mentally deranged; demented; insane.

Issues

Crazy is very commonly used as an adjective to embody a vast array of ideas, often not specifically. It is used so frequently that it sometimes is a filler. Crazy can also be used in a derogatory manner for someone with mental or psychiatric disabilities.

Impact

Usage Tip

Be more specific. Typically we can find an alternate definition by taking time to reflect on what emotion we're really feeling.

derpy

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

clumsy, foolish, unattractive, or otherwise unintelligent act or person.

derp, derp face, herp derp, hurr durr

Issues

Derpy is very commonly used as an adjective to describe someone's clumsy or foolish behavior, occasionally that of the speaker themselves. Sometimes it is used as a direct replacement of the r-word.

It is also used to describe someone else's physical features as unattractive or akin to someone with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In imagery, derpy or a so-called "derp face", is often signified by crossed eyes, a stuck out tongue, or permanent facial differences.

Origins

The word "derp" found its first known use in the 1998 film Baseketball by the creators of the American animated sitcom, South Park, and later in South Park itself in the name of the character "Mr Derp". The creators of the show have expressed that the term is uttered when one "screws up". In these early uses the word is interchangeable with the words "duh", "hur" and "dur" that came before it, and may have directly or indirectly originated from them.

The word evolved in 4chan and other forums and began being associated with memes, where the "derpy" imagery began. It is there where it became associated with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/IDD) specifically, as people started overlaying "derp" over photographs of children with I/DD.

Impact

Regardless of whether derpy is being used to describe yourself, or someone with or without an I/DD or physical disability, use of the word contributes to the dehumanisation, stigmatisation, and negative perceptions of people with an I/DD or physical (especially facial) differences.

By using ableist language, we are perpetuating violence against people who experience mental, developmental, or physical disabilities. Using this language perpetuates those systems and language of harm, regardless of our intent.

Usage Tip

Be more specific. Typically we can find an alternate definition by taking time to reflect on what emotion we're really feeling. If you are describing a person's silly actions or expressions use a more relevant, descriptive word.

If you are using it to describe or refer to a person's disability or physical difference, don't.

digital Blackface

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a form of appropriation where non-Black individuals use memes and gifs featuring Black people and even emojis with dark skin; a 21st century version of Black minstrelsy, which was prevalent in the 19th and 20th centuries

Issues

Digital Blackface is one of many ways of dehumanising Black individuals into exaggerated versions of themselves, especially Black women. Rarely are Black characters given subtle feelings, emotion or actions. Additionally, power comes into it as a non-Black person is using a Black person as a mask (hence where the minstrelsy comes in).

Digital Blackface is also an issue of representation and culture appropriation: memes and gifs are often used in spaces where no real Black people are present, which presents them as a prop to be used in all-white spaces. Black culture is stolen from Black people and commodified by non-Black people.

Examples

Online personas: It can go further than appropration. Falsified personas are easy to spot as they almost always use terms like "as a black woman..." [sic] and resort to incorrect and illegitimate use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE).1

"On Twitter lie countless handles featuring a Black person’s image, run by users who are most assuredly not Black. These accounts, which often include a “ghetto” name — the formula prefix “La+” is a favored trope — are riddled with poor attempts at Black vernacular, and feature stereotypes from the minstrel stage." 2
Gifs

"For while reaction GIFs can and do every feeling under the sun, white and nonblack users seem to especially prefer GIFs with black people when it comes to emitting their most exaggerated emotions. Extreme joy, annoyance, anger and occasions for drama and gossip are a magnet for images of black people, especially black femmes." 1
Emojis (using a darker-than-your-own skin-tone, especially when you are white)1 2
Simple actions like using dark toned emoji in text or social media posts

What To Do (instead)

If you are not Black, before using a Black person's identity to express or convey an idea, take a moment to reflect upon what you're doing and what message you're trying to convey. In most situations, you would probably be better off picking a gif or meme of a non-Black person, better yet, of a race you identify with.

corporate blackface

disability dongle

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a disability aid that is meant to solve a real or perceived problem experienced by disabled people, but which was built without including disabled people in the design process

Coined by Liz Jackson.

Issues

Because disabled people were not included in the design process, the dongle may not be as practical or as helpful as it might seem. It may be unsafe to use or prohibitively expensive. Its target users may not consider the "problem" it was meant to solve a problem at all.

Media often sensationalizes stories about disability dongles. These stories often exaggerate the dongles' practicality, and are susceptible to forms of inspiration porn. The media attention garned from building a dongle is often a large motivation for building the dongle in the first place.

Creators of disability dongles put the onus of accessibility on disabled individuals, who are expected to buy expensive devices to participate in society in full. Disabled advocates often argue that accessibility is a civil right, and that true access requires making the environment itself accessible through infrastructure.

Examples

Some disability dongles have been reinvented several times by different groups, and regularly resurface in the media. Two examples are:

Stair-climbing wheelchairs, which often require unrealistic core strength or which put the user in a precarious angle.
Sign-language gloves, which purport to translate American Sign Language (ASL), or other sign languages, into English. These gloves leave out context conveyed through body language or facial gestures, which are often key elements of sign languages.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a mental illness that involves disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity and/or perception. It can also include the existence of two or more distinct identities (or “personality states”). The distinct identities are accompanied by changes in behavior, memory and thinking.

Other Languages

Français

dude

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

colloquially, a man; a discourse marker expressing masculine solidarity; an expression of astonishment when used alone

Issues

"Dude" was originally used to refer to a man who paid a lot of attention to his appearance, but became more broadly used to describe any man as part of African American Vernacular English in the 1960s. It was subsequently appropriated by white men in the 1980s, particularly on the West Coast, and has since grown to be used broadly by white men and women as a noun as well as a discourse marker.

When used as a discourse marker, it carries the connotation that the speaker believes that they are speaking to a man; however, as both a discourse marker and a noun, it is frequently used without regard for the gender or pronouns of listeners.

Impact

Regardless of the intent of the speaker, prefacing a statement with "dude" risks misgendering its audience and perpetuating a culture that favors traditional masculinity as the baseline for gender. Proponents of using "dude" commonly defend its usage aggressively by claiming that they use it in a gender-neutral way (which is not possible) and that anyone negatively impacted by its usage is wrong for not accepting that and chooses to apply the gendered interpretation. The argument fails to acknowledge that society dictates and reinforces gender, regardless of the individual interpretation. The ubiquity of that argument often deters those who are negatively impacted from bringing attention to the usage of "dude" as their experiences are often gaslighted.

Alt Words Mindfulness Note

Before using colloquial terms of endearment, it's important to be mindful of power and context. While our intent may be to make people feel at ease or comfortable, we can have the opposite effect. For example, "buddy" or "pal" from an older person to younger person or a manager to employee can feel infantilising or pejorative; this becomes exacerbated because of the power differential in the relationship. The person in less power often isn't in a position to correct. There's no one-size-fits-all model; instead we should seek to address people with consent first and course correct. It's not about getting it perfect at first, it's about getting it right in the end.

dumb

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

non-verbal, non-speaking, silent, refraining from speaking or unable to speak; sometimes mute which can also be ableist; colloquially used to mean senseless or a vague filler word

dumbfounded
dumbstruck

Issues

Dumb initially meant "mute, silent, refraining or unable to speak." Old German thumb carried a dual meaning of "stupid", which eventually took over.

An oft-cited quote by Greek philosopher Aristotle reads, "Men that are deaf are in all cases also dumb.**" Historically the Greeks valued physical prowess (as evidenced by their invention of the Olympic Games) and their language, so anyone who lacked the ability to perform certain physical tasks or conduct reason (verbalise reason, rather) in their language was considered invaluable to society. The historical context is still ever present today, where we devalue disabled bodies and minds.

Using dumb (and its related words like dumbstruck, dumbfounded) reinforces these cultural values.

**Isolation to only "men" also reinforces the historical patriarchical ideas that intersected with these ableist ones.

Impact

Using the word dumb reinforces the idea that Deaf and/or non-speaking/non-verbal people do not have valuable ideas to contribute, and that we only value people based on their idea to generate ideas and goods (see Ableism)

Usage Tip

Be more specific. Typically we can find an alternate definition by taking time to reflect on what emotion we're really feeling.

East Asian

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

umbrella term for people of East Asian descent. East Asian countries include China, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan

Considerations

As many countries and cultures are enveloped within this umbrella term, try to be as specific as possible. If you know or can ask someone if they are Japanese, for example, that's better as it's more specific.

Do not assume someone is East Asian because of certain physical characteristics or language knowledge.

Additionally, these Asian subregions are important to differentiate, as some regions were most fraught to imperialism and colonisation than others.

egonomics

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

the investment in time, effort, and money done by people to manage personal and professional online reputations.

Origins

Egonomics is first proposed by Thomas Schelling in his paper "Egonomics, or the Art of Self-Management."

"Schelling suggested that individuals suffer from a sort of split-personality disorder whereby the present self wants a specific thing (e.g., eating a cookie) but the future or past self wants a different thing (e.g., losing weight). Both selves exist, but do not exist at the same time."1.

English as Second Language (ESL)

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

the teaching of English to people who speak a different language and who live in a country where English is the main language spoken

Issues

Monolinguist, English-only speakers often refer to people who don't speak English natively as "ESL" or say they are learning a "second language". More often than not, this is not true, as many people are multi-lingual with 3 or more languages

Impact

It makes false assumptions about English learners, centres English as the "default" or "expected" first language, ignoring that many people learn multiple (>3), non-English languages first.

Fatphobia

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

the fear, hatred, and stigmitasation of fat people.

Issues

Fatphobia is the racialised, classist, and ableist tool of oppression that codifies a “ideal” body type that centres a white, Western aesthetic, demands time and resources that people may not have, and attempts to correlate thinness and heathliness—perpetuating white supremacist violence against people of colour, perpetuates classist oppression of people living with limited resources, and the ableist idea of healthiness as an indicator of human value.

Impact

A history of being ignored and shamed prevents many fat people from visiting medical professionals even if they have the financial and physical means to do so. Medical professionals hold fatphobic biases and often prescribe weight loss as a default instead of listening to their fat patients' concerns.

Employers will pay fat employees less than their thin colleagues and offer them no protection from weight stigma in the workplace, as their fatphobic biases lead to their perception of fat employees as lazy, less intelligent, and unmotivated.

Law enforcement officers are less likely to believe fat people reporting sexual assaults, as their fatphobic biases lead them to think of fat people as unattractive, not sexually active, or undesirable.

Note

While fatphobia is a more widely known term, many prefer fatmisia, as [-misia] means hate or hatred of, which more accurately describes the prejudice and discrimination.

food desert

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

a geographic area where residents’ access to affordable, healthy food options (especially fresh fruits and vegetables) is restricted or non-existent due to the absence of grocery stores within convenient traveling distance.

According to Food Empowerment, "the other defining characteristic of food deserts is socio-economic: that is, they are most commonly found in black and brown communities and low-income areas (where many people don’t have cars). Studies have found that wealthy districts have three times as many supermarkets as poor ones do, that white neighborhoods contain an average of four times as many supermarkets as predominantly black ones do, and that grocery stores in African-American communities are usually smaller with less selection."

Gaslighting

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

psychological manipulation tactic used to abuse by instilling doubt in the victim's own thoughts, observations, feelings by denying, misdirecting, and lying to them; originated from the Gaslight play (1933) and film (1944), where a man changes the lights in the house, while denying her observations of the changes.

Impact

Gaslighting reinforces systems of power, as gaslighting abusers will tend to be in systematically dominant positions where they are intrinsically believed over their victim (e.g., white person over person of colour, man over woman, abled person over disabled person, parent over child, manager over worker, etc). Gaslighting is an abusive and oppressive behaviour and tactic.

The abuser can become in control of the victim, who now no longer trusts their own perception. The victim can become codependent upon their abuser, and internalise.

Other Languages

Français

Gender pronouns

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

gender pronouns are often used to mean pronouns.

Issue

Not everyone's gender has a relationship to the pronouns they use to identify themselves. Some people are agender or gender non-conforming and still use pronouns.

Reiterating "gender pronouns" enforces the idea that there is necessarily a relationship between the two, and furthermore, it can suggest that if there isn't a relationship between the two, that it is not a valid use of pronouns.

Impact

By connecting gender and perpetuating unnecessary gender norms and expectations, we are perpetuating violence against gender minoritised people. Using this language perpetuates those systems and language of harm, regardless of our intent.

Other Languages

Français

grandfathering

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

colloquially, to permit to continue under expired rules; racist origins of Grandfather Clause

Issues

In the United States, ‘Grandfather Clause’ originally referred to provisions adopted by seven Southern states after the Civil War in an effort to disenfranchise Black voters by requiring voters to pass literacy tests or meet other significant qualifications, while exempting from such requirements those who were descendants of men who were eligible to vote before 1867. This type of law ensured that illiterate white Americans were able to vote while preventing Black Americans from voting. This practice of grandfather clauses did not officially end until 1965, when the Voting Rights Act was implemented.

Impact

The modern use of the phrases of "grandfathering" and "grandfathered in" ignores their racist roots and normalises a term that further enfranchised white Americans and restricted Black Americans from voting. Refraining to use this term is an acknowledgement of its history and a dedication to inclusivity by avoiding inciting images of racism out of context.

Usage Tip

When possible, be more specific about the circumstances. Usually, we can acknowledge a specific timeframe or what benefits a group is receiving during which timelines.

Acknowledging legal reasons (contracts, updated terms of service) for differences can give helpful context.

Substitute "grandfathered in" for more active language. "We allowed X people Y benefits since they were long-time customers (more than 10 years)."

The concept of 'grandfathering' should be considered. Why are you providing benefits and/or exceptions to this group? Are you perpetuating the inequitable concepts that this word carries as a result? Removing just the word will not remove these inequities.

Hispanic

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

Serves as an umbrella term for people of Spanish, or Spanish-speaking ancestry. Hispanic is considered a pan-ethnic term, and does not provide context for someone's race or country of origin.

Note

People who self-identify as Hispanic may also self-identify as Chicano/Chicana, Latino/Latina, or Latinx, but don't assume that they do. When in doubt, ask for individual preferences.

hysterical

2022-05-20T17:25:28Z

feeling or showing uncontrollable outburst of emotion; casually: very funny

Issues

Hysteria originates from the Greek word hysterikos or "of the womb." The Greeks believed that hysteria was something that moved through a woman's body and caused ailments.

Hysteria was once an official medical condition that was primarily diagnosed in women. (It has since been disbanded into other disorders, such as conversion and disassociative disorders.) So, as medical professionals believed men did not have uteruses*, medical professionals would not diagnose men with hysteria (even though they were experiencing the same symptoms of conversion disorder).

*Editor's Note: This concept that men cannot have uteruses is reflective of the medical context, not the belief of the editor.

Impact

Gender-codified and sexist language perpetuates harmful stereotypes that reinforce patriarchical ideas. In the case of hysteria, it perpetuates the false stereotype of women as being unreasonable, irrational, and not in control of their emotions. Harmful stereotypes can cause women to not be believed, to have their experiences invalidated, and be tone-policed.

Defining gender by sexual organs can also perpetuate transphobic and anti-trans definitions, where gender is falsely defined by sexual organs.

Medical conditions believed to be defined by sex and gender are reductive and can lead to misdiagnosis.

Alt Words

If intending funny connotation, try: funny; hilarious; comedic.

If intending panic connotation, try: panicked, petrified, startled.

Self-Defined

women and people of colour

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Other Languages

junkie

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Latin American/Latino/Latina

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Latinx

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Mansplain

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Considerations

Master Slave

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Usage Tip

Métis

minorities

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minoritised

Preferable To

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Monoculture

Other Languages

Mx.

Considerations

Pronunciation

neo-colonialism

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neopronouns

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nerd

Self-Identification

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See Also

Non-binary

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Other Languages

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

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Usage Tip

👌 [ok-hand]

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Other Languages

optical allyship

Related Words

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Oriental

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overrepresented majority (ORM)

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Preferable To

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Pansexual

Other Languages

peanut gallery

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performative allyship

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Plural

Other Languages

Polyamory

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