Baby Mama/Daddy

These terms have a context-specific meaning within Black culture, but when used by people who aren’t Black, especially in official capacities (like newscasters), the meaning changes. They undermine the seriousness of real relationships and imply a lack of personal responsibility.

Code-Switching

The practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation. For instance, Latinx Americans who speak a combination of Spanish, Indigenous/Native dialects, and English or Black Americans who speak African American Vernacular English (or Black English) and English. Code-switching is often used at home or among members of the same communities, and people don’t necessarily code-switch to someone who doesn’t speak their same language.

Cultural Hybridity

The practice of someone maintaining customs and values of two or more different cultures that make up their identity. In engaging with their separate cultures, someone can create a new hybrid identity that seeks to balance these multiple parts of them. Cultural hybridity is an ongoing, active, and fluid process that is shaped by history and background.

Diaspora

A community of people from the same homeland who have been scattered or have migrated to other lands. While most often associated with the Jewish people expelled from the Kingdom of Israel in the 6th century BCE, the diaspora of many ethnic groups is found around the world today.

1) A diaspora is a group of people who have been forced from or chosen to leave their homeland to settle in other lands;

2) People of a diaspora typically preserve and celebrate the culture and traditions of their homeland;

3) Diaspora may be created by voluntary emigration or by force, as in the cases of wars, enslavement, or natural disasters. For more.

Domestic Worker

Hired to perform household and caregiving duties in an employer’s private home or residence (e.g., housekeeper, nanny, gardener, au pair, chauffeur, in-home aide, babysitter). These professionals (majority women, mostly immigrants and BIPOC) do difficult, skilled work, often without basic labor rights and protections.

Emotional Labor

The process of managing feelings and expressions in order to fulfill the emotional requirements of a job. More specifically, when workers have to regulate emotions to shape the minds of superiors, co-workers, and customers. Emotional labor more often falls on BIPOC people, especially women (e.g., swallowing down feelings about a racist or sexist comment so as not to make things awkward for another individual, having to fake positivity to placate a customer).

Generational Trauma

The long-term psychological effects of trauma (both personal and communal) that can be passed down through generations of families and cultures. Beyond psychological, these generational effects are also familial, social, cultural, neurobiological, and possibly even genetic.

Haka

A ceremonial dance or challenge in Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand) culture performed by a group.

Identity

An intrinsic, embodied part of who someone is (e.g., race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability), not to be confused with the various experiences, ideologies, and preferences they identify with (e.g., careers, politics, hobbies). Identity shapes our everyday life, psychology, culture, relationships, behavior, and shared history. Identity is deeply personal and language used to describe it is ever-evolving. We must be open to new language as understanding shifts; it’s vital to use the terms, names, and pronouns others use for themselves. Note: Avoid the phrasing “identify as” (e.g. “she is a woman” instead of “she identifies as a woman”; “they are non-binary” vs “they identify as non-binary”).

Immigrants

Those who move to take permanent residence in a new country.

Minority Stress

Chronically high levels of stress endured by members of stigmatized communities (e.g., BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, religious minorities, HIV+) caused by the prejudice, discrimination, and systemic oppression they face. This leads to a number of negative mental and physical health disparities among these groups (e.g., internalized racism, transphobia, homophobia; increased risk-taking behavior; anxiety; high blood pressure).

Othering

A pattern of exclusion and marginalization based on having identities that are different from the perceived “norms” of a community, social group, nation, etc. It relies on an “us vs. them” mentality.

Passing

The ability for a person in an oppressed group to move through the world as a more privileged identity than the one they are. In BIPOC communities, passing refers to a person, often mixed-race, with features that adhere to Eurocentric beauty standards (e.g., light skin, straight hair) who may be mistaken for being white. For trans people, this means being perceived as cisgender by others.

Note: trans women perceived as women are not "passing as women" – they are women. The same is true for trans men – they are men. Passing is not a goal for all trans people but can aid in a trans person’s safety. Passing is also sometimes used to describe gay, lesbian, bi+, or ace people who are perceived as heterosexual until they disclose their sexual orientation.

Race-Related Stressors on Aging

A race-related stressor is something that causes psychological or emotional distress that an individual or group of people experience as a result of being a target of a racial discriminatory action (e.g., microaggressions, hate crimes, institutionalized racism). These stressors impact how individuals or racial and ethnic populations age (e.g., African Americans have higher rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s due to chronic stress; Arab Americans report high levels of depression and anxiety due to bias-motivated violence; Asian Americans’ health conditions often go untreated due to a lack of culturally and linguistically accessible care; Latinx Americans have high rates of negative mental health outcomes due to bigotry and prejudice; Native Americans and Alaskan Natives have a lower life expectancy because of disproportionate poverty, discrimination in the delivery of health services, and cultural differences).

Overall, older people among ethnic minorities report poorer health outcomes than white older people no matter their social and economic conditions. More on African Americans here and here, and more on Arab Americans here.

Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)

The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. These are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources at global, national, and local levels. Conditions (e.g., social, economic, physical) in these various environments and settings (e.g., school, church, workplace, neighborhood) have been referred to as “place.” In addition to the more material aspects of “place,” patterns of social engagement and sense of security and well-being are also affected by where people live.

Resources that enhance quality of life can have a significant influence on population health outcomes (e.g., safe and affordable housing, availability of healthy foods, toxin-free environments). How population groups experience “place” directly impacts the specific social components of SDoH (e.g., access to educational, economic, and job opportunities; public safety; language and literacy) and public components of SDoH (e.g., natural environments, built environments). See here for more details.

Trauma Porn

Refers to art or media that exploits the pain, suffering, and brutalization of marginalized people for the sake of entertainment. These depictions cater to non-marginalized viewers and characters rather than exploring the experience, situation, or POV of the person(s) being victimized. These kinds of depictions are harmful for all viewers as they deny the life and livelihood of those being victimized, devaluing their existence in our communities and society, granting no opportunity for empathy and deeper understanding.

Two-Spirit (2S)

Created in 1990, an umbrella term intended to describe Indigenous people who do not fit into colonizers’ binary understanding of sexual orientation and gender. “Two-Spirit” is a direct translation of the Ojibwe term “Niizh mandidoowag,” but it’s used by many U.S. Native American/First Nations Indigenous peoples. Many Native cultures have specific words in their language to refer to people with diverse genders and sexual orientations; Two-Spirit is not intended to replace those specific words. While it is not a synonymous term for “queer,” “bi,” or “trans,” people who are 2S may also identify as such.

Note: This term should only be used by First Nations/US Native American Indigenous peoples, and writers who are not Two-Spirit should always consult experts on this subject. For more, see here and here.

U.S. Census

The U.S. Constitution mandates that America gets only one chance every 10 years to count its population. The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States. The data collected determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives (a process called apportionment) and is also used to distribute billions in federal funds to local communities. Find more here.