Hijab/Hijabi

Hijab is a head covering or headscarf (in some communities called “khimar”) worn in public by some Muslim woman. A Hijabi is a woman who wears a hijab. Muslim women are legally mandated to wear hijabs only in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Indonesian province of Aceh.

Hijra

Officially recognized as a “third gender” in South Asia, Hijra are considered neither male nor female. Traditionally, they were considered divine demi-gods, but colonizers from Islamic and Christian countries have caused them to be marginalized and even criminalized. Note: When living in another country or visiting other states that don't have the same cultural genders, people with this identity may code-switch and call themselves trans women, trans men, or non-binary in order for their gender to be legible to others. There are also transgender men and women in South Asia who do not consider themselves Hijra. For more.

Hindu / Hinduism / Hindi

A Hindu is a subscriber to Hinduism, which is one of the world’s oldest religions originating in India and comprising religious, cultural, and philosophical concepts such as Karma, Dharma, and reincarnation. Hinduism is the world’s 3rd-largest organized religion after Islam and Christianity, and India’s most practiced religion. Hinduism’s fundamental teaching, or Vedanta, is that a human being's basic nature isn’t confined to the body or mind. Beyond both is the spirit or the spark of God within the soul. For more. Hindi is the language spoken by 45% of India.

Hispanic vs. Spanish

“Hispanic” refers to a person of linguistic Spanish origin or descent and, though technically different, “Hispanic” and “Latinx” are now often used interchangeably, especially by the U.S. government. “Spanish” applies only to those from Spain and is often used incorrectly to describe Latinx people. Avoid this, given the European colonization of Indigenous and Afro Latinx peoples.

HIV/AIDS

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system and weakens its defense against many infections and some types of cancer. If HIV is not treated, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition. There is no effective cure for HIV, but treatments such as ART, PrEP, and PEP can suppress a person’s viral load until it’s undetectable and untransmittable, allowing for long, healthy lives and safe sexual intercourse. HIV/AIDS has disproportionately affected queer people in the U.S. with gay and bi+ men making up 70% of all new infections in 2019. For more.

Hong Kong

Considered a special administrative region of China but previously considered a British colony until 1997. The relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China is quite complex, including differences in government and politics (e.g., Hong Kong’s limited democracy vs. China’s communism).

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

The use of hormones (e.g., estrogen, testosterone) in medical treatment. For trans people, HRT is an empowering way to medically transition by bringing their bodies into alignment with their gender identity. Documented benefits of HRT include improved mental health, physical wellness, and reduced gender dysphoria for trans people. Many intersex people also use HRT to balance the naturally occurring levels of hormones in their bodies.

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.

Imperialism

“Empire building,” or the practice of a nation forcefully imposing its rule and authority over other nations through the acquisition of land and/or the imposition of economic and political domination. Find a brief overview of imperialism throughout history here.

Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

A U.S. federal law passed in 1978 in response to large numbers of Native American children being separated from their parents, families, communities, and tribes by state child welfare and private adoption agencies – due to the racist belief that Native American parents were unfit to raise children and reservations were unfit places to raise them. Research found that 15-35% of all Native children were being removed from and 85% of these children were placed outside of their families and communities – even when fit and willing relatives were available. According to the United Nations, this practice of “forcibly transferring children of (an ethnic or racial) group to another group” constitutes genocide. To combat this crisis, ICWA mandates that caseworkers make several considerations when handling child welfare cases involving Native children – read more about them here. For coverage on how the ICWA is being challenged in more recent years, listen to the This Land podcast Season 2.

Note: “Indian” here is referring to a U.S. legal term. However, using the term to describe Native American and Indigenous people is considered offensive and outdated.

Indochina/Indochina Wars

Originally referred to as French Indochina, which included the current countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The Indochina Wars refers to a series of wars in Southeast Asia from 1945-1991 between communist Indochinese forces and other ethnic minorities against mainly French, Vietnamese, U.S., Cambodian, Laotian, and Chinese forces. From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps aircraft dropped 7.6+ million tons of bombs and other ordnance, far exceeding tonnage in World War II and in the Korean War.

Internally Displaced Residents

Those seeking refuge from a crisis in their own countries.

International Adoption

The process of an adult adopting a child from another country (where they do not have citizenship). Some countries have limited the number of children that are available to be adopted internationally, and others have eliminated it altogether.

Intersex

An umbrella term for anyone born with a wide range of sex characteristics (e.g., genitals, chromosomes, hormones, reproductive organs, secondary sex characteristics) that don’t adhere to binary male/female bodies. Being intersex simply refers to a person’s status (whether someone is intersex or not). Some intersex characteristics are identifiable at birth, some at puberty or later, and some people go through life never learning they’re intersex. While some people can be born intersex and also be transgender, the two are separate and should not be conflated. Just like everyone else, intersex people can be any gender (e.g., man, woman, non-binary) and sexual orientation (e.g., straight, queer, asexual). For more.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Physical, verbal, psychological, economic, or sexual violence committed by a current or former partner. While domestic violence is committed by any member of a household toward another member of that household (e.g., father abuses son, wife abuses husband), IPV encompasses violence involving partnered people regardless of whether they live together. Most IPV portrayals feature straight women in relationships with men, but people of all gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations can experience or commit IPV. LGBTQIA+ people experience IPV at comparable rates but are less likely to report it due to stigma, lack of resources, and perceived power balance in same-gender relationships.

Ipso Gender

A term to describe an intersex person whose gender aligns with their medically-assigned binary sex (i.e., male or female); the opposite of a transgender intersex person, whose gender does not align with their medically-assigned sex.

Iranian/Persian

A person from Iran, with Iranian citizenship, and/or self-identifying as from or connected to the nation of Iran. For political, religious, and cultural reasons, some refer to themselves as Iranian and others as Persian. Iranians/Persians are not Arabs.

Islamophobia

Extreme fear of and hostility toward Islam and Muslims, often leading to hate speech and hate crimes, social and political discrimination.

Jail vs. Prison vs. Detention Center

Jails are locally operated short-term facilities that hold people awaiting trial, sentencing, or both, and incarcerated people serving shorter sentences. However, due to a broken cash bail system, some incarcerated people spend years in jails. Prisons are longer-term facilities for incarcerated people run by the federal or state governments. The term “detention center” commonly refers to facilities where detained immigrants are kept while awaiting a deportation hearing or where minors serve a sentence or await trial.