Black Lives Matter

Founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. is a global organization in the U.S., U.K., and Canada whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, the organization makes immediate improvements in Black lives.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

A body-image disorder characterized by persistent, intrusive preoccupations with perceived flaws or defects with any part of one's body, which, in reality, might be slight or nonexistent. BDD affects 2.2% of men and 2.5% of women in the U.S.

Buddhism

An Indian religion based on a series of original teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha. It originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, spreading through much of Asia. Buddhism practices in SEA tend to be distinct from their Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan counterparts. The basic tenets include: Nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. Buddhism addresses itself to all people no matter race, nationality, caste, sexuality, or gender. It teaches practical methods to help people realize and use its teachings to transform their experience and take full responsibility for their lives.

Burqa

A garment worn by some Muslim women that covers the entire body from head to toe, with a mesh screen over the eyes.

Butch

In lesbian culture, “butch” refers to a woman whose gender expression and traits present as typically masculine (e.g., clothes, short hair, pursuing more men-dominated careers and roles). For lesbians, being butch challenges society’s understandings of gender and what it means to be masculine. The term is sometimes used by other LGBTQIA+ people, particularly non-binary and genderqueer people. For more.

Celibacy

The act of refraining from sexual activity for an extended period of time, often because of a vow or oath. Unlike asexuality, which is a sexual orientation that describes a lack of sexual attraction, abstinence is a behavior.

Chain Migration

A term developed by anti-immigration groups to refer to the well-established legal process of issuing “family-based immigrant visas.” Preferred term: “Family-based migration.”

Child Maltreatment

Defined by federal law as neglect or physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of children caused by parents or caregivers. A majority of child maltreatment cases don’t involve abuse, but instead are a direct result of poverty (e.g., missing school, not keeping up with medical care). Child welfare investigations are also impacted by racial or other forms of bias (e.g., Black mothers more likely reported for drug-positive newborns than white mothers).

Child Welfare System

A group of services designed to promote the well-being of children. The system is built to ensure safety, achieve permanency, and strengthen families. For more on how the system works, see this factsheet from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau.

Chinese Exclusion Act

A U.S. federal law passed in 1882 that prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. Fueled by anti-Chinese hate in California (where Chinese migrants were working as miners), the Act lasted 10 years. However, it wasn’t until 1943, when the U.S. and China were allies in WWII, that Chinese immigration resumed. It’s the first law to prevent all members of a specific ethnic or national group from immigrating to the U.S.

Cisgender (cis)

The opposite of transgender; someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. (The term “cishet” refers to someone who is both cisgender and heterosexual/straight.)

Cisnormativity

The belief that being cisgender is the default, natural, or superior by falsely assuming cisgender is the norm and that being transgender or non-binary is “different” or “abnormal.” It upholds the false gender binary of two distinct, opposite genders (i.e., man and woman).

Civil Affairs

Civil Affairs (CA) units help military commanders by working with civil authorities and civilian populations in the commanders’ areas of operation to lessen the impact of military operations during peace, contingency operations, and declared war. CA forces support activities of both conventional and special-operations forces and can assist and support the civil administration in the area of operations. CA soldiers are culturally oriented linguists, and may be tasked with providing functional expertise for foreign internal defense operations, unconventional warfare operations, and direct action missions.

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.

Colorism

Also called Skin Color Stratification. Prejudice or discrimination against those with darker skin tones, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group. It privileges light-skinned people of color over dark in areas such as income, education, housing, and dating. (Colorism is prevalent across many cultures, not just African American.)

Combat Veteran

One who deployed to and served in a combat zone and received a Combat Action Badge or Ribbon. Because modern wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan are “360 degree battlefields,” everyone deployed could find themselves in a combat role, and even those who don’t officially qualify as a combat veteran might’ve seen combat.

Community Care

Communities using their power, privilege, and resources to help people both in and out of their scope of reach, including friends, neighbors, colleagues, or members of an organization they frequent. It can be activism, practicing anti-racism, calling out injustices, donating to organizations, or simply asking someone, “What do you need and how can I help?”

Confucianism

A way of life cultivated by Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, in the 6th-5th centuries BC. It is a belief system, an all-encompassing way of thinking and living, that focuses on the importance of personal ethics and morality and ancestor reverence. It is sometimes considered a philosophy, worldview, political ideology, or religion, although it is not an organized religion in the traditional sense. Practicers of Confucianism live all over the world, predominantly in East and Southeast Asia. For more.

Coyotes

People who smuggle undocumented individuals across the U.S. border from Mexico, typically for a high fee.

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.