Key Concepts in Social Justice and Gender Studies
Social Darwinism
Survival of the fittest.
Ideology
A system of ideas that forms the basis of a particular set of collective beliefs.
Colonization
Processes by which one person, group, or state seeks to dominate the activities and potential of others.
Inter-Subjectivity
Recognition that all identities are formed in relationship to others.
Privilege
Systematically supported access to opportunities and resources that others have limited access to.
Social Location
Geographic, social, and cultural site of a group that creates a horizon of possibility.
Meritocracy
Belief that by meeting a particular set of standards, one has earned their advanced social position. Meritocracy has never truly existed unless everyone has equal access to it.
Other
Not self (verb); refusal to identify (xenophobia).
Intersectionality
A methodology of studying “the relationships among multiple dimensions and modalities of social relationships and subject formations”.
Identity
A way of knowing oneself or recognizing others that engages socially constructed categories, whether in compliance or resistance.
Social Construction
Ideas about identity, social location, etc., that appear to be natural and obvious to those who benefit from or are impacted by social practices that produce them. In reality, social constructions are invented by cultural surroundings and are grounded in systems of human choices.
Essentialist
Belief that qualities, social positions, desires, and practices are attached to categories of persons, often assumed to be biological.
Doing Gender
Performance of expected roles associated with gender.
Sexuality, Sexual Orientation
Tendency of sexual desire to focus on particular categories or a category of persons. May be fluid or fixed. Heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality are some examples of sexual orientation.
Heterosexism
Belief in the superiority of one form of binarized sexuality over another and therefore the assumed right to dominance.
Lesbo/Homophobia
Irrational fear of or bias against same-sex relations/relationships. Belief in the superiority of one form of sexuality over others and therefore the right to dominance.
Queerphobia
Belief in fixed genders and sexual orientations and fear of any variability.
Intersex
A person with secondary sexual characteristics associated with both male and female categories.
Two-Spirit
Culturally specific expression and experience of complex gender identity.
Appropriation
Claiming an identity for oneself that one has not earned.
Compassion Fatigue
Militates against caring and action; people face too much information about matters they cannot change.
Representation
Speaking or acting on behalf of someone.
Agency
Power to act.
Authority
Power to name for self and others; may or may not be legitimate, i.e., accountable to constituents.
Autonomy
Power to name for oneself.
Inscription
Attributing characteristics to someone based on limited information (practice attached to stereotyping).
Desire
Attraction, may or may not conform to social norms (affection).
Racialization
Process of ascribing essential characteristics and capacities to races in combination with characteristics that are deemed to be racial. This is socially constructed.
Difference
We use difference as a means of identifying with or against someone. Catalyst that sparks creativity.
Sexualization
Attributing sexual connotation. Also, a set of regulatory practices that shape sexual identities and possibilities for sexual presentation.
Public and Private Sphere
Are mutually constituting. Share collective space.
Incredible Shrinking Sphere
The pressure from dominant groups to reduce activism that leads to political apathy and a sense of lack of empowerment. Downward pressure on the people.
Ableism
A form of discrimination or social prejudice against people with disabilities; the assumption that people with normative bodies have a right to dominance.
Classification
A preference for higher classes.
Globalization
A process whereby global systems of dominance become more firmly interwoven. At the same time, globalization creates opportunities for change and resistance.
Medicalization
The process by which human conditions and problems get treated as medical issues.
Political Economy
Study of society as produced at the intersection of economic, social, and political institutions.
Female Economy
Challenges academic models based on growth and accumulation as primary goals; instead, it focuses on providing for human needs and well-being.
Production
A paid process where workers combine various material inputs and immaterial inputs (plans, know-how) to make something for consumption; often associated with male labor.
Consumption
The final purchase of goods and services by individuals constitutes consumption; increasingly a site of identity formation.
Sex Trafficking
A form of modern slavery that exists globally, where someone forces people to have sex for money and profits from it. Various types of sex trafficking include child sex tourism, domestic minor sex trafficking, or commercial sexual exploitation of men, women, and children; different from sex work.
Structural Adjustment
Program that consists of loans provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) to countries that experience economic crises; associated with reduced social services.
World Trade Organization
Deals with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows smoothly and predictably, often benefiting the most privileged countries.
Gender-Based Budgeting
Refers to the process of conceiving, planning, approving, executing, monitoring, analyzing, and auditing budgets in a gender-sensitive way. Involves analysis of actual expenditure and revenue (usually governments) on females as compared to expenditures on males.
Currency
Prevalent circulation, not only of money but also of ideas.
Voice
Access to articulation and respectful hearing.
Activism
Collaborative use of voices and creativity to support social change; often leads to empowerment.
Resistance
Refusal of the status quo to sustain more livable lives.
Feminist Ecology
Recognizing that the devaluation of women and nature are linked and working for change.
Targeting
Verb: the practice of victimization; noun: the one who is under attack. A better term than “victim” because it holds perpetrators accountable for their actions without implying that those they harm are devoid of agency.
Empowerment
The process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in accessing rights and actualizing as individuals and in community.