Assimilation Assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviours, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially. An example of assimilation in that Queer People could be seen as changing their behaviour depending on who they're facing. This is often at the expense of one's own culture and identity. For queer folks, assimilation can mean subsuming or erasing their queer or racialized identity to fit into heteronormative society. It can often look like internalised homophobia, racism, or transphobia, which keeps us closed in and conforming to societal norms at the expense of our own authentic selves. Here are examples of assimilation: - Avoiding holding hands with a partner in public to avoid negative reactions from others. - Changing ones appearance or behaviour to conform to gender norms. - Choosing not to come out to one's family and friends for fear of rejection. - Pretending to only have relationships with the opposite sex to avoid discrimination. - Avoiding talking about ones sexuality or gender identity at work to avoid judgement or discrimination. - Suppressing aspects of their cultural identity to avoid discrimination or rejection from others. See: Code-switching. < Back to Glossary

Bottom Surgery A colloquial term used in the trans community to refer to gender affirmative surgeries on the genitals. Bottom surgery is often important for trans people to feel like their gender identity is aligned with their physical body. ​ < Back to Glossary

Femininity Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviours, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviours considered feminine are influenced by both cultural factors and biological factors. ​ < Back to Glossary

Transandrophobia Discrimination against trans men and trans-masculine people. ​ < Back to Glossary

Incentive Something that motivates or encourages us to make positive change. ​ < Back to Glossary

Incarceration The state of being confined in prison. ​ < Back to Glossary

Tokenism Performative presence without meaningful participation. For example, recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality within a workforce. ​ < Back to Glossary

Monolithic 1. An organisation, system or society that is referred to as monolithic is resistant to change and often applies a single set of customs, norms, and values. 2. When referring to a social group as monolithic, one assumes this group of people are all the same, or having the same experience. However, this assumption can be harmful and predominantly inaccurate, as it doesn't account for intersectional identities and individual experiences. ​ < Back to Glossary

Transmisogyny Discrimination that falls at the intersection of transphobia and misogyny, as experienced by trans women and trans feminine people. ​ < Back to Glossary

South Asian South Asian culture and heritage is typically associated with the region made up of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Each of these countries has been hugely impacted by its relationship with Britain, primarily through war, colonisation, and ultimately via the British Empire. ​ < Back to Glossary

Somatics Somatics describes any practice or technique that uses the mind-body connection. ​ < Back to Glossary

Micro-Aggression The verbal, nonverbal and environmental slights, snubs, insults or actions, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory or negative messages to target persons based solely upon discriminatory belief systems. ​ < Back to Glossary

Legislation Policy becomes legislation when it is brought into law. As far as laws on equality which relate to the protection of LGBTQIA+ individuals, in a lot of countries, we have come a long way in a relatively short amount of time. However, there are still more than 68 countries where homosexuality is illegal. Therefore, our communities fight for Civil Rights is a long way from over. ​ < Back to Glossary

Movement 1. A group of people working together to advance their shared political, social, or artistic ideas. 2. Moving the body. Movement is a fundamental aspect of life. It affects everything from circulation to digestion to metabolism to immunity. The body contributes far more to our lives than just physical attributes such as strength and endurance – it plays a major role in emotions, learning, and relationships. ​ < Back to Glossary

Advocate Similarly to an ‘activist,’ an advocate also wants to make change and support a cause or community that matters to them. However, they work within existing systems to raise awareness about issues and injustice, selectively considering when they are vocal about a specific issue - amplifying discourse taking place in society, and bolstering the efforts of activists. ​ < Back to Glossary

School to Prison Pipeline A term used primarily in the US to describe the disproportionate amount of young people from disadvantaged communities who end up in the prison system due to harsh, punitive policies in schools and widespread educational inequality. The students most affected tend to be disabled, Black or Latine. ​ < Back to Glossary

Dogpile Dog-piling, or a dog-pile is a form of online harassment or online abuse characterized by having groups of harassers target the same victim. ​ < Back to Glossary

Courage Courage (also called bravery) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. It can take a lot of courage to take action as a leader, and an ally - to challenge the status quo, and actively work to dismantle systems of oppression. According to Dr. Brené Brown, "there is no courage without vulnerability.” She defines vulnerability as a feeling created through the combination of uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. As Brown states, “brave leaders are never silent and complicit. It is their job to excavate the unsaid.” ​ < Back to Glossary

Echochamber An environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered. We have a duty within our communities and workplaces to ensure diversity of thought to ensure progress, and give others who are different to ourselves a seat at the table. The beauty of the Queer Community is that it intersects with so many other communities See: Debate & Courageous Communication. < Back to Glossary

Queer Queer is an umbrella term for all people who experience some degree of same sex attraction or do not identify with their gender assigned at birth. In the 21st century, queer became increasingly used to describe a broad spectrum of non-normative sexual and/or gender identities and politics. Critics of the use of the term include members of the LGBT community who associate the term more with its colloquial, derogatory usage, those who wish to dissociate themselves from queer radicalism, and those who see it as amorphous and trendy. Queer is sometimes expanded to include any non-normative sexuality, including cisgender queer heterosexuality, although some LGBTQ people view this use of the term as appropriation. ​ < Back to Glossary