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Native Hawaiians The culture and heritage Native Hawaiians encompasses social behaviours, institutions, and norms practised by the original residents of the Hawaiian islands, including their knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits. Humans are estimated to have first inhabited the archipelago between 124 and 1120 AD when it was settled by Polynesians who voyaged to and settled there. (See: Polynesian and Pacific Islanders) < Back to Glossary

Breathwork Breathwork is a New Age term for various ancient breathing practices in which the conscious control of breathing is said to influence a person's mental, emotional or physical state, with a claimed therapeutic effect. ​ < Back to Glossary

Elected Official Elected Officials are individuals which have the power to make true change within our government and legislative structures. We vote for people based on how they align with our own personal values, and how they plan to instill these values and use their positionality (proximity to power) in the seat / office / policy area that they occupy. Often, Elected Officials hold the key to positive cultural and legislative change. However, these individuals who promise a lot can often be disappointing in terms of their actions to liberalised, once they have been positioned within an institution. See: Power and Positionality. < Back to Glossary

Plus A way of speaking about the variations of marginalised sexual orientations and gender identities that might fall under the LGBTQ+ acronym. ​ < Back to Glossary

Futch Futch describes lesbians whose gender expression falls somewhere between butch and femme. They may embody a mix of masculine and feminine in their gender expression. ​ < Back to Glossary

Masc A person whose gender is perceived or understood as masculine presenting. See: Gender Identity and Gender Expression. < Back to Glossary

ENM (Ethical Non-Monogamy) ENM is an umbrella term for romantic relationships that are not exclusive between two people. Ethical Non-Monogamy must have the consent of all parties involved and communication of expectations and boundaries is essential. ​ < Back to Glossary

Androgyny Androgyny is the quality or state of being neither specifically feminine or masculine. ​ < Back to Glossary

Integrity Having integrity means that you live in accordance to your deepest values, you're honest, and you always keep your word. Integrity is a highly valued trait, especially in leaders. See: Authenticity and Values. < Back to Glossary

Language Whether or not we realize it, we are constantly using language to evolve our ideas and beliefs into concrete reality. By becoming more aware of the impact and power of language, we can make more conscious, insightful choices about how we express ourselves and how we interpret others. ​ < Back to Glossary

Male Privilege Male privilege is the system of advantages or rights that are available to men solely on the basis of their sex or gender. A man's access to these benefits may vary depending on how closely they match their society's ideal masculine norm. ​ < Back to Glossary

Hispanic People are normally referred to as Hispanic if they are Spanish, of Spanish heritage or come from a country that was previously colonised by Spain. This does not include Brazil, which is a former colony of Portugal, where the native language is Portuguese. A hispanic person can be any race or colour. (See: Latin(a/o) and Latinx) < Back to Glossary

Style Personal style is a tool for self expression, experimentation and play. While fashion follows trends, style should reflect your personality, values and outlook and evolve with you slowly over time. It's self-knowledge and self-confidence expressed through what you choose to wear. ​ < Back to Glossary

Presentation (Gender) (See Gender Expression) ​ < Back to Glossary

Affirmative Action Affirmative action involves sets of policies and practices within a government or organisation seeking to include particular groups based on their gender, race, disability, sexuality, creed or nationality in areas in which such groups are underrepresented. This is important to ensure diversity of thought within organisations, as well as to bolster social mobility of individuals who are afforded opportunities. ​ < Back to Glossary

Affirmations Something that motivates, inspires and encourages you to take action and to realise your goals. These are most often short phrases that you can repeat throughout the day. Affirmations are important tools to help us change our patterns of thought, maintain a positive mindset, and also help us get back on to the right path if we are struggling. ​ < Back to Glossary

Intersectionality Coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, Intersectionality originally applied to her studies around the compounded disadvantage Women of Colour faced during the American Civil Rights Movement. Now being used more widely as an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities compound to create different layers of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of advantage and disadvantage across different characteristics such as Race, Class, Sexuality, Marital Status, Disability, Gender, Faith etc. See: Identity. < Back to Glossary

Restorative Justice An approach to justice that seeks to repair harm by providing an opportunity for those harmed and those who take responsibility for the harm to communicate about and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime. ​ < Back to Glossary

Polynesian Polynesian culture and heritage is typically associated with the region made up of Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Niue, Wallis and Futuna, and French Polynesia. (See: Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders) < Back to Glossary

Relationship Anarchy Based on anarchist principals, relationship anarchy is a form of ethical non-monogamy where there is no hierarchy of partners. ​ < Back to Glossary