Important Concepts and Terms
Stereotypes & PrejudiceEveryone is exposed to stereotypes and, we all have prejudices. We may not realize it sometimes but we have learned them as a part of living in the U.S. Because exposure to stereotypes and prejudices is unavoidable, we need to learn to recognize how they affect us. It is up to us to recognize how they influence our perceptions of ourselves and people who may be different from us. If you are unsure about the difference, check out our video.
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Discrimination & OppressionDiscrimination refers to unequal treatment in favor or against a person or group. Anyone can discriminate against another person based on their personal prejudices. Oppression is discrimination that is supported by a system that is in place. It does not need to have prejudiced people acting on their prejudices. It just means that the system works in ways that discriminate against one group and privilege another. Racism and Sexism are forms of oppression.
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Gender & Gender Identity
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People often use the words sex and gender interchangeably. Yet they are NOT the same thing. Sex is about physiology, hormones and chromosomes while gender is about how a person identifies. Learn more about how they differ and how they connect to gender identity.
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Gender is often seen as binary--a person is either male or female. While some people are comfortable identifying themselves with one end of the binary or the other, there is much more to gender that that. Gender exists on a spectrum that includes many genders. Watch the video to learn about binary and non-binary identities.
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Sexuality & Sexual Identity
Sexuality is not something we choose. It is something we discover about ourselves. Sexual identity refers to how we think about ourselves in terms of who we may be romantically or sexually attracted to. There are many ways to identify our sexuality such as straight, gay/lesbian, bisexual, asexual and pansexual to name a few.
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Race & Racial Identity
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Race Matters. Race is a part of our identity even when we don't recognize its significance. In our American society race benefits and privileges some people and disadvantages others. We have witnessed this time and time again in recent times. We need to break the silence surrounding race and find ways to better understand and talk about how race matters.
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Privilege
Privilege is a tricky thing because we don't always realize that we are privileged. The idea that some of us benefit from advantages we didn't actually earn or even see as privilege is hard to understand. Privilege is the other side of oppression. Anytime, we see discrimination against a group, we should look at who is benefitting or being privileged. This will help us understand how to end discrimination and oppression.
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Internalized Oppression
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Have you ever heard a girl describe herself and/or other girls in negative terms like "girls aren't good at math" or "boys are better at sports"? If so, that's internalized oppression. This important concept helps us understand how members of disadvantaged groups in society internalize (make a part of themselves) negative messages about themselves. When members of "minority" or less powerful groups are exposed to those messages regularly, they accept them as truths about their group. Want to know more? Watch the video..
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