Dictionary
The Intersectionality Dictionary explores how language shapes our understanding of power, identity, and justice. Terms like intersectionality, privilege, or decolonization are widely used yet often misunderstood or stripped of their historical roots. This evolving resource goes beyond simple definitions: each entry traces a concept’s origins, examines its theoretical foundations, and reflects on how it appears in public debate today. By approaching words critically, the dictionary reveals the histories and power relations they carry. Designed to be accessible without oversimplifying, it helps students, educators, activists, and curious readers engage more thoughtfully with complex ideas—because understanding the language of power is a step toward challenging and transforming it. ✨
You can check out our dictionary by researching a word or browse the alphabet index.
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Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse is a type of psychological violence that entails actions that are meant to hurt, control, or scare the targeted individual (National Domestic…
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Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a term used for a form of extreme exploitation in acts against their will. While ‘labor’ or ‘service’ usually refers to…
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Victim Blaming
Victim blaming is a social phenomenon in which responsibility for traumatic events is wrongly placed on the victim rather than the offender. This leads…
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Benevolent Sexism
The theory of ambivalent sexism distinguishes between hostile sexism (HS) and benevolent sexism (BS) (Glick & Fiske, 1996). Benevolent sexism (BS) includes idealizing and…
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Sexism
Prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination based on a person’s gender is understood as sexism. It is not limited to prejudice and discrimination against cis women…
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Internalized Sexism
Internalized sexism refers to the manifestation of sexist beliefs and practices that individuals, regardless of gender, may direct towards themselves or others (Bearman, 2009).…
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Class Stratification
Class stratification is one of many systems of societal stratification that place people into ranks. Class stratification, or usually referred to as class systems,…
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Transgender
Trans* is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of identities that go beyond traditional gender norms. Transgender (or Trans*) describes individuals whose gender…
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AFAB/AMAB
AFAB (Assigned Female at Birth) and AMAB (Assigned Male at Birth) are acronyms referring to the gender binary that is imposed on persons at…
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Fourth Wave of Feminism
Framing & Perspectives The fourth wave of feminism began around 2012 and continues to the present day. This wave builds on the achievements of…
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Third Wave of Feminism
Framing & Perspectives The third wave of feminism began in the early 1990s as a response to the perceived shortcomings of the second wave,…
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Second Wave of Feminism
Framing & Perspectives The second wave refers to a period of feminist activity that began in the United States in the early 1960s and…
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First Wave Feminism
Framing & Perspectives The first wave refers to the period of feminist activity during the late 19th and early 20th century, primarily in the…
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Hostile Sexism
The theory of ambivalent sexism distinguishes between hostile sexism (HS) and benevolent sexism (BS) (Glick & Fiske, 1996). Hostile sexism refers to the attitudes,…
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Acronym “LGBTQIAPN+”
LGBTQIAPN+ is an acronym that refers to a wide range of sexual and gender diversity. Like individuals, the LGBTQ+ acronyms and definitions are constantly…
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Bropropriating
Bropropriating, or bropropriation, is when a woman has an idea that is later appropriated by a man. Perhaps the woman speaks in a meeting…
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Waves of Classical Feminism
The first wave (late 19th and early 20th centuries) primarily sought legal rights like women’s suffrage (Evans, 1997). The second wave, from the 1960s…
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Classical Feminisms
Feminism is a social, political, and ideological movement that seeks to advance the rights and status of all individuals by challenging and dismantling systems…
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Trigger
A trigger in psychological understanding is an event, situation, or impulse that activates a traumatic memory that can lead to a chain of reactions…
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Consensual Pornography
Pornography is the (consensual) creation of graphic, auditory, or written content, meant to be sexually arousing. It can present bodies in a sexual manner,…
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Representation
Representation refers to how individuals, groups, and identities are included, recognized, and depicted across various social, cultural, and political contexts. This concept extends beyond…
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Body Image
Body image is defined as the picture of our own body that we form in our mind, that is, how the body appears to…
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Ableism
Ableism refers to the discrimination and prejudice against people with mental, emotional, or physical disabilities.While ‘ability’ refers mostly to a specific set of functional…
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Colonial Capitalism
Colonial capitalism refers to the exploitation of resources and labor in the Global South by the Global North. While ‘industrialisation’ refers to a country’s…
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Stereotype Threat
Stereotypes are representations and beliefs about people and the social groups to which they belong, usually generalized and misattributed (Operario & Fiske, 2003). Stereotype…
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White Defensiveness (Mechanisms)
The term White Defensive Mechanism is an umbrella term that refers to possible reactions shown by White individuals during discussions about racism, their own…
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Whitewashing
Whitewashing refers to all acts of intentional and unintentional altering of the facts, identities, and histories, especially those related to examples of racial inequalities…
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White Guilt
White guilt is a term used to describe the sentiments of guilt, shame, or discomfort that White individuals likely feel as a result of…
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Xenophobia
Xenophobia is a deep-seated fear of individuals perceived as outsiders or culturally different from one’s own community (Guy-Evans, 2023). During social or global crises,…
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White Tears
White Tears refers to emotionally charged reactions, such as guilt, sadness, or defensiveness, that are typically displayed by White individuals when faced with racism…