Glossary

**The following terms inform who you are and where you are from. Click on the highlighted words in the definitions to see how artists have visually depicted who they are and where they are from.**

Ability (n) - skills or aptitudes unique to an individual. Those who fall outside the societal norm in ability, whether through physical or mental impairment, have traditionally been termed "disabled." Disability, as a concept, is being replaced with more appropriate terms such, as "differently-abled" or "impaired" with the intent of inclusiveness. This shift towards community inclusiveness places the responsibility of accessibility on the community at large.

Class (n) - a social grouping based on economic status, with the belief that those who share a similar status also share similar cultural, political, social, social, and economic characteristics.

Ethnicity (n) - a way that people identify with each other based on shared ancestry, language or history.

Identity (n) - 1. identity is an individual's distinct personality; 2. identity is made of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognized as a member of a group.

Gender (n) - a system of sexual classification based on the social construction of the categories "women" and "men." Gender is different from sex, which is based on biological and physical differences that shape the categories of "women" and "men." A person can have a sense of being masculine or feminine, and that sense may be different from the biological sex of that person.

Metaphor (n) - a comparison between two unseemingly related objects. A metaphor is using one thing to represent another; a symbol.

Oppression (n) - oppression is the unjust use of authority, force, or societal norms resulting in the privileging of some and the keeping down of others.

Place (n) - conveys a variety of meanings but generally implies a sense of geography or location that someone identifies with.

Power (n) - the ability to cause things to happen, whether for oneself or others. Personal power is often the result of privilege.

Prejudice (n) - a preconceived idea or opinion directed towards a racial, religious, cultural, or ethnic group. Prejudice is the result of judgement and situates one particular group at the expense of another; it is the result of stereotyping.

Privilege (n) - an advantage or benefit not enjoyed by all. Privilege is often the result of the social groups one is a member of, rather than the result of anything that he or she has done.

Race (n) - a way that people distinguish between one another based on visible genetic traits (skin color, physical features), and self-identification. Race, a socially constructed concept, is being replaced by the more appropriate term of ethnicity today.

Religion (n) - a system of beliefs or thoughts based on faith and belief in a supreme, supernatural or divine force. Institutions, practices, rituals and moral codes are associated with religion.

Representation (n): an image or object that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance.

Respect (n): click here.

Sexual Orientation (n) - describes the focus of one's sexuality in relation to one's gender.
Heterosexual (adj): a person whose sexual orientation is to one of the opposite sex.
Homosexual (adj): a person who is sexually, physically or emotionally attracted or committed to people of the same sex.
Bisexual (adj): a person whose sexual orientation is to more than one sex.
Transgender (adj): a person whose behavior and/or identity do not match their assigned gender.
LGBTA (adj): a person who relates to being a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or ally.

Stereotype (v) - a categorization of one group by another, through race, religion or ethnicity. Stereotypes tend to homogenize the group, eliminating any individuality or differentiation. They have negative connotations and are often used to support prejudice.

Tolerance (n) - the recognition of and openness to different attitudes, cultures, beliefs, practices and ways of living, without necessarily agreeing with those differences.