#WriteInclusion Factsheets
Expanded glossary of terms
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Reservists
Often former active-duty service members providing and maintaining trained units for active duty in Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard reserve forces. Reservists are stationed near their homes and only deployed internationally if called up for active duty. They can be deployed as individuals or units (every three years, on average).
Same-Gender-Loving
A term coined by activist Cleo Manago in the 1990s to describe African Americans or Black people with same-gender attractions. SGL is used as a culturally affirming identity without relying on Eurocentric terms and symbols of attraction and orientation.
Sanctuary City
A city that limits its cooperation with national government efforts to enforce detention and deportation of residents. Allows migrants of any immigration status to report crimes without fear of deportation.
Sapphic
A term to describe women and non-binary people who are attracted to women, especially those assigned female at birth. This can include women and non-binary people of any sexual orientation (e.g., lesbians, bisexual non-binary femmes, pansexual women, wlw, etc.). The term is derived from the name of the Greek poet Sappho of the Greek Island, Lesbos, whose writing famously portrays love and desire among women. For more.
School-to-Prison Pipeline
The tendency for non-white, poor, and disadvantaged youth and young adults to become incarcerated because of harsh disciplinary and over-policing practices within schools.
Senior Citizen
Synonym for an older person, typically one who is retired or living on a pension.
Sex Characteristics
Biological traits such as genitals, gonads (i.e., ovaries, testes), hormone production, hormone response, chromosomes, and reproductive organs. Secondary sex characteristics are features that may appear during puberty or exposure to hormones, including breast growth, deepening voice, facial hair, and body hair.
Sexual Fluidity
When one’s sexual orientation isn’t fixed, meaning who they are sexually attracted to can change over time (sometimes influenced by their relationship, situation, or environment). Sexual fluidity is not the same as bi+ identity and doesn’t negate sexual orientations. Instead, it captures the idea of a spectrum or fluidity among the orientations.
Sexual Orientation
An identity or embodied part of a person that describes how someone experiences romantic and/or sexual attraction, if they do at all. A person’s sexual orientation is a part of who they are, no matter their relationship status or sexual/romantic experience(s).
Shia
The smaller of Islam’s two main branches, followed especially in Iran, that rejects the first three Sunni caliphs and regards Ali, the fourth caliph, as Muhammad's first true successor. Shia Muslims believe that just as God alone appoints His prophet, only God can appoint the successor to His prophet. They believe God chose Ali to be Muhammad's successor, Islam’s infallible, first caliph (khalifah, head of state). Sunni Muslims believe that human beings’ redemption depends on faith in Allah, His prophets, acceptance of Muhammad as the final prophet, and belief in righteous deeds as explained in the Koran.
Sikh
A subscriber to the world’s 5th-largest organized religion Sikhism and a word meaning “Seeker of Truth.” Sikhism teaches all paths lead to one God, all people are equal, and all can experience freedom through loving and serving others. More than .5 million Sikhs live in the U.S. and 99% of those wearing turbans in America are Sikhs. Sikhs have lived in the U.S. for 150+ years, helping to build the Transcontinental Railroad, serving in every major world war, standing at the forefront of civil rights, and were among the first responders on 9/11. For more.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
(SIDS): A group of small island countries that share many of the same sustainable development challenges (e.g., poverty, climate change, justice). There are three SIDS regions with their own cooperation bodies: the Caribbean Community (the Caribbean), Pacific Islands Forum (the Pacific), and the Indian Ocean Commission (Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and South China Sea).
Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)
(SDoH): The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. These are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources at global, national, and local levels. Conditions (e.g., social, economic, physical) in these various environments and settings (e.g., school, church, workplace, neighborhood) have been referred to as “place.” In addition to the more material aspects of “place,” patterns of social engagement and sense of security and well-being are also affected by where people live. Resources that enhance quality of life can have a significant influence on population health outcomes (e.g., safe and affordable housing, availability of healthy foods, toxin-free environments). How population groups experience “place” directly impacts the specific social components of SDoH (e.g., access to educational, economic, and job opportunities; public safety; language and literacy) and public components of SDoH (e.g., natural environments, built environments). See here for more details.
Special Operations Forces
Units of armed forces that undertake covert, counterterrorist, and other specialized operations (including but not limited to Delta Force, Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, Rangers, and Marine Force Reconnaissance, among other elite units).