#WriteInclusion Factsheets
Expanded glossary of terms
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Person-First Language vs. Identity-First language
“Person with a disability” is the term taught in academic settings and often used by non-disabled caregivers, educators, and/or medical professionals. Identity-First language, e.g., “Disabled Person” is the term often preferred by disabled people, especially those involved in or with access to disabled culture. The Autistic community overall strongly supports this language, contrary to what has been the practice of “Person-First language.”
“Person with a disability” is the term taught in academic settings and often used by non-disabled caregivers, educators, and/or medical professionals. Identity-First language, e.g., “Disabled Person” is the term often preferred by disabled people, especially those involved in or with access to disabled culture. The Autistic community overall strongly supports this language, contrary to what has been the practice of “Person-First language.”
Police Militarization
The use of military equipment (e.g., armored tanks, grenade launchers, and assault rifles) and tactics by police officers, often doing “normal” police work.
The use of military equipment (e.g., armored tanks, grenade launchers, and assault rifles) and tactics by police officers, often doing “normal” police work.
Polyamorous
A term used to describe someone who has the desire for multiple intimate relationships at the same time with the informed consent of all partners involved (sometimes referred to as consensual and/or ethical non-monogamy). Polyamory should not be conflated with any type of open relationship that may include more casual sex partners. For more.
A term used to describe someone who has the desire for multiple intimate relationships at the same time with the informed consent of all partners involved (sometimes referred to as consensual and/or ethical non-monogamy). Polyamory should not be conflated with any type of open relationship that may include more casual sex partners. For more.
Polynesia
A subregion of Oceania covering the southern and central Pacific Ocean made up of over 1,000 islands, archipelagos, and atolls, including Hawai’i, New Zealand, Easter Island, Samoan Islands, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Niue, Tokelau and Tuvalu, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna, Rotuma Island, and Pitcairn Islands.
A subregion of Oceania covering the southern and central Pacific Ocean made up of over 1,000 islands, archipelagos, and atolls, including Hawai’i, New Zealand, Easter Island, Samoan Islands, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Niue, Tokelau and Tuvalu, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna, Rotuma Island, and Pitcairn Islands.
Prison Abolition
A movement to reduce or eliminate the prison system and replace it with systems of rehabilitation and community safety.
A movement to reduce or eliminate the prison system and replace it with systems of rehabilitation and community safety.
Prison-Industrial Complex
The rapid expansion of U.S. prisons and incarcerated people driven by the political influence of private prison companies and businesses that supply goods and services to federal prison agencies for profit.
The rapid expansion of U.S. prisons and incarcerated people driven by the political influence of private prison companies and businesses that supply goods and services to federal prison agencies for profit.
Prison
Institutional facilities under the jurisdiction of the state or federal government where convicted persons serve longer sentences. These facilities are sometimes privately operated, usually by a corporation whose bottom line depends on locking up more and more people. While private prisons are supposed to save governments money, the evidence of this is mixed at best. Private prisons have also been linked to numerous cases of violence and atrocious conditions.
Institutional facilities under the jurisdiction of the state or federal government where convicted persons serve longer sentences. These facilities are sometimes privately operated, usually by a corporation whose bottom line depends on locking up more and more people. While private prisons are supposed to save governments money, the evidence of this is mixed at best. Private prisons have also been linked to numerous cases of violence and atrocious conditions.
Private Adoption
Also called independent adoption. A form of adoption when the birth parent(s) and the adoptive parent(s) make an arrangement for adoption through an intermediary (e.g., lawyer, physician, facilitator) rather than a licensed adoption agency. Private adoptions aren’t centrally tracked by any agency in the U.S. and aren’t legal in every state. Some advocates criticize how private adoptions can take advantage of birth parents (e.g., poor transparency, fewer legal protections, lack of counseling) and the way they commodify babies (e.g., white adoptive parents pay more for white babies than BIPOC babies). Private adoptions can be open adoptions (i.e., allow contact between adopted children and their families of origin), but this is not always the case. For more.
Pronouns
Words used to refer to a person without using their name (e.g. she/her, he/him, they/them, ze/zir). Because pronouns imply the gender of the person being referred to, they are a form of gender expression. A person’s pronouns should never be assumed based on appearance; when a person is misgendered, it can make them feel disrespected, invalidated, and dysphoric.
Words used to refer to a person without using their name (e.g. she/her, he/him, they/them, ze/zir). Because pronouns imply the gender of the person being referred to, they are a form of gender expression. A person’s pronouns should never be assumed based on appearance; when a person is misgendered, it can make them feel disrespected, invalidated, and dysphoric.
Protected Veteran
A protected veteran has earned status that prohibits discrimination against them and provides Affirmative Action-type requirements for certain employers. Protected veterans include: disabled veterans; veterans who served on active duty during a war, campaign, or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized; veterans with an Armed Forces Service Medal “pursuant to Executive Order 12985 (61 FR 1209)”; and recently separated veterans. Protected veteran status begins on the date of discharge or release from active duty and continues for three years afterwards. See here.
A protected veteran has earned status that prohibits discrimination against them and provides Affirmative Action-type requirements for certain employers. Protected veterans include: disabled veterans; veterans who served on active duty during a war, campaign, or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized; veterans with an Armed Forces Service Medal “pursuant to Executive Order 12985 (61 FR 1209)”; and recently separated veterans. Protected veteran status begins on the date of discharge or release from active duty and continues for three years afterwards. See here.
Puberty Blockers
Medications that temporarily postpone puberty by halting the production of sex hormones (e.g., estrogen, testosterone). In addition to various other medical uses, puberty blockers are frequently used by transgender and gender expansive children to delay the development of secondary sex characteristics (e.g. breast growth, facial hair, body hair, deepening voice) that do not align with their gender identity. Because puberty is irreversible, this delay allows trans and gender expansive youth more time to explore their identity, live in the experienced gender, and decide if they will begin hormone replacement therapy. All legitimate research proves that puberty blockers are safe, effective, and lead to optimal outcomes for trans people (e.g., improved mental health, decreased gender dysphoria, reduced need for expensive gender-affirming operations as adults). Puberty blockers have been used for several decades by youth experiencing precocious (early) puberty, and are the standard of care in treating transgender youth according to leading international health organizations. See more.
Medications that temporarily postpone puberty by halting the production of sex hormones (e.g., estrogen, testosterone). In addition to various other medical uses, puberty blockers are frequently used by transgender and gender expansive children to delay the development of secondary sex characteristics (e.g. breast growth, facial hair, body hair, deepening voice) that do not align with their gender identity. Because puberty is irreversible, this delay allows trans and gender expansive youth more time to explore their identity, live in the experienced gender, and decide if they will begin hormone replacement therapy.
All legitimate research proves that puberty blockers are safe, effective, and lead to optimal outcomes for trans people (e.g., improved mental health, decreased gender dysphoria, reduced need for expensive gender-affirming operations as adults). Puberty blockers have been used for several decades by youth experiencing precocious (early) puberty, and are the standard of care in treating transgender youth according to leading international health organizations. See more.
Queer Coding
The subtextual coding of a character as queer by using recognizable LGBTQIA+ traits, stereotypes, and tropes (e.g., exaggerated femininity or masculinity, vanity, hypersexuality, intimate same-gender friendships and/or rivalries) without explicitly confirming it in the story. Queer coding stems from censorship regulations like the Hays Code, which banned most onscreen portrayals of queer characters (unless they were evil and/or punished) for several decades. Despite these negative representations and the harm they have caused, queer coding itself isn’t inherently negative; it’s often used by queer creators to express their identity and experience when they are restricted by industry censorship, and queer coded characters have historically been the only form of representation for many LGBTQIA+ people. Note: Queer coding is never an acceptable replacement for explicit, authentic representation, and is typically only used in modern storytelling due to anti-LGBTQIA+ censorship. For more, see here and here.
The subtextual coding of a character as queer by using recognizable LGBTQIA+ traits, stereotypes, and tropes (e.g., exaggerated femininity or masculinity, vanity, hypersexuality, intimate same-gender friendships and/or rivalries) without explicitly confirming it in the story. Queer coding stems from censorship regulations like the Hays Code, which banned most onscreen portrayals of queer characters (unless they were evil and/or punished) for several decades. Despite these negative representations and the harm they have caused, queer coding itself isn’t inherently negative; it’s often used by queer creators to express their identity and experience when they are restricted by industry censorship, and queer coded characters have historically been the only form of representation for many LGBTQIA+ people. Note: Queer coding is never an acceptable replacement for explicit, authentic representation, and is typically only used in modern storytelling due to anti-LGBTQIA+ censorship. For more, see here and here.
Queer
A word with many meanings. In the context of bi+ identity, queer is used by some people as a way to explain that they aren’t straight but don’t feel like their sexual orientation falls into categories like gay, lesbian, bi, or pan.
A word with many meanings. In the context of bi+ identity, queer is used by some people as a way to explain that they aren’t straight but don’t feel like their sexual orientation falls into categories like gay, lesbian, bi, or pan.
Queerbaiting
A marketing technique in which creators allude to the presence of queer characters or relationships in their content in order to attract LGBTQIA+ audiences but fail to include actual representation so as to not lose discriminatory straight and cisgender audiences.
A marketing technique in which creators allude to the presence of queer characters or relationships in their content in order to attract LGBTQIA+ audiences but fail to include actual representation so as to not lose discriminatory straight and cisgender audiences.
Queerplatonic
An umbrella term for a partnership/relationship that defies the divide between romantic and “just” friends. It may involve a greater degree of intimacy or commitment than platonic friendship but doesn’t often include sexual or romantic elements. For more.
An umbrella term for a partnership/relationship that defies the divide between romantic and “just” friends. It may involve a greater degree of intimacy or commitment than platonic friendship but doesn’t often include sexual or romantic elements. For more.
Race-Related Stressors on Aging
A race-related stressor is something that causes psychological or emotional distress that an individual or group of people experience as a result of being a target of a racial discriminatory action (e.g., microaggressions, hate crimes, institutionalized racism). These stressors impact how individuals or racial and ethnic populations age (e.g., African Americans have higher rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s due to chronic stress; Arab Americans report high levels of depression and anxiety due to bias-motivated violence; Asian Americans’ health conditions often go untreated due to a lack of culturally and linguistically accessible care; Latinx Americans have high rates of negative mental health outcomes due to bigotry and prejudice; Native Americans and Alaskan Natives have a lower life expectancy because of disproportionate poverty, discrimination in the delivery of health services, and cultural differences). Overall, older people among ethnic minorities report poorer health outcomes than white older people no matter their social and economic conditions. More on African Americans here and here, and more on Arab Americans here.
A race-related stressor is something that causes psychological or emotional distress that an individual or group of people experience as a result of being a target of a racial discriminatory action (e.g., microaggressions, hate crimes, institutionalized racism). These stressors impact how individuals or racial and ethnic populations age (e.g., African Americans have higher rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s due to chronic stress; Arab Americans report high levels of depression and anxiety due to bias-motivated violence; Asian Americans’ health conditions often go untreated due to a lack of culturally and linguistically accessible care; Latinx Americans have high rates of negative mental health outcomes due to bigotry and prejudice; Native Americans and Alaskan Natives have a lower life expectancy because of disproportionate poverty, discrimination in the delivery of health services, and cultural differences).
Overall, older people among ethnic minorities report poorer health outcomes than white older people no matter their social and economic conditions. More on African Americans here and here, and more on Arab Americans here.
Racial Profiling
A longstanding and deeply troubling national problem, per the ACLU. It occurs every day, in cities and towns across the U.S., when law enforcement and private security target people of color for humiliating and often frightening detentions, interrogations, and searches without evidence of criminal activity and based on perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion. Racial profiling is patently illegal, violating the U.S. Constitution’s core promises of equal protection under the law to all and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. It’s not just patently illegal but also ineffective: alienating communities from law enforcement, hindering community policing efforts, and causing law enforcement to lose credibility and trust among people they’re sworn to protect and serve.
A longstanding and deeply troubling national problem, per the ACLU. It occurs every day, in cities and towns across the U.S., when law enforcement and private security target people of color for humiliating and often frightening detentions, interrogations, and searches without evidence of criminal activity and based on perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion. Racial profiling is patently illegal, violating the U.S. Constitution’s core promises of equal protection under the law to all and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. It’s not just patently illegal but also ineffective: alienating communities from law enforcement, hindering community policing efforts, and causing law enforcement to lose credibility and trust among people they’re sworn to protect and serve.
Recidivism
A person’s relapse into criminal behavior that results in re-arrest, reconviction, and return to prison after their release.
A person’s relapse into criminal behavior that results in re-arrest, reconviction, and return to prison after their release.
Relative Adoption
A form of adoption for anyone biologically related (e.g., grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, adult sibling) to a child open for adoption. The relative becomes the legal parent and accepts all legal responsibilities and obligations related to raising that child to adulthood.