Neurodiversity

Variations in the brain regarding sociability, learning, attention, mood, and other mental functions in a non-pathological sense. Developmental and psychiatric disabilities often fall under this umbrella.

Niqab

A face veil worn by some Muslim women that leaves the eyes uncovered.

Non-Binary Lesbian

A non-binary person who is predominantly attracted to women and femme non-binary people. For more.

Non-Binary

Both an umbrella term and a specific, individual identity for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression doesn’t fit within the man/woman gender binary. Most but not all non-binary people use gender neutral pronouns. Also referred to as “enby” (a phonetic pronunciation of “n-b,” short for “non-binary”). For a variety of perspectives on what it means to be non-binary, see here.

Nubians

Indigenous Black tribe in Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt.

Oceania

A region made up of thousands of islands across the Central and South Pacific Ocean. While the exact geography isn’t agreed upon, it usually includes the subregions of Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia (made up of Australia, and sometimes New Zealand and the islands of New Guinea). While Australia is part of Oceania, it’s not generally considered a Pacific Island nation (though this is debated).

Omnisexual (omni)

A person who experiences sexual, romantic, and/or emotional attraction toward people of any gender in which gender plays a part in the attraction. Omnisexual is distinguished from pansexual, which describes attraction to all genders regardless of a partner’s gender. For more.

Open Adoption

The modern standard for adoption in which adoptive parents hold all rights but exchange some identifying information (e.g., names, medical history) with families of origin and have the option of contact (e.g., visitation, phone calls).

Othering

A pattern of exclusion and marginalization based on having identities that are different from the perceived “norms” of a community, social group, nation, etc. It relies on an “us vs. them” mentality.

Pacific Islands Forum

An intergovernmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories in the Pacific Islands. Founded in 1971 as the “South Pacific Forum,” it eventually expanded to include all of Oceania. For more, see “Small Island Developing States” below.

Page Act of 1875

The precursor the Chinese Exclusion Act, a U.S. law that effectively blocked immigration of Chinese women to America because they were perceived as a dangerous, sexual threat due to their work as sex workers in the mid-19th century. For more.

Pansexual (pan)

A person of any gender who has the capacity to form enduring sexual, romantic, and/or emotional attractions to those of any gender or regardless of gender. For more.

Pansexual vs. Bisexual

Some people are comfortable identifying as both bi and pan and may use them interchangeably, while other people only identify with one. (Neither term excludes attraction to trans people – both terms are trans-inclusive.)

Parental Rights

The federally recognized right for parents to direct the care, custody, and control of their children. The Supreme Court determined that the government shall not interfere with this right unless the parent is proven “unfit.”

Parole

The release of an incarcerated person temporarily (for a special purpose) or permanently before the completion of a sentence, on the promise of good behavior. Many parole agreements include stringent conditions (i.e. strict surveillance by a parole officer, maintaining employment and residence, and not leaving a geographic area without permission).

Passing

The ability for a person in an oppressed group to move through the world as a more privileged identity than the one they are. In BIPOC communities, passing refers to a person, often mixed-race, with features that adhere to Eurocentric beauty standards (e.g., light skin, straight hair) who may be mistaken for being white. For trans people, this means being perceived as cisgender by others.

Note: trans women perceived as women are not "passing as women" – they are women. The same is true for trans men – they are men. Passing is not a goal for all trans people but can aid in a trans person’s safety. Passing is also sometimes used to describe gay, lesbian, bi+, or ace people who are perceived as heterosexual until they disclose their sexual orientation.

Patriarchy

A form of mental, social, economic, and political organization of society where men, individually and collectively, oppress people of other genders. Unlike sexism, the term “patriarchy” names the social power dynamic involved. This dynamic plays out individually (e.g., street harassment, talking over women, policing children’s gender expression), institutionally (e.g., segregated bathrooms, the wage gap, caretaking work relegated to women), and culturally (e.g., women depicted as sex objects in media, myth of the gender binary). See more on the levels of patriarchy.

Pension

An employer-sponsored retirement plan that provides income in retirement or upon the termination of a worker's employment. Pensions are offered in both the public and private sector, though are becoming less common in the private sector. Employees receive a set income in retirement related to how long they worked at a company. Employers, not employees, fund the income. Since the 1980s, they’ve been gradually phased out and replaced with 401(k) plans.

Perioriented

A person whose sexual orientation and romantic orientation are toward the same gender or have "matching" prefixes (e.g., a person who is both bisexual and biromantic, a person who is both gay and homoromantic).

Permanency

As it relates to child welfare, permanency describes when a child is discharged from foster care (i.e., reunified with their family of origin, legally adopted, or placed in the care of a legal guardian) in a permanent and stable living situation (e.g., housing, safety, nutrition, healthcare). For more.