Immigrants

Those who move to take permanent residence in a new country.

Imperialism

“Empire building,” or the practice of a nation forcefully imposing its rule and authority over other nations through the acquisition of land and/or the imposition of economic and political domination. Find a brief overview of imperialism throughout history here.

Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

A U.S. federal law passed in 1978 in response to large numbers of Native American children being separated from their parents, families, communities, and tribes by state child welfare and private adoption agencies – due to the racist belief that Native American parents were unfit to raise children and reservations were unfit places to raise them. Research found that 15-35% of all Native children were being removed from and 85% of these children were placed outside of their families and communities – even when fit and willing relatives were available. According to the United Nations, this practice of “forcibly transferring children of (an ethnic or racial) group to another group” constitutes genocide. To combat this crisis, ICWA mandates that caseworkers make several considerations when handling child welfare cases involving Native children – read more about them here. For coverage on how the ICWA is being challenged in more recent years, listen to the This Land podcast Season 2.

Note: “Indian” here is referring to a U.S. legal term. However, using the term to describe Native American and Indigenous people is considered offensive and outdated.

Indochina/Indochina Wars

Originally referred to as French Indochina, which included the current countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The Indochina Wars refers to a series of wars in Southeast Asia from 1945-1991 between communist Indochinese forces and other ethnic minorities against mainly French, Vietnamese, U.S., Cambodian, Laotian, and Chinese forces. From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps aircraft dropped 7.6+ million tons of bombs and other ordnance, far exceeding tonnage in World War II and in the Korean War.

Internally Displaced Residents

Those seeking refuge from a crisis in their own countries.

International Adoption

The process of an adult adopting a child from another country (where they do not have citizenship). Some countries have limited the number of children that are available to be adopted internationally, and others have eliminated it altogether.

Intersex

An umbrella term for anyone born with a wide range of sex characteristics (e.g., genitals, chromosomes, hormones, reproductive organs, secondary sex characteristics) that don’t adhere to binary male/female bodies. Being intersex simply refers to a person’s status (whether someone is intersex or not). Some intersex characteristics are identifiable at birth, some at puberty or later, and some people go through life never learning they’re intersex. While some people can be born intersex and also be transgender, the two are separate and should not be conflated. Just like everyone else, intersex people can be any gender (e.g., man, woman, non-binary) and sexual orientation (e.g., straight, queer, asexual). For more.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Physical, verbal, psychological, economic, or sexual violence committed by a current or former partner. While domestic violence is committed by any member of a household toward another member of that household (e.g., father abuses son, wife abuses husband), IPV encompasses violence involving partnered people regardless of whether they live together. Most IPV portrayals feature straight women in relationships with men, but people of all gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations can experience or commit IPV. LGBTQIA+ people experience IPV at comparable rates but are less likely to report it due to stigma, lack of resources, and perceived power balance in same-gender relationships.

Ipso Gender

A term to describe an intersex person whose gender aligns with their medically-assigned binary sex (i.e., male or female); the opposite of a transgender intersex person, whose gender does not align with their medically-assigned sex.

Iranian/Persian

A person from Iran, with Iranian citizenship, and/or self-identifying as from or connected to the nation of Iran. For political, religious, and cultural reasons, some refer to themselves as Iranian and others as Persian. Iranians/Persians are not Arabs.

Islamophobia

Extreme fear of and hostility toward Islam and Muslims, often leading to hate speech and hate crimes, social and political discrimination.

Jail vs. Prison vs. Detention Center

Jails are locally operated short-term facilities that hold people awaiting trial, sentencing, or both, and incarcerated people serving shorter sentences. However, due to a broken cash bail system, some incarcerated people spend years in jails. Prisons are longer-term facilities for incarcerated people run by the federal or state governments. The term “detention center” commonly refers to facilities where detained immigrants are kept while awaiting a deportation hearing or where minors serve a sentence or await trial.

Jainism

An ancient non-theistic religion from India that has no gods and teaches salvation through reincarnation and non-injury to living creatures. The three guiding principles, the “three jewels,” are 1) right belief, 2) right knowledge, and 3) right conduct. The supreme principle of living is nonviolence (ahimsa). Jainism has no priests. Its professional religious people are monks and nuns who lead strict and ascetic laives. Most Jains live in India, and according to India’s 2001 Census there are around 4.2 million living there, although census figures may provide lower than the true number of followers as many Jains identify themselves as Hindu.

Japanese American Incarceration

In response to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor during WWII, the forced relocation and imprisonment of about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry – including 8,000 American citizens – into concentration camps by the U.S. federal government. (This action is often referred to as “internment,” a term that shouldn’t be used as it ignores the illegality and immorality of what happened.)

Jihad/Jihadi

Jihad literally means “strive and struggle for God,” which encompasses an internal struggle towards personal betterment. A jihadi is one who strives and struggles for God. Jihad is not an order to murder and doesn’t mean “terrorism.”

Karma

In Hinduism and Buddhism, the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths.

Kathoey (or katoey)

A gender identity in Thailand that encompasses people who were assigned male at birth but have a feminine gender identity or gender expression. Transgender women in Thailand mostly use other terms when referring to themselves, such as “phuying” or “sao praphet song,” which translates to “women in the second category.”

Note: When living in another country or visiting other states that don't have the same cultural genders, people with this identity may code-switch and call themselves trans women, gay men, or non-binary in order for their identity to be legible to others. Writers should always consult with cultural experts when writing about Kathoey.

Kinship Care

The care of children by approved adult relatives, members of their tribe, or close family friends. When children are removed from their homes, kinship care minimizes the trauma of separation and increases stability by maintaining connections to family and community. For more.

Latin American

A term used in the U.S. to denote someone born and living in parts of North or South America where Spanish or Portuguese is the main language (including the Caribbean). Outside the U.S., people consider themselves to be of their nationality (i.e., not “Latin American” but Cuban, Mexican, Peruvian, etc.).

Latino/Latina, Latine, or Latinx

For context, remember: Spanish is a gendered language where singular nouns are declined male/masculine (Latino) or female/feminine (Latina); plural nouns use the masculine declension (Latinos) even when women outnumber men in a group. “Latinx” (LAT-uhn-eks or luh-TEE-neks) is a gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to Latino/Latina/Latin American and is fast growing as the preferred identifier among U.S. Latin American communities.

Though many agree that inclusivity in language is a good thing, the level of facility in pronunciation of one over the other is more the topic of discussion when it comes to Latinx vs. Latine. Most media outlets, Remezcla included, have opted for Latinx up until now. The problem, many find, is that it’s difficult to pronounce Spanish words that have replaced gendered vowels with an “x.” For many, it’s easier to use the gender neutral “e” instead.