Ableism: prejudice or discrimination against people with disabilities. It can be difficult to detect ablesim as
it may express itself in the form of expectations, assumptions, values actions and or verbally. There is an
implicit assumption that everyone is able bodied and generally have the same abilities. Some examples
include: bathrooms which are not wheelchair accessible, small type/print, activities that require a lot of
walking.
Accessibility: The state of being open to meaningful participation by all people, in particular people whose
participation (in this activity or in society in general) is usually limited by oppression/barriers of some kind.
Accessibility means being free of barriers [which can be placed by the group inadvertently or advertently
(such as a lack of childcare or members only policy) and/or be placed by society (eg. Housing must be paid
for and not all have equal access to it etc.) and free of limits to participation once present.
Sometimes the term ‘accessibility’ is used with specific reference to the needs of people with disabilities. A
space cannot me deemed ‘accessible’ in this sense if the atmosphere is ableist, even if measures are in place
(eg. Wheelchair-accessible entrance/facilities that are safe and dignified, braille/large-print/audio-tape
resources, TTY and sign language interpretation).
Ally: a member of a privileged group who works to dismantle any form of oppression from which she or he
believes the benefit (e.g. white person who does anti-racist organizing). Allied behaviour means taking
personal responsibility for the changes we know are needed in society, but that we often ignore or leave for
others to deal with.
Anti-semitism: Prejudice or discrimination based on sterotypes and assumptions about Jewish People. This
can include policies, views, or actions that harm or discriminate against Jewish people individually or on an
institutional level.
Biphobia: Irrational fear, aversion and hatred of individuals who love and secually desire both men and
women. Similar to homophobia but also is the inherent discounting of the experiences of bisexual people
(eg. A bisexual woman just needs heterosexual sex and she’ll be straight or a bisexual man is really just a
gay man in denial).
Classism: Any form of prejudice or oppression against people as a result of their actual or perceived social
class (especially in the form of lower class socioeconomic status) within a class based society.
Colonialism: practice of acquiring political, social, economic and cultural control over another country or
area, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it. Canada was colonized and today, unless you identify as
Indigenous, all ‘ Canadians,’ are settlers. Colonialism continues today through the continued exploitative
practices which continue to oppress and attempt to assimilate the Indigenous peoples of Canada through the
continued control of land, and economic, social and cultural resources, institutional violence, racism etc.
Cisgender (cis): an individual who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth (see sex and
gender).
Discrimination: To act on prejudice; to treat people unfairly based on their sex, race, ethnicity, class,
religion, marital or family status, sexual orientation, age or disability, either consciously or deliberately.
There are systems of advantage embedded within the practices and institutions of society that encourage
discrimination.
Feminism: A way of seeing the world through a critical gendered lens. This lens can be used to recognize
and work against gender inequalities within society. There are many kinds of feminism including by not
limited to: liberal feminism, marxist feminism, lesbian feminism, ecofeminism, radical feminism etc.).
Gender: The cultural, social or psychological construction of femininity and masculinity. Individuals can
identify with one gender, many genders or no genders. Individuals’ gender identity might not correspond to
one’s assigned sex, namely transgender, transsexual, intersexed and gender queer individuals.
Gender Roles: the prescription of traditional social roles upheld by heternormative ideals. For example:
women can be prescribed the role of fulfilling domestic housework like cleaning and cooking whereas men
can be prescribed roles like the ‘breadwinner’.
Harassment: is normally considered to be a course of unwanted remarks, behaviours or communications in
any form based on prphibited ground of discrimination where the person responsible for the remarks,
behaviours or communications knows or ought reasonably to know these are unwelcome.
Example: “Jokes,” comments, or email messages which demean and belittle an individual(s) and which are
based on race, ethnic origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc. may constitute
harassment.
Heterosexism: The assumption that heterosexuality is the only valid sexuality. It can be difficult to detect
heterosexism as it may express itself in the form of expectations, assumptions, values, actions and/or
verbally. Some examples are; expectations that children will grow and marry someone of the opposite sex;
that relationships portrayed in the media are only positive if they are heterosexual, etc.
Heteronormative: The dominance of heterosexual culture, assumptions, ideas etc in society.
Homophobia: Irrational fear, aversion and hatred of those who love and sexually desire those of the same
sex. Homophobia ranges from dislike and avoidance of homosexuals, to discriminations against them on an
institutional level, to acts of violence.
Islamophobia: Unfounded hostility towards Islam, and therefore fear or dislike of Muslims. Broadly this
presents Islam as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change and characterizes Muslims as
barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist. Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices
towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society.
Misogyny: A fear and/or hatred of women. This is frequently linked to sexism and is often the root of
violence against women.
Patriarchy: refers to the legacy of exercising gendered power. Patriarchy downgrades the feminine and
holds the masculine as superior. Patriarchy is the oppression of the feminine and goes beyond the
socialization of the dominant male and subordinate female and includes; economic structures, political and
social systems etc.
Power: In this sense, power is the exercise of privileges with the intention and/or effect of keeping those
privileges and maintaining the overall pattern of distribution of those privileges.
Privilege: Systemic advantages based on certain characteristics that are celebrated by society and preserved
through institutions. In North America, these can include being white, having money, being heterosexual,
not having a disability etc. Frequently people are unaware that these characteristics should be understood as
privileges as they are so effectively normalized.
Queer: An umbrella term used to describe people who are lesbian/gay/bisexualtransgender/gender variant
or have otherwise alternative sexuality or gender identity. Queer is also a self identifying term used by
individuals who do not always want to use other terms as identifiers. It was once used as a discriminatory
term and has been reclaimed in moving away from its homophobic origins towards an empowering selfidentifier.
Racism: A system of advantage based on race; acting on the belief that people of different races have
different qualities and abilities, and that some races are inherently superior or inferior. Racism manifests in
many ways, from dislike and avoidance of people based on their race to discrimination against them on an
institutional level to acts of race-based violence.
Racialized: Racialized people are people of colour, aboriginal people, and ethnic, linguistic and cultural
minorities. These individuals will often experience racism because of their race, skin colour, ethnic
background, accent or culture.
Sex: traditionally related to the ‘assignment,’ of ‘male’ or ‘female’ at birth based on the medically
classified biological facts. In a heteronormative tradition; sex and gender exist in a binary.
Sexual Harassment: Any form of unwanted sexual attention including but not limited to:
-gender related comments about an individuals physical characteristics or mannerisms
-unwelcome physical contact
-suggestive or offensive remarks or innuendoes about members of a specific gender
-propositions of physical intimacy
-gender related verbal abuse, threats, taunting
-leering or inappropriate staring
-bragging about sexual prowness
-offensive jokes or comments of a sexual nature about an employee or client
-rough and vulgar humour or language related to gender
-displays of sexually offensive pictures, graffiti or other materials, (including through electronic means)
-demands for dates/sexual favours
Transgender: an umbrella term to describe individuals who were assigned one sex at birth but who
identify as a different gender. There are diverse identities under the transgender umbrella, including but not
limited to transsexual, genderqueer, bigendered and drag kings and queens.
Transphobia: irrational fear, aversion and hatred of individuals whose gender expression or identity does
not match the norms of their assigned sex. Trasphobia ranges from dislike and avoidance of people who are
perceived to be transgressing gender norms, to discrimination against them on an institutional level to acts
of transphobic violence. Effeminate gay men, butch women, gender variant people, transgender and
transsexual people are all frequently targets of transphobia.
Xenophobia: fear, dislike, hatred or aversion to people and communities who are perceived as being
‘foreign’.