Advocacy & Participatory- approaches research with the understanding that people who are members of oppressed groups are often so at odds with the “norm” that their worldviews are not included in the nature of the world. This approach encourages participants to become active agents of change in the research process (Creswell, 2007).

Ally– is typically a member of advantaged social groups who uses social power to take a stand against social injustice directed at targeted groups. An ally works to be an agent of social change rather than an agent of oppression (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007).

Border identity– social identities that do not fit into a binary model of oppressed/targeted or oppressor/advantaged and may experience both privilege and oppression

• People who are bicultural by virtue of being born or raised in one country/culture and moving to a new country/cultural milieu
• Adopted children of one race who are raised by persons of a different race
• Social identities that could at one time have characterized as targeted identities that have migrated, over time, away from oppression (ie. Roman Catholics) (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007).

Cisexism- the belief and that anyone who is transgender or transsexual is inferior to those who are cisgender (LGBTQ Center, University of Rhode Island, 2013).

Critical Theory– concerns itself with encouraging people to transcend the limitations of race, class, and gender constraints in society. Critical theory builds strongly on concepts related to race and ethnicity and the oppression of people of color. The purpose of critical theory is to critique societal issues and offer new ways of thinking and performing (Creswell, 2007 & Russell, 2011).

Cultural Imperialism- the process by which the dominant symbols, acts, or meanings of a society reinforce the perspective of a dominant group while making invisible, stereotyped, or marked as “other” the perspectives of subordinate or targeted groups. Includes the presumed universality of the dominant group’s experience, culture, and religion (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007).

Ethnicity–  a multi-faceted quality that refers to the group to which people belong, and/or are perceived to belong, as a result of certain shared characteristics, including geographical and ancestral origins, but particularly cultural traditions and languages (Bhopal, 2004).

Ethnocentrism– the preference for and positive affect toward one’s ethnic or racial group relative to all others. The assumption that US culture is preferred (Yinger, 1985).

Exploitation- the process by which the results of the labor of one social group is transferred for the benefit of another (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007).

Feminist theory-posits that the gender binary in society and the historical patriarchy of the world influences how we all view the world (Russell, 2011).

Genderism- the collective advantages that are accepted, most often unknowingly, by those who are not positioned in opposition to the dominant ideology of the gender binary (Adams, Blumenfeld, Castañeda, Hackman, Peters, & Zúñiga, 2013).

Heterosexism- the overarching system of advantages bestowed on heterosexuals based on the institutionalization of heterosexual norms or standards and founded on the ideology that all people are or should be heterosexual (Adams, Blumenfeld, Castañeda, Hackman, Peters, & Zúñiga, 2013).

Identity– a social category, defined by membership rules and (alleged) characteristic attributes or expected behaviors, and/or socially distinguishing features that a person takes a special pride in or views as unchangeable but socially consequential (Fearon, 1999).

Intersectionality– the interaction between people, their identities, and social systems that surround them (Russell, 2011).

Marginalization- the process by which people whom the labor system cannot or will not use, are expelled from or denied useful or productive participation in economic and social life, often resulting in material deprivation and dependency (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007).

Nativism- supporting the interests of “native-born” people over “foreign-born” people (Adams, Blumenfeld, Castañeda, Hackman, Peters, & Zúñiga, 2013).

Oppression– an interlocking system that involves domination and control of the social ideology, as well as of the social institutions and resources of the society (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007).

Postmodern perspectives-assert that knowledge should only be situated within our current worldview and multiple perspectives of identity. Researchers should always be attuned to locations, oppression, privilege, and the systems at play in society that affect these issues (Creswell, 2007 & Russell, 2011).

Powerlessness- the inability to participate in making decisions that affect the conditions of one’s lives and actions; lacking in authority, status, & sense of self; limited opportunities to develop & exercise one’s capacities (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007).

Privilege: when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to (Johnson, 2010).

Queer theory- focuses on individual, fluid identity and how we make meaning within roles and common norms surrounding gender and sexual orientation (Creswell, 2007).

Race– a social construction- created to interpret human differences. Race has no biological significance but is a powerful idea that affects our lives in psychologically and materially consequential ways (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007).

Racism– a system of advantages based on race and supported by institutional structures, policies, and practices that create and sustain benefits for the dominant racial group, and structure discrimination, oppression, and disadvantage for people from targeted racial groups. The assumption that “whiteness” is preferred (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007).

Social Constructivism- we each, individually, construct our own meaning and reality, dependent upon many factors, including history, identity, and society (Creswell, 2007).

Social Group Membership– a group of people who share a range of physical, cultural, or social characteristics within one or more of the identity categories (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007).

Symbolic Interactionism- the study of subjective meaning and human interaction, thereby determining the participants’ interpretations that carry great meaning (Willis, 2007).

Violence- random, unprovoked attacks again members of social groups and their property, with the primary motivation to damage, humiliate or terrorize, this violence may be tolerated or even enabled by accepting institutional & social practices (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007).