Feminist Dictionary
Words you maybe don't understand but probably want to know
Agency
Definition:
the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power
Interpretation:
Agency refers to the ability to act or perform an action. In contemporary theory, it hinges on the question of whether individuals can freely and autonomously initiate action, or whether the things they do are in some sense determined by the ways in which their identity has been constructed.
Binary
Definition:
a division into two groups or classes that are considered diametrically opposite
Interpretation:
Two terms which are opposites. For example, rational/irrational, white/black, man/woman. The first term in a binary is often seen as superior to the second. These binaries in turn produce hierarchies of meaning which are then socially institutionalized.
Equality
Definition:
the quality or state of being equal (where equal is defined as like for each member of a group, class, or society)
Interpretation:
Equality is based on the idea that no individual should be less equal in opportunity or in human rights than any other.
Equity
Definition:
justice according to natural law or right
Interpretation:
Equity is often viewed as the same as equality, but is not. Both revolve around fairness, but while equality is about treating all people the same, equity is about giving people what they need to be successful. Equality assumes that all people start from the same place and needs the same help, and this isn't true. Some people might need more help than others, and equity is about making sure that those people get that help and get on an even playing field so equality works.
Feminism
Definition:
the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes
Interpretation:
Feminism incorporates both a doctrine of equal rights for women and an ideology of social transformation aiming to create a world for women beyond simple social equality. This may look different for different women, e.g. a black woman and a white woman may not have the same definition of what feminism is, leading to not one but several different "feminisms" existing.
Gender
Definition:
the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex
Interpretation:
Contemporary feminist theory is careful to distinguish between sex and gender. Gender is often seen as a social construct - as a performance that one acts out over life, consciously or not. It is separate from a person's sex, whether or not a person's correlating gender and sex match society's chosen norms, e.g. someone who's sex is assigned as female at birth, and the person's chosen gender identity is female/woman/etc. as well.
Hegemony
Definition:
the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group
Interpretation:
Fundamentally, hegemony is the power of the ruling class to convince other classes that their interests are the interests of all. Domination is thus exerted not by force, nor even necessarily by active persuasion, but by a more subtle and inclusive power over the economy, and over state apparatuses such as education and the media, by which the ruling class's interest is presented as the common interest and thus comes to be taken for granted.
Heteronormativity
Definition:
the attitude that heterosexuality is the only normal and natural expression of sexuality
Interpretation:
Heteronormativity plays into several different aspects of our lives, and revolves around people believing that there isn't and shouldn't be anything outside the binary of male and female, regarding sex and gender, and that these two categories should have certain characteristics, such as males being masculine, females being nurturing, and males only being attracted to females and vice versa. Homophobia often stems from heteronormative beliefs.
Intersectionality
Definition:
the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups
Interpretation:
Important in the sense that people can't be narrowed down to one factor of their identity, as there are several different pieces that are part of the whole. For example, many black women feel like they are never "just a woman" or "just black", but "a black woman". This is because both identities are crucial to how they are treated by society.
The law does a poor job of taking intersectionality into consideration, often ignoring overlapping discrimination that comes with different identities. Again with black women as an example, the law either views them as only a woman, and bases judgement off of the discrimination white women may or may not recieve, or views them as a black person, and bases judgement off of the discrimination a black man may or may not recieve, but can't comprehend the unique dual discrimination of both of these identities.
Misogyny
Definition:
a hatred of women
Interpretation:
Misogyny is deeply engrained in Western society. It's evident in our government, religions, and knowledge base, it revolves around exclusion, discrimination, and hostility, and it leaves women disenfranchised.
Oppression
Definition:
unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power
Interpretation:
Women's oppression is the experience of sexism as a system of domination.
Patriarchy
Definition:
control by men of a disproportionately large share of power
Interpretation:
A system of male authority which oppresses women through its social, political and economic institutions. In any of the historical forms that patriarchal society takes, a sex-gender system and a system of economic discrimination operate simultaneously. Patriarchy has power from men's greater access to, and mediation of, the resources and rewards of authority structures inside and outside the home.
Phallocentric
Definition:
centered on or emphasizing the masculine viewpoint
Interpretation:
The way society regards the phallus or penis as a symbol of power, and believes that attributes of masculinity are the norm for cultural definitions. The phallocentric fallacy in disciplines is the assumption that "person" stands for male and therefore that women's experience has made no contribution to disciplinary methods or content.
Sexism
Definition:
prejudice or discrimination based on sex
Interpretation:
In conventional sociology "sex role" is a social role allocated to men and to women on a basis of biological sex. Feminist theory argues that gender associated behavior is linked arbitrarily by society to each biological sex. Women are given expressive traits and men instrumental traits. Sex roles are a form of oppression because they keep women from social activity.