Social Identity and Diversity Terms with Examples
Social Identity & Diversity Terms with Examples
Asexuality — Lack of sexual attraction to others. Example: Someone who enjoys close friendships but does not feel sexual desire toward anyone.
Banal Nationalism — Everyday reminders of nationhood that unconsciously reinforce national identity. Example: Flags on government buildings; “domestic vs. international” news categories.
Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) — Tool measuring identification with masculine and feminine traits. Example: A person scoring high in both assertiveness (masculine) and empathy (feminine) is described as “androgynous.”
Bisexuality — Attraction to more than one gender. Example: Someone who dates both men and women.
Cisgender — Gender identity matches assigned sex at birth. Example: A person born female who identifies as a woman.
Colour Blindness — Claim to ignore race that often denies systemic racism. Example: Saying “I don’t see colour” while ignoring racial disparities in hiring.
Cultural Genocide — Destroying the identity or practices of a group without killing its members. Example: Canada’s residential schools suppressing Indigenous languages and traditions.
Descriptive Stereotypes — Beliefs about what people are like. Example: “East Asians are good at math.”
Direct Institutional Racism — Explicit policies that disadvantage racialized groups. Example: A company refusing foreign credentials in hiring.
Discrimination — Unequal treatment based on group membership. Example: A landlord rejecting tenants because of their race.
Employment Equity Act — Canadian law aimed at correcting employment disadvantages for marginalized groups. Example: Census categories shaped to include visible minorities.
Ethnicity — Shared cultural traits such as language, religion, and ancestry. Example: Identifying as Punjabi Canadian due to language and traditions.
Explicit Prejudice — Conscious, overt negative beliefs. Example: Saying “X group is less intelligent.”
Female / Male — Traditional sex categories often based on XX/XY chromosomes. Example: Excludes intersex individuals who do not fit binary categories.
Gender — Social and cultural categorization based on identity, roles, and expectations. Example: Being “man” or “woman” is shaped by culture, not biology alone.
Gender Identity — Internal sense of being male, female, both, neither, or another identity. Example: A non-binary person identifying outside the male/female binary.
Gender Roles — Cultural expectations for behavior based on gender. Example: Women expected to be nurturing; men expected to be assertive.
Gender Socialization — Learning gender roles through family, peers, and media. Example: Girls given dolls, boys given trucks.
Gender Stereotyping — Overgeneralized beliefs about genders. Example: “Women are emotional, men are rational.”
Gender Stratification — Unequal distribution of power and resources by gender. Example: Men dominating leadership positions despite equal qualifications.
Hegemonic Racialization — Racial categorization treated as the default, even without visual cues. Example: Blind individuals using voice or names to assign race.
Heteronormative — Assumption that heterosexuality is the default. Example: School dances only promoting “boy-girl” couples.
Heterosexuality — Attraction to another gender. Example: A woman attracted to men.
Homophobia — Fear or hatred of homosexual people. Example: Refusing to hire someone because they are gay.
Homosexuality — Attraction to the same gender. Example: A man attracted to men.
Homosocial — Same-gender social relationships that often reinforce norms. Example: Male-only sports teams bonding through competition.
Implicit Prejudice — Unconscious biases shaped by culture. Example: Avoiding sitting next to racialized people without realizing bias.
Indirect Institutional Racism — Neutral policies that harm racialized groups disproportionately. Example: Standardized tests favoring cultural knowledge common among white students.
Intersex — Biological traits outside typical male/female categories. Example: Someone born with both ovarian and testicular tissue.
Microaggressions — Subtle, everyday acts of discrimination. Example: Asking “Where are you really from?” to Canadian-born minorities.
Multiculturalism — Embracing cultural diversity in society. Example: Canada’s policy promoting diversity in schools and workplaces.
Nation — Cultural entity formed by shared identity, history, and territory. Example: Japan as an ethnic nation; Canada as a civic nation.
National Narratives — Stories nations tell about identity, values, and history. Example: Textbooks emphasizing European settlers while marginalizing Indigenous perspectives.
Nationalism — Belief in the primacy and independence of one’s nation. Example: Quebec nationalism advocating independence.
Nation-State — A state that identifies with a single nation. Example: France presenting itself as a nation-state.
Nativism — Distrust or dislike of minorities perceived as foreign. Example: Anti-immigrant movements opposing refugees.
Non-binary / Queer / Genderqueer — Identities outside the male/female binary. Example: Someone identifying as neither man nor woman.
One-Drop Rule — U.S. principle: any Black ancestry considered enough to be categorized as Black, not white. Example: Historically applied to deny whiteness to mixed-race individuals.
Prejudice — Negative attitudes toward people based on traits. Example: Disliking someone solely because of their ethnicity.
Prescriptive Stereotypes — Beliefs about what people should be like. Example: “Women should be nurturing.”
Privilege Blindness — Inability to recognize one’s own advantages. Example: Assuming everyone has equal access to housing opportunities.
Race — Socially constructed grouping based on perceived biological traits. Example: Italians were once not considered “white” in North America.
Racialization — Assigning racial meaning to people or ideas. Example: Assuming someone with Indian heritage must have an accent.
Racism — System of advantage based on race. Example: Racial profiling by police.
Segregation — Separation of groups that limits interaction. Example: U.S. “separate but equal” schools.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies — Beliefs that lead to actions reinforcing them. Example: Teachers expecting minority students to underperform → treating them differently → underperformance occurs.
Sex — Biological categorization (chromosomes, hormones, anatomy). Example: XX typically labeled female; XY typically labeled male.
Sex as a Social Construction — The binary sex model shaped by culture rather than pure biology. Example: Medical enforcement of “male/female” categories on IDs.
Sexism — Systemic discrimination based on gender. Example: Women paid less for equal work.
Sexual Orientation — Pattern of romantic or sexual attraction. Example: Bisexuality, homosexuality, heterosexuality, asexuality.
Second Shift — Unpaid domestic labor performed after paid work. Example: Women cooking and cleaning after full-time jobs.
Standpoint Theory — Knowledge shaped by social position. Example: Black feminist thought highlighting unique insights from marginalized groups.
State — Political institution with sovereignty over a territory. Example: Canada enforcing laws through government institutions.
Stereotypes — Generalizations about people based on traits. Example: “All athletes are unintelligent.”
Thomas Theorem — “If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.” Example: Racial categories are socially constructed but shape real policies.
Transgender — Gender identity differs from assigned sex at birth. Example: A person born male identifying as female.
Transsexual — Older term for some transgender individuals who undergo medical transition. Example: Someone undergoing surgery to align their body with their gender identity.
Two-Spirit — Indigenous identity embodying both masculine and feminine spirits. Example: Historically respected roles in Indigenous communities.
Visible Minority — Canadian legal category for non-white, non-Indigenous people. Example: A Latin American Canadian classified as a visible minority.
White Privilege — Unearned advantages experienced by white people. Example: Not being racially profiled while shopping.
Whiteness — Default racial identity in Western societies, often unexamined. Example: Media using “we” to mean white Canadians.
Xenophobia — Fear or hostility toward foreigners or perceived outsiders.