As a society, we have made a lot of progress toward greater equality. Every decade brings new, hard-fought advancements to the rights of women, minorities, and other marginalized people.
The language we use to describe this progress changes just as quickly, and it can be hard to keep up. So, we’ve collected some of the terms and phrases that make up听social justice, which is itself a catch-all phrase for movements that work toward greater equality.
Black Girl Magic听补苍诲听#blackgirlmagic听were created to celebrate the accomplishments and general amazingness of black women. It is used as an expression of positivity and empowerment.#blackgirlmagic听dates to 2011 on Twitter, though it might have appeared earlier elsewhere. Newly woke Teen Vogue听used the expression #blackgirlmagic听a lot, especially in 2016, referring to it as a movement. That same year, legendary black magazine Essence released a February issue celebrating听#blackgirlmagic. The idea also got a lot of play following the release of Beyonc茅鈥檚 visual album听Lemonade, which is about the struggles and triumphs of black women, especially those living in the United States.Black girl magic is usually used between black women as an expression of solidarity. But that didn’t stop then-Presidential candidate Hilary Clinton from saying 鈥溾�lack girl magic is real鈥� at the Black Women鈥檚 Agenda Symposium Workshop in 2016.
The Me Too movement was started in 2006 by Tarana Burke, a black civil rights activist from the Bronx who founded a non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of sexual assault.
The idea of Me Too was picked up by Latina actress Alyssa Milano who tweeted in 2016 “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” The outpouring was immense, and from there the #MeToo movement went viral. Women, and men, began telling their stories of sexual assault to show how many people are affected and who is responsible.
The #MeToo movement works to hold sexual assaulters accountable for their actions, whether through legal, professional, or social recourse. One of the most well-known men held to account by the #MeToo movement was movie executive Harvey Weinstein, who was basically fired from his own company and is facing extensive litigation for alleged sexual assault and rape.
One of the biggest changes in the past couple decades has been around how we talk about gender and sexuality. In particular, the meaning and connotations of the word queer have changed over time. While听辩耻别别谤听can mean “strange” or “odd,” it’s more often used as a slur against or self-identifier for non-heterosexual or non-cisgender people.
But, in the late 1980s, writers, scholars, and activists in the LGBT community began advocating for a听re-appropriation听of the word听queer. In 1990, this effort focused on听辩耻别别谤听as a collective term for gays and lesbians.听Queer听was seen as a way to refer to gays and lesbians without being gender-essentialist or causing divisions within the community. Later in the 1990s, those not only with alternative sexual orientations but also alternative gender orientations began to refer to themselves as听genderqueer.
Whether you’re queer, straight, or something altogether, that’s just one facet of your identity. You’re also from somewhere, grew up a certain way, and have a specific first language. All of these things impact you. The term we use to talk about all the different ways we experience is the world is 鈥�
Positionality听is the social and political context that creates your identity in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality, and ability status.听Positionality听also describes how your identity influences, and potentially听biases, your understanding of and outlook on the world.Positionality听was applied to gender and sexuality in a 1988 article by philosopher Linda Alcoff. It鈥檚 not really a beach read, but to summarize: She was trying to figure out how feminists could understand women, broadly speaking, when it seems almost everything we know about women comes from a male context.听In other words, she investigates how a听patriarchal听worldview creates blinders when we try to come up with 鈥渢rue鈥� things about gender.
In the 2010s,听positionality听started spreading out of the academy and into more progressive, queer-identified, feminist media.听One aspect of positionality that has received a lot of attention is 鈥�
White privilege听is a term used to describe unearned rights and benefits afforded white people in Western society because of the color of their skin. It鈥檚 sometimes also referred to as听white skin privilege.
The first usage of听white privilege听is believed to have been by Peggy McIntosh, a women鈥檚 studies scholar and founder of the National SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum. In 1988, McIntosh wrote a paper in which she likened the听phenomenon听to 鈥渁n invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks.鈥�
In the years since, the term听white privilege听has come to be used to explain power structures inherent in American society that听disproportionately听benefit white people, while putting people of color at a disadvantage.
Slut-shaming听is the practice of disparaging women, and occasionally men, for acting in a manner that violates “norms” regarding sexually appropriate behavior. These听denigrations,听which are often听double standards, range from criticizing women for wearing sexy clothing or having multiple sexual partners to听blaming sexual assault and rape survivors for their attacks.
The term听slut-shaming听spread in part because of the SlutWalk. SlutWalks began in 2011 in Toronto after a police officer giving a rape prevention talk told students at York University that they could protect themselves by 鈥渘ot dressing like sluts.鈥� Students responded by marching in all manner of dress and carrying signs identifying themselves as听sluts, all to protest the idea that women鈥檚 behavior is the cause of their sexual assault.
Something else feminists hate almost as much as slut-shaming is 鈥�
To听mansplain is for a man to explain something to a woman in a condescending manner, particularly when the woman is an expert in the subject.
While she didn鈥檛 coin the term, author Rebecca Solnit conceptualized and popularized the idea thanks to her听April, 2008 essay. In it,听she discusses the way men do not see women as credible in a variety of situations, such as when reporting a crime.Mansplain听spread from the feminist (and anti-feminist) blogosphere to the Twitterverse (where men would notoriously pontificate to women with tweets beginning听actually) to the mainstream media, where journalist Sam Sifton and lexicographer Grant Barrett included听mansplainer听in a 2010 Words of the Year roundup in the听New York Times.
Some men, of course, have taken issue with听mansplaining, crying reverse sexism. That sounds like a whole lotta 鈥μ�mansplaining.
A听problematic fave听is a character or person who鈥檚 done or said offensive (i.e.,听problematic) things.听Your fave is problematic听is a phrase that usually accompanies a cited list of these offensive things. The term is used exclusively in discussions about fandom, celebrities, and media.
The phrase听your fave is problematic听was largely popularized by a Tumblr blog of the same name, launched on March 17, 2013. The blog features lengthy posts, containing cited examples of a given celebrity鈥檚 problematic behavior. The blog鈥檚 first post was about comedian Louis C.K., wherein the moderators outlined offensive routines he performed, which included anti-Semitic jokes and the use of slurs.
Naming someone a听problematic fave听is not a permanent condemnation; it鈥檚 a call to do better. People call their favorite actors and characters their听problematic faves听as a way to acknowledge that the individual has done wrong in the past, but that they still like them despite that.
The听glass cliff听is a metaphor for putting women and other minorities into leadership positions during times of crisis. It suggests they are getting set up to fail, as if getting pushed over a cliff.
The term听glass cliff听was coined by Michelle Ryan and Alex Haslam, psychology researchers at the University of Exeter. In a May 2004 article Ryan and Haslam argue that the 鈥済lass cliff is a dangerous place to be,鈥� because it makes women targets for criticism, resulting in shorter overall听tenures听in leadership positions.
In the early 2010s, continuing research into the听glass cliff听found it wasn鈥檛 limited to women. Ethnic minorities are also disproportionately put into leadership positions where they are 鈥渟et up to fail.鈥�
Some examples of women in leadership who faced the听glass cliff听are Ellen Pao, the former Reddit CEO, and Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packer CEO, both brought on in times of crisis, then blamed and let go when things didn鈥檛 turn around as expected.
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