Self-Defined seeks to provide more inclusive, holistic, and fluid definitions to reflect the the diverse perspectives of the modern world.
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With the foundation of vocabulary, we can begin to understand lived experiences of people different than us. Words can provide us with a sense of identify and allow us to find kinship through common experiences.
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<pclass="subtitle">Ways to help</p>
<olclass="help">
<li> Submit words and definitions through <ahref="https://github.com/tatianamac/selfdefined/pulls"rel="noreferral">pull requests</a>.</li>
<li>Sponsor this work through <ahref="https://github.com/sponsors/tatianamac">GitHub Sponsors</a>.</li>
<li>Volunteer writing, design, dev help by <ahref="http://www.twitter.com/tatianatmac">DMing me @tatianatmac on Twitter</a>.</li>
<spanclass="subtitle">A modern dictionary about us. We define our words, but they don't define us.</span><br>Self-Defined seeks to provide more inclusive, holistic, and fluid definitions to reflect the modern world.<br>
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<divclass="box">
<spanclass="subtitle">Ways to help</span>
<ol>
<li> Submit words and definitions through <ahref="https://github.com/tatianamac/selfdefined/pulls"rel="noreferral">pull requests</a>.</li>
<li>Sponsor this work through <ahref="https://github.com/sponsors/tatianamac">GitHub Sponsors</a>.</li>
<li>Volunteer writing, design, dev help by <ahref="http://www.twitter.com/tatianatmac">DMing me @tatianatmac on Twitter</a>.</li>
<pclass="word__breakdown">Crazy is very commonly used as an adjective to embody a vast array of ideas, often not specifically. It is used so frequently that it sometimes is a filler. Crazy can also be used in a derogatory manner for someone with mental or psychiatric disabilities.</p>
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Impact
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<pclass="word__breakdown">By using ableist language, we are perpetuating violence against people who experience mental or psychological disabilities. Using it perpetuates those systems and language of harm, regardless of our intent.</p>
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Usage Tip
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Be more specific. Typically we can find an alternate definition by simply reflecting on what emotion we're really feeling.
<pclass="word__breakdown"> Monolinguist, English-only speakers often refer to people who don't speak English natively as "ESL" or say they are learning a "second language". More often than not, this is not true, as many people are multi-lingual with 3 or more languages</p>
<pclass="word__breakdown">It makes false assumptions about English learners, centres English as the "default" or "expected" first language, ignoring that many people learn multiple (>3), non-English languages first.</p>
<aclass="word__link"href="#">English as learning-language (ELL)</a>, or <aclass="word__link"href="#">non-native</a>, or omit (because do you really know, for sure?)
<pclass="word__breakdown">What happens to women of colour? Women of colour are conceptually split between their identies as both women and as people of colour.</p>
Before determining which term to use, consider the purpose of identifying this aggregate group of people. If you mean "women" and are including "non-binary people" without taking actions to truly include them, then you should reconsider your usage.</span></p>
minoritised genders; people of minoritised genders; people of colour and white women; people of colour, white non-binary people, and white women</a>; or omit</span></p>
<pclass="word__breakdown"> Minorities is not always accurate. As it deals with numbers, often the insinuation of racial minorities is inaccurate, as communities of colour often outnumber white communities.</p>
<pclass="word__breakdown"> Minoritised places the emphasis on the power struggle, and on the systemic issues at play. It's also an adjective, which requires you to add "group" or "people" so it's people-first language</p>
<pclass="word__breakdown">OCD is commonly misued to highlight personality quirks or fussiness, usually involving a preference for order or cleanliness. Use of 'OCD' as a noun or adgective in this manner diminishes the actual condition, resulting in reductive and over-normalised perception of a someone with these specific mental or psychiatric disabilities.</p>
<pclass="word__breakdown">By using ableist language, we are perpetuating violence against people who experience mental or psychological disabilities. Using it perpetuates those systems and language of harm, regardless of our intent.</p>
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Usage Tip
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<pclass="word__breakdown">
Be more specific. Typically we can find an alternate definition by simply reflecting on what emotion we're really feeling. In this case, be particularly aware if the behaviour is actually unwanted or uncontrollable.
the tendency for dominant white culture to respond to racism with defensive, dismissive, and angry responses; "a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves." (Robin DiAngelo).
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Impact
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<pclass="word__breakdown">White fragility detracts from critical conversations about the systemic oppressors at play. The cost of white fragility is that it centres the feelings of white people while ignoring and invalidating the systemic harm conducted towards people of colour. White fragility also prevents white people from doing anti-racist work to unpack their socially internalised racism.</p>
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Further Reading
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<pclass="word__breakdown"><aclass="word__link"href="https://robindiangelo.com/publications/"rel="noreferrer">White Fragility</a>, Robin DiAngelo; <aclass="word__link"href="https://www.theroot.com/tag/white-fragility"rel="noreferrer">White Fragility tag on The Root</a>.</p>
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<sectionclass="block__word list">
<pclass="word__signal word__signal__avoid">
avoid
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<pid="women-poc"class="word__title">
women and people of colour
<spanclass="word__speech">
noun
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<pclass="word__definition">
often used as a phrase to encompass "non-white, non-men," seeking to provide solidarity for these two groups
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Issues
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<pclass="word__breakdown">What happens to women of colour? As a woman of colour, I am split between both women and people of colour.</p>
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Impact
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<pclass="word__breakdown">As such, it elicits feelings of erasure for women of colour. It also neglects non-binary individuals.</p>
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Alt Words
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<pclass="word__breakdown">
<spanclass="word__alt">
<aclass="word__link"href="#">people of colour and white women </a> or <aclass="word__link"href="#">people of colour, white non-binary people, and white women</a>, find ways to reframe why this dynamic exists, or omit
