In this reflectary, you will find key terms on feminisms, violence against women, and everyday manifestations of sexism.
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Gaslighting (Gaslighting) La palabra gaslighting proviene del inglés y se puede traducir al español como abuso machista emocional y psicológico. Gaslighting refers to a pattern of emotional abuse where the victim is manipulated to doubt their own perception, understanding, and memory. The practice looks to create anxiety, confusion, and depression. The concept emerged from the classic Hollywood movie, Gaslight, que
Gender (Género) Gender refers to a set of social, cultural, psychological, or political characteristics, among others, attributed to a person according to the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender is not a static or innate concept; it is a sociocultural construct that has varied and will continue to do so throughout time. The use of the concept was promoted
Gender critical feminism (Feminismo crítico del género) Gender critical feminism emphasizes that the sole political subject of feminism are cisgender women. In other words, only those who were biologically born with female genitalia encounter patriarchal oppression and, thus, must be the focus of the feminist fight. Recently, this wave of feminism has gained popularity because it has become the centre
Gender equality (Igualdad de género) This refers to the equality of rights, responsibilities, and opportunities between women and men. That is, regardless of the sex a person is born with, they must have the same rights, responsibilities, and opportunities to develop their full potential and live the life they desire. This means that men and women are equal. The world
Gender gap (Brecha de género) The term gender gap was first used in the mid 1980s by feminist Eleonor Smeal in relation to the political sphere and to highlight the difference between women’s and men’s vote. Currently, this refers to a broader concept. It consists of an analytical framework that sheds light on the difference within a specific variable related
Gender identity (Identidad de género) This is a deep understanding that a person has about whether they feel like a man, woman, neither, or both. This concept attempts to eliminate gender binarism and promote sexual diversity and a satisfactory personal development. Gender identity may or may not be compatible with the sex assigned at birth. For example, trans people do
Gender roles (Roles de género) Gender roles refer to the set of social and behavioural norms assigned to the men and women of a specific group or social system. For example, men have traditionally been assigned the role of breadwinners, as specified by cisheteropatriarchy. On the other hand, a gender role traditionally assigned to women is that of a homemakers. These
Gender stereotype (Estereotipo de género) This is a generalized and simplistic view or opinion of the specific characteristics that a person has or should have based on their sex. Also, of the role that men or women assume or should assume. These are harmful when they are used to justify discrimination and when they privilege some people and subordinate others.
Gender-based violence (Violencia de género) This refers to violence on another person due to their gender or gender identity. It is based on the deep-rooted inequality between genders. Although any person can experience gender-based violence, it affects women and girls disproportionately. As a result, violence against women or gender-based violence against women are often used interchangeably. Certain groups are particularly
Glass ceiling (Techo de cristal ) The glass ceiling is a metaphor coined within gender studies to point to the invisible barriers that women face when making breakthroughs in their careers, particularly when moving towards high-ranking jobs. The fact that these barriers are invisible makes them difficult to identify and explain their existence. Therefore, the consequences of this ‘ceiling’ are attributed
Hegemonic feminism (Feminismo hegemónico) Hegemonic feminism—also known as white feminism or second wave feminism—is considered the ‘traditional’ feminism. It focuses on white, urban, and middle or upper class women, mainly from the US and Europe, as the only model of women where others must fit in. The prototype of women for this wave of feminism is the US housewife who
Hembrism (Hembrismo) This neologism refers to women’s discrimination towards men. The term is problematic and creates extensive debates. Those who advocate for coining this term argue that it fills a semantic gap of an expression that opposes male chauvinism. Colloquially and in mass media, people often assume that feminism is the antonym of male chauvinism, which is incorrect. In reality,
Human diversity (Diversidad humana) Human diversity is the variety of specific personal characteristics that make every person unique and different from others. These distinctive qualities of each person shape the plurality of identities that enrich societies. Some of these characteristics are age, social class, socio-economic status, corporeality, health, capacities and skills, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, ethnicity, culture, religion,
Indigenous feminisms (Feminismos indígenas) Collective thinking is the focus of this wave of feminism. It fights for collective rights and stands in contrast to western feminism, which focuses on the individual and exclusion. The concept of indigenous feminisms is rooted in the ideas of indigenous peoples which traditionally focus on collective identities that look to build a common project. However,
Intergenerational collaboration (Colaboración intergeneracional) This is defined as the collaboration among two or more generations with a common goal. Within the feminist movement, this refers to the collaboration among girls, young women, and adult women in favour of a common fight. It respects each generation’s experience and expertise, the opportunity for mutual learning, and the need for collaboration to reach
Intersectionality (Interseccionalidad) The term was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an Afro-American academic, to highlight the way in which gender, race, social class, sexual orientation, and other individual identity characteristics intersect to create a different personal experience regarding systematic oppression. This is a way to understand social relations through the intersection of the different types of discrimination that people face. According
Male chauvinism (Machismo) Male chauvinism is sexual prejudice consisting of a set of attitudes and practices which are mostly unconscious and reflect discrimination and devaluing of the female sex by classifying women as inferior and not very capable. Since it does not have any scientific foundations, it considered a social construct. It is learned through socialization processes and, therefore, can also
Man (Hombre) The concept of man is a term used in biology to classify humans in relation to their male reproductive system (penis and testicles). It is usually linked to masculinity, which is a gender expression based on cisheteronormativity. Since the ancient social construction, men have been identified with determined gender roles, expression, and identity. If someone’s reproductive system was
Manslamming (Manslamming) La palabra manslamming proviene del inglés y se puede traducir al español como machochoque (combinación de macho y choque). This term was coined by Jessica Roy, a writer for the New York magazine, after an experiment with Beth Braslaw. When walking in public spaces, she noticed that if she did not move to give way to the men
Mansplaining La palabra mansplaining proviene del inglés y se puede traducir al español como machoexplicación (de la combinación de macho y explicación). This is the male practice of explaining things to women, regardless of whether the man knows or understands the topic and doing so with a paternalistic and condescending tone, even if the woman is an expert on the
