Glossary - Words Matter

As multi-cultural and multi-ethnic families how we communicate matters, more so for the sake of our children who are developing their identity. We are putting together and sharing this glossary guide as an educational starting point for those of us parenting multi-hyphnate children.

This is a living guide, as language evolves and further research is conducted on critical race theory, diversity and inclusion along with the realities of the mixed lived experience, some of these terms will no longer be effective or correct.

Acculturation – A process of social and psychological assimilation to a different culture, typically the dominant one.

African - A person with African ancestral origins who self identifies, or is identified as African, but excluding those of other ancestry, for example, European and South Asian.

Afro-Caribbean/African Caribbean - A person of African ancestral origins whose family settled in the Caribbean before emigrating and who self identifies, or is identified, as Afro-Caribbean.

Afro-European/ Afropean - A person of African descent living in Europe who identifies with both their African heritage and European cultural influences. It can also be used to describe a cultural identity that blends African and European elements.

Afro-Swiss - A person of African/Diaspora ancestral origins born in or lives in Switzerland and who self identifies, or is identified Afro-Swiss. Another refers to self identifying multi-ethnic person of African/Diaspora & Swiss ancestry.

Ally – Someone who makes the effort to recognize their privilege and works to better understand marginalised groups and takes a stand against oppression of said groups.

Anti-Black/Anti-Blackness - Refers to prejudice, attitudes, beliefs, stereotyping and discrimination that is directed at people of African descent and is rooted in their unique history and experience of enslavement and its legacy. Anti-Black racism is either functionally normalized or rendered invisible to the larger White society.

Anti-Racist – A person who supports antiracist policies through their actions or expresses antiracist ideas that racial groups are equals and do not need development.

Anti-Racism – The work of actively opposing racism by advocating for changes in political, economic, and social life.

Bias – A positive or negative inclination towards a person, group, or community, especially one that interferes with impartiality.

BIPOC – The term referring to “Black and/or Indigenous People of Color.”

Biracial – Used to describe a person who identifies as being of two races, or whose parents are from two different races.

Colonialism - Colonialism is the historical practice of European expansion into territories already inhabited by Indigenous peoples for the purposes of acquiring new lands and resources. This expansion is rooted in the violent suppression of Indigenous peoples’ governance, legal, social and cultural structures.

Colourism - The different treatment of people based on skin colour, especially favouritism toward those with a lighter skin tone and mistreatment or exclusion of those with a darker skin tone, typically among those of the same racial, social and/or family group or ethnicity.

Colour Blind/ Colourblindness - The act or preference of ignoring or disregarding racial or ethnic differences, which can be harmful because it perpetuates systemic inequalities and allows discrimination and biases to go unchallenged.

Community - Refers to a social unit with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area or in virtual space through communication platforms.

Cross Culture Kids - Cross Culture Kids, also known as Third Culture Kids (TCKs), are children who integrate their parents' cultural heritage with the dominant culture of the country they grow up in. This term includes children with expat, immigrant, or asylum backgrounds, those who are adopted across different ‘races’, cultures, or religions, as well as those with mixed heritage.

Cultural Appropriation - The use of cultural elements, such as symbols, art, language, and customs, for commercial gain without proper understanding, acknowledgement, or respect for their significance in the original culture.

Cultural Identity – The identity or feeling of belonging to a group based on nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality, or other types of social groups that have their own distinct cultures.

Cultural Fluency – The ability to understand and engage with people from other cultures. Also defined as familiarity with cultures: their natures, how they work, and ways they intertwine with our relationships.

Decolonize - Refers to the active and purposeful process of undoing harmful values, beliefs, and ideas that have caused physical, emotional, or mental harm to individuals due to colonization. It involves recognizing and addressing systems of oppression.

Diaspora - Refers to the dispersion or scattering of a particular group of people, typically with a common cultural identity or ethnic origin, away from their ancestral homeland. This scattering can occur voluntarily or involuntarily due to factors such as migration, displacement, or forced exile.

Discrimination – Actions and/or behaviours that favor certain individuals or groups over another based on race, gender, sexual orientation, social class, physical ability, religion, age, and other categories which often begin with negative stereotypes.

Diversity - As an act, it is embracing a wide range of identities, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, disability, and more. It also involves valuing and appreciating diverse ideas, perspectives, and values.

European - A person with European ancestral origins who self identifies, or is identified as European, but excluding those of other ancestry, for example, African and South Asian.

Equality – Typically defined as treating all individuals the same and giving everyone access to the same opportunities.

Equity - Refers to fairness and justice, whereas equality means providing the same to all. Equity recognises that we do not all start from the same place and must acknowledge and make adjustments to imbalances.

Ethnicity – A common identity that divides people into smaller social groups based on characteristics such as ancestry, language, culture, nation, or region of origin.

Exclusion – Leaving someone out based on their differences, which can be related to age, race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other social group.

Featurism - Prejudice towards individuals with certain features and a preference towards those with features that correlate with a set beauty standard typically favouring Eurocentric features.

Gatekeeping - Gatekeeping is the practice of controlling access to social spaces, cultural practices, or identities based on arbitrary criteria, such as skin color, ethnicity, socio-economic class, and cultural background. It involves determining who is granted entry and who is excluded, often perpetuating exclusion and discrimination.

Harassment - This refers to comments or actions that may be perceived as unwelcome, offensive, embarrassing, humiliating, or demeaning.

Implicit Bias – Also known as Unconscious or Hidden Bias, involves negative associations that individuals unknowingly hold. These associations can subconsciously impact one's comprehension, actions, and decisions concerning individuals from various social, racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural groups.

Intersectionality - This refers to a social concept that acknowledges the flexible range of identities a person can have, including gender, sexual orientation, race, class, religion, professional status, relationship status, socioeconomic status, and more.

Inclusion – Authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes and decision/policymaking in a way that shares power.

Institutional Racism – Refers to the ways institutional practices and policies create different outcomes for different racial groups. The policies may never target any specific racial group, but their effect is to create advantages for whites and oppression and disadvantage for people of colour. Often used interchangeably with Structural Racism.

Macro-aggression -A form of aggression that refers to deliberate and overt acts of discrimination, bias, or prejudice against individuals or groups based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or other personal characteristics.

Marginalised/Marginalisation – A social process by which individuals or groups are (intentionally or unintentionally) disempowered by being denied access to power and resources, and/or not allowing for that individual or community’s voice, history, and perspective to be heard.

Micro-Affirmation - Refers to the recognition and validation of individuals in ways that empower them to thrive in environments where they may feel marginalized. When applied in various settings, micro-affirmations promote inclusivity and offer essential support to individuals who might otherwise feel unwelcome or overlooked.

Micro-Aggression – Term that describes everyday (verbal, nonverbal, and environmental) behaviour that communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target a marginalised individual or group, either intentionally or unintentionally, including marginalised persons due to social class, culture, ethnicity, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation to name a few.

Multicultural - Refers to a person with a background derived of two or more cultures or ethnic groups within a society.

Multicultural Competency - Involves accepting and celebrating diversity while actively seeking to learn about other cultural backgrounds. Respect for different ways of life and a willingness to learn from others are essential components of cultural competence.

Multi-ethnic - Refers to a person of more than one race or ethnicity. Though it must be noted the concept of race applied to humans is a social construct.

Multiracial - Refers term for a person of more than one race or ethnicity. Though it must be noted the concept of "race" applied to humans is a social construct.

Mixed-race - Refers term for a person of more than one race or ethnicity. Though it must be noted the concept of race applied to humans is a social construct.

Monolith - A collective group of individuals, often based on ethnicity, ‘race’, or culture viewed as uniform in characteristics or behavior. This oversimplification neglects diversity, reinforces stereotypes, and hinders efforts to address discrimination and inequality.

Mono-racial - Refers to a person of a single race or a person identifying as a single race. Interchangeable for more Mono-ethnicity.

Multigenerational Mixed Person - multigenerational mixed person is an individual who is genetically mixed from previous generations, but their parents are considered to be of the same race socially

Natural Hair Movement - Refers to a movement established by women of African descent encouraging women and men of African descent to embrace their natural hair. It originated in the United States during the 1960s with the Black is Beautiful movement with its most recent iteration occurring in the 2000s

Oppression – A system of supremacy and discrimination for the benefit of a limited dominant or privileged group at the expense of targeted, less privileged groups

Othering - The conscious or unconscious act/s of treating someone as though they are not part of a group and are different in some way.

People of Color - This is a term that collectively refers to individuals of Asian, African, Indigenous Latinx, and Native American descent.

Prejudice – An prejudgment or unjustifiable attitude (usually negative) about a group or its individual members.

Race – A social construct, refers to individuals as part of a distinct group defined by their physical characteristics and some cultural and historical commonalities.

Racism – The oppression of people or groups (usually non-white) because of their colour, race, nationality, or origin. It generally involves actions resulting from bigotry or the thinking a particular race is inferior.

Representation - Refers to the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way. Also refers to the depiction of someone or something in a work of art, literature, film or social concious.

Texturism - The preference for hair with smoother/looser texture, and the discrimination against people with kinkier, coarse hair within the same race. When it comes to “curls”, looser curls are idealised and fetishised for its proximity to Eurocentric standards of beautiful/good hair.

The Talk - "The Talk" is an informal term coined by African American parents in the United States. It refers to a crucial discussion that parents and caregivers of Afro-descendant children have about race, racism, and the challenges their children may face due to unfair treatment from peers, authority figures, law enforcement, or others. This conversation includes strategies and advice on handling these situations and de-escalating conflicts.

Third-Culture Kids - A subcategory definition of Cross Culture Kids, refers to the mixed identity that a child assumes, influenced both by their parents' culture and the culture of the host/transit country they spend a significant amount of their developmental years. Usually children of Diplomats and expatriates.

Tokenism - Refers to performative inclusivity when socially oppressed group members are superficially invited to speak on behalf of their entire group without genuine opportunities to express themselves.

Safe Space - A place or environment in which a person or category of people can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm.

Segregation – A systemic separation of people into racial or ethnic groups during the activities of daily life.

Stereotype – The over-generalized belief that all individuals who belong to a designated group or category are the same and labelling them.

Swiss/Switzerland – A person with Swiss ancestral origins who self identifies, or is identified as Swiss, but excluding those of other ancestry, for example, African and South Asian.

White Privilege – Refers to the unearned set of advantages, privileges, benefits, and choices given to people based solely on being white.

White Supremacy – The idea or ideology that the ideas, beliefs, and actions of white people are superior to those of People of Color. A historically-based, institutionally-perpetuated system of oppression of continents, nations, and people by white people and nations of the European continent for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege.

Womanism/ Womanist - Refers to a socio-political and philosophical framework, predominantly championed by feminists of colour, specifically Black feminists. It revolves around the experiences, contributions, and endeavors of Black feminists aimed at enhancing the world for the advancement of all humanity, rather than solely for their own benefit.

If you have any suggestions or recommendations for terms that you would like to see included in our glossary guide, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us: hello@afroswissfamilies.com.