Oceanography | Vol.34, No.2
Oceanography | Vol.34, No.2
Gaslighting
Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse where a person or group makes someone question their sanity, perception of real-
ity, or memories. Examples of gaslighting in social justice terms include “racial gaslighting,” which is a way of maintaining a pro-
White/anti-Black balance in society by labeling those who challenge acts of racism as psychologically abnormal30 and minimizing
or dismissing people’s real and legitimate trauma through statements such as “Women in other countries have it much worse!”
or “Don’t be the PC police!”31
Generational
Trauma
(also known as
intergenerational
or transgenera-
tional trauma)
Trauma that isn’t experienced just by one person but extends from one generation to the next. It is thought that the effects of the
trauma can be passed from generation to generation in a number of ways that include learned beliefs, behaviors, and patterns,
and genetic processes.32 Examples of populations affected by generational trauma include African Americans who are subjected
to pervasive systemic racism, families of US indigenous and Canadian First Nations children forced into residential school sys-
tems, and families of Holocaust survivors.33 and references therein
Latinx
A gender-neutral English neologism, sometimes used to refer to people of Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United
States. The “x” suffix replaces the “o”/“a” ending of Latino and Latina that are typical of grammatical gender in Spanish. Its plural
is Latinxs. Words used for similar purposes include Latin@, Latine, and Latinidad.34
LGBTQI+
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex. The + indicates that there are identities beyond the six listed here that
include, but are not limited to, Two Spirited, pansexual, omnisexual, asexual, and allies of these identity groups.35
Microaggression
The everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, that
communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group
membership.4 and sources therein
Oppression
The systematic subjugation of one social group by a more powerful social group for the social, economic, and political benefit
of the more powerful social group.
Oppression exists when the following four conditions are met:36
• The oppressor group has the power to define reality for themselves and others
• The target groups take in and internalize the negative messages about them and end up cooperating with the oppressors
(thinking and acting like them)
• Genocide, harassment, and discrimination are systematic and institutionalized, so that individuals are not necessary to
perpetuate it
• Members of both the oppressor and target groups are socialized to play their roles as normal and correct
Oppression = Power + Prejudice37
Performative
Allyship
Performative allyship is when someone from a non-marginalized group professes support and solidarity with a marginalized group
in a way that either isn’t helpful or that actively harms that group. Performative allyship usually involves the “ally” receiving some
kind of reward, for example, on social media—that virtual pat on the back for being a “good person” or “on the right side.”38
POC
Person(s) of Color. While this term is affirming (in a way that non-White is not), there is significant variation of experiences
among POC. In conversation, it is best practice to be as specific as possible and reciprocate the language any POC may use to
describe themselves.
Systemic
Racism
(also known
as structural or
institutional
racism)
Systems and structures that have procedures or processes that create disadvantages for people of color. It is the complex inter-
action of culture, policy, and institutions that holds in place the outcomes people of color see in their lives. Systemic racism is,
essentially, naming the process of White supremacy. It creates disparities in many “success indicators,” including wealth, the
criminal justice system, employment, housing, health care, politics, and education. The concept dates back to work done by
scholar and civil rights pioneer W.E.B. Du Bois39 and was first named during the civil rights movement of the 1960s and was fur-
ther refined in the 1980s.40
Examples of how this type of racism manifests include:
• In the United States, glaring disparities between rates of arrest and incarceration for the BIPOC communities and White people41
• Huge life expectancy disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians (≤21 years for men and ≤19 years for
women) thought to be strongly related to the inferior healthcare that Aboriginal peoples receive in the healthcare system as
well as other systemic inequities42
• In the United States, government policies that explicitly restrict the ability of people to get loans to buy or improve their homes
in neighborhoods with high concentrations of African Americans (also known as “redlining”)4
• In the UK universities system, the finding that people of color comprise a tiny proportion of professor positions, with just 17
Black women in those positions in 2015 and ethnic minority groups earning on average 26% less than their White colleagues43
White
Centering
White centering is the centering of White people, White values, White norms, and White feelings over everything and
everyone else.44
White
Fragility
A state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable [for White people], triggering a range of defen-
sive responses. These responses include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such
as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate White racial
equilibrium.4 and references therein
White
Privilege
Refers to the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements, benefits, and choices bestowed on people solely
because they are White. Generally, White people who experience such privilege do so without being conscious of it.4
TABLE 1. A glossary of terms, continued.