allí a mi espalda llevo mi casa

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Karla Yumari hat sich im Rahmen des Seminars Feministische und dekoloniale Gesten und Ästhetik von Pary El-Qalqili im Wintersemester 2021/2022 an der UdK Berlin mit verschiedenen Themen rund um intersektionalen Feminismus beschäftigt. Dabei ist dieser Brief entstanden, den wir hier auf Mexikanisch1 veröffentlichen. In Auseinandersetzung mit der eigenen Identität und Zugehörigkeit stellt Karla die Geschichte ihrer verstorbenen mexikanischen Urgroßmutter ihrer eigenen Vergangenheit und Gegenwart gegenüber.
Als Grundlage dienten Texte von Alice Walker, bell hooks, Gloria Anzaldúa, Saidiya Hartman sowie Trinh Minh Hà.

Querida Abuelita,
esta carta me va llevar a lugares de cuales no sabía
lugares que siempre has cuidado
en mi alma,
en mi corazón
historias las cuales tú viviste
me las compartes
y yo, yo las vivo
contigo en mi presente

Quisiera que esto fuera una plática entre tu y yo. Aurora, la mujer a la que nunca conocí pero igual siempre has estado allí. En cada cuento que mi Padre me contaba, en cada una de las historias de las cuales Opa Luciano me hablaba, siempre estabas allí. Hablando con cariño los pensamientos de mi Opa Luciano se iban a recuerdos, a lugares lejanos. Igual estabas cerca cuando contaban historias, cuando pensaban en el pasado.

Estaríamos en la casa tuya Aurora, allí en Oaxaca en el patio con la luz más suave, los árboles con frutos de Lima y la mesita de plástico. Recuerdo esa mañana en mi niñez, contigo allí, la cual nunca conocí. Pero siempre estabas allí. En Silacayoapan, la tierra que compartimos. Naciste y creciste allí . Aurora, la mujer que veo en las fotos, tiene una fuerza que resalta de la imagen. Veo el cariño en tus ojos y el altruismo en tus manos.

Igual veo tu rostro y me veo, me reconozco. El momento en el cual naciste fue casi 100 años antes de que yo naciera. Eras una de muchos hijos en tu familia; en tiempos de revolución y peste. Mucha de tu realidad era muy lejana de la mía.

Me cuentan que desde chiquita cuidabas a niños, los cuales la revolución y la peste les quitó sus padres. Con cariño los criabas uno por uno. Abuelita, ¿sabes de cuántas historias eres parte? Una mujer que formó a tantas vidas, que tantas de esas vidas te siguen llevando en sus historias. Y yo soy una de esos niños, una de esas historias en las que sigues viviendo . Te cuento que pienso que en tu forma de pensar la familia, veo una forma de pensar la familia en un sentido feminista. Con tu hermana, Catalina criaste niños que a pesar de que nos les diste luz, crearon una comunidad. Un hogar, una forma de familia. Pensando en el significado de la familia,

la que me enseñaron que debo desear,
de la mía, que entre amor y muchas lágrimas, se construyó
e igual la que yo estoy aprendiendo de poder soñar

Pienso cómo quiero ver a la familia, cuáles comunidades quiero crear y puede ser que tenemos más en común que hacen parecer esos 100 años que nos separan. Con tu hermana criaron a muchos niños, vivieron juntas y hasta el final se cuidaron entre ustedes. Yo con mi hermana, mis amigas, mi pareja en conjunto así quiero criar a los niños de cada una. Como tu abuelita ¿Me podrías contar qué tan fácil puede ser amar a cada niño, sin que importe quién le dio luz? ¿Igual me podrías contar qué tanto quisiste dar luz a un hijo y cuánto tiempo pasó para que se volviera realidad tu deseo? “La bendición” le dicen a los hijos y para ti mi Opa Luciano seguro fue eso. Sé que creíste mucho en Dios. Viviste tu vida siguiendo las reglas de la Iglesia y tengo todo respeto a eso. Pero viendo la crueldad que viene hasta hoy con la religión católica, me cuesta entender el amor que mi familia mexicana le tiene a la fe. Más cuando todo en el presente recuerda al dolor del pasado. En un pueblo que fue maltratado por los conquistadores igual se comunicaban con el lenguaje de los conquistadores. Cuando llegué de méxico a alemania me enojaba porque nadie sabía ni que méxico no era españa, ni que mexicano no era el lenguaje que yo hablaba. Pero un querido amigo mexicano me dijo que él igual no hablaba español, que él hablaba la lengua de Mexico, el mexicano y abuelita creo que ahora yo igual hablo mexicano. Sea la religión o la lengua, la apropiamos y la hicimos nuestra pero hasta hoy siento el dolor que lleva cada palabra. Busco mi identidad en un lengua que duele y solo puedo apreciar de lejano la lengua que tú hubieras hablado, la que yo hablaría. Y siempre pienso en eso, con amor uso mis palabras en mexicano, las busco y
me cuestan pero las amo. Igual las amo porque son las tuyas, son tus palabras que me prestas. Las mismas, las que tú usabas e igual traían el dolor de un lenguaje que ninguna de nosotras dos pudo hablar. El lenguaje es lucha e igual por eso amo el mexicano, nuestro lenguaje, el lenguaje de amor y familia, de historias compartidas. Más y más he conectado con las palabras; no solo hablando sino escribiendo y pensando.

Busco y busco las palabras, la lengua, lo que quiero decir, las historias que quiero contar. Igual esa búsqueda es una lucha.

cada dia defino

cada dia extiendo

cada dia reinvento

cada dia defiendo

mi búsqueda, mis palabras, mi lenguaje, mis historias y mis espacios

Pero con amor coloco cada palabra.
Me muevo en las calles, dejo mis pensamientos flotar, siento mi alma que se alimenta de esos momentos. Los pequeños momentos en donde ando solo yo, yo en un espacio que creo para dejar flotar los pensamientos ¿Abuelita tú tuviste esos momentos de poder estar sola? En calma contigo, un momento pequeño. Un momento en el patio de tu casa entre los árboles de Lima, un momento en donde los niños dormían, los mosquitos se quedaban quietos, el aire suave tocaba tu piel y el olor a tierra húmeda alimentaba el aire ¿Qué hacías en esos momentos? ¿Igual te gustaba escribir o dibujar? ¿A dónde se iban tus pensamientos? ¿De cuáles cuentos soñabas? Por los años del 1993 escribiste una carta a mi Opa Luciano, que decía “Ya llegaron los tiempos”, siento que en esas únicas palabras de las que se que fueron escritas por ti hay tanta poesía y tanto amor. Los tiempos llegan, algo nuevo comienza, la forma con la que le quisiste avisar a tu único hijo que ya pronto morirías. Me gustaría pensar que igual tu buscabas tus palabras y las colocabas con amor. En tus pensamientos colocabas y buscabas esas palabras. Nadie nunca las vio ni las escuchó, pero allí estaban y allí continúan. Yo las llevo en cada letra que escribo, en cada palabra que digo. Las escribo en mi mi libro negro, 13cmx10cm. Cada dia lo lleno con mis palabras, con tu palabras, con las nuestras.

Escribo de lo que me alegra, escribo de lo que me hace llorar, escribo de lo que amo y de lo que odio, de mis miedos y mis sueños. Escribo del amor y de la belleza, de una mujer, la cual me hace feliz. Y abuelita ese amor es el mismo que tú llevas en tu corazón.

Compartimos el mismo amor sin saber si estaríamos en la misma lucha. Pero contigo coloco las palabras en mi libreta. 13cmx10cm que no tuviste. No te esperaban hojas para llenar cuando te daba tiempo de descansar. Tu soñabas de los colores más fuertes, que ahora, yo busco y dibujo. Me paso horas y horas buscando espacios en los cuales puedo pasar mi tiempo buscando mis colores y ordenando mis palabras, poniendo en orden nuestro mundo.

Esos 13cmx10cm siempre llevan mi nombre y con eso empiezo ponerle orden a nuestro mundo. Karla Yumari Martinez Royal. ¿Cuál sería tu libreta? Igual quieres esas hojas de 50mg, que se manchan con cada color que escoges usar?
pondrías tu nombre en la primera página:
Aurora Avila de Martinez
o pondrías Ramirez? Igual cada vez sería el nombre de tu marido muerto, el nombre que indica pertenencia. Me duele leer tu nombre así “DE” Martinez. Me cuenta que eres propiedad de alguien, de un hombre. Pero nunca pertenecemos a nadie. No somos propiedad. Porque eso no va a la utopía de la que yo sueño, la utopía que llevas en tus historias. Poseer es patriarcal, sea la tierra o las mujeres. El sistema patriarcal nos ve como propiedad y abuela estoy segura que tu alma era de las más libres,

nunca nadie la pudo pertenecer
como yo no soy de nadie
y tú eres la tuya.

Nuestras piernas las tuyas y las mías nos dejan partir los ideales de propiedad y de querer poseer a otro ser. Pero tu lo traías hasta en tu nombre y a mi me cuesta decirle a mi novia –que no le quiero decir que es “mía”–, porque es libre y nadie la puede poseer.

Nadie nos puede poseer ni nos puede encerrar, somos libres hasta las fronteras de nuestros privilegios. Igual tu hermana pequeña llegó a las fronteras de sus privilegios y sus privilegios la dejaron encerrada. Se la llevaron, se la robaron. Una más que pienso y pido por ni una más que se llevan, ni una más que se toman
como una mercancía.
Y cuando hablo de la posesión y de los hombres que se las llevan, y de los nombres que se las prometen, abuelita hablo de un mundo que no encuentro las palabras para poner orden. Busco y busco, las páginas se llenan y la voz igual es mía cuando todas piden que no somos de nadie y ni una más!

Abuelita, te veo en las fotografías y en las historias y sé que mujer tan fuerte y luchadora eres. Abuelita, por tu ser, yo soy la que soy.

Karla Yumari Martinez Royal. Igual, no la soy. Mi pasaporte alemán dice mitad de mi nombre. Karla Yumari Royal. Nunca dice Martinez, traigo el nombre de mi mamá y te digo que no pertenecemos a nadie pero, igual quiero pertenecer. Quiero ser parte.

Cuando Chavela Vargas cantaba en el coche de Opa Luciano que “no soy de aqui ni soy de allá” yo solo podía anhelar con mi mirada los paisajes que pasaban. Que ni yo era de allí. Pero sentía con todo mi corazón la pertenencia a esas tierras. Los paisajes que pasaban y me contaban de las historias, las cuales traían tu nombre.

Los viajes al pueblo. Abuelito, Opa Luciano siempre manejaba y durante todo el viaje acariciaba con su mirada el paisaje. Escuchábamos Chavela Vargas, Lola Beltran y Pedro Infante. Pasamos las sierras secas con los nopales infinitos, las montañas que cuidaban la selva y los acantilados que me hacían cerrar los ojos. Pero yo no era de allí, y si lo soy. Buscando mi casa recorrí muchas sierras, montañas y acantilados.

Pero por un tiempo no estaba en casa en ningún lugar.

Con cariño recuerdo cada viaje a Oaxaca, a nuestras tierras que nunca son nuestras. Las tierras en las cuales sembrabas. Tu huerto, Abuelita. Me contaron que sembrabas frijoles, maíz y cerca del río, caña. Y cuando llegué allí, igual recuerdo como los bueyes cultivaban la tierra para sembrar. La tierra era oscura y fértil. Recuerdo el olor cuando en la mañana apenas salía el sol y la tierra respiraba por primera vez. Recuerdo esa mañana en mi niñez: contigo allí, la cual nunca conocí. Comí mis tortillas azules con una taza de chocolate oaxaqueño. Me lo sirves con una cuchara en mi taza de barro, la cual sabe a la tierra de tu huerto . Y allí, allí en tu patio, entre los árboles de Lima. En la mesita de plástico, sabía que igual allí estoy en casa.

Porque allí a mi espalda llevo mi casa, la llevo contigo por dentro a donde yo vaya.

1 Im Text wird auf die Selbstbezeichnung der eigenen Sprache als Akt des Empowerments näher eingegangen.

Karla Yumari studiert Architektur an der UDK Berlin und setzt sich mit queer-feministischen Themen innerhalb der Architektur sowie in ihren kreativen Arbeiten auseinander. Sie nähert sich diesen Themen durch Fotografie und kreatives Schreiben an. 




One thought on “allí a mi espalda llevo mi casa

  1. me parece extraordinaria la manera en la que te apropias del lenguaje, del “mexicano” del cuál estás tan orgullosa, pero aún más admirable el amor y el cariño que evoca tu texto, la delicadeza con la que a penas acaricias y respetas los recuerdos de tu abuelita, y al mismo tiempo materializas en tu libreta de 13cmx10cm que a mí

    quiero mucho a tu texto y te quiero mucho a ti y si tú me lo permites, a través de estas líneas incluso quiero mucho a tu abuelita

    gracias por tan bonitas palabras tan llenas de amor

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Ableism is the discrimination of and social prejudice against people with differing physical and mental abilities and needs. It typically involves a negative assessment of a person’s body and mind due to skills and abilities, based on a supposed biological (physical and/or mental) norm of what an able-bodied, neurotypical person should be. Ableism can intersect with other forms of oppression such as racism and sexism. 

Adultism is the discrimination found in everyday life and law based on unequal power relationships between adults, on the one hand, and children, adolescents, and young people on the other. 

The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), enforced since 2006, is the uniform central body of regulations in Germany for the implementation of four European anti-discrimination directives. For the first time, a law was created in Germany that comprehensively regulates protection against discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, gender identification, religion or belief, ability, age, or sexual orientation.

Antisemitism is a belief system based on hatred/hostility towards or discrimination against Jewish people as a religious or racial group, Jewish institutions or anyone/anything that is perceived Jewish. Antisemitism varies over time and between cultures, with antisemitism intensifying in different historical moments.   

Accessibility names the extent to which a product, service, or environment can be used and accessed by as many people as possible. Inclusive accessibility therefore assesses the needs and desires of all possible people—including those who are neurodivergent or who have varying abilities—and incorporates these into its design and function. Changes to enable those with different abilities to have equal opportunity and participation are often referred to as accommodations.  

Harassment is undesired and non-consensual conduct that violates the dignity of another person. Harassment can often create intimidating, hostile, humiliating, or offensive environments, and can be based on someone’s sexual orientation, religion, national origin, disability, age, race, gender, and more. Harassment can take a variety of forms, including verbal, physical, and/or sexual. 

The gender binary is the classification of gender into two distinct and opposite categories of man/masculine and woman/feminine. This belief system assumes that one’s sex or gender assigned at birth will align with traditional social constructions of masculine and feminine identity, expression, and sexuality. Assignment beyond the gender binary is typically viewed as a deviation of the norm. 

Sex refers to a person’s biological status and is typically assigned at birth, usually based on external anatomy. Sex is typically categorized as male, female, or intersex. 

Cisgender, or simply cis, refers to people who identify with the gender assigned to them at birth. Cis comes from the Latin prefix which means “on this side of.” 

This concept, according to Birgit Rommelspacher, assumes that there is a system of hierarchies, rule and power in which the various racist, sexist, classist, and other forms of governance intertwine. In this interconnectedness, a dominant group maintains power, which is socially negotiated again and again. In a given society, the dominant group achieves their role by being perceived as pertaining to a majority of the population and having a significant presence in societal institutions. 

The prison-industrial complex (PIC) is a term that describes the complex and interrelated dependencies between a government and the various businesses and institutions that benefit from practices of incarceration (such as prisons, jails, detention facilities, and psychiatric hospitals). Based on the term “military-industrial complex,” PIC urges a more comprehensive analysis of how imprisonment is used in a society, noting all the interest groups that prioritize financial gain over keeping people out of prisons. 

Gender-expansive is an adjective that can describe someone with a more flexible and fluid gender identity than might be associated with the typical gender binary. 

Gender is often defined as a social construct of norms, behaviors, and roles that vary between societies and over time. Gender is often categorized as male, female, or nonbinary. 

Gender transition is a process a person might take to bring themselves and/or their bodies into alignment with their gender identity. This process is not a singular step nor does it have a definite end. Rather, it can include any, none, or all of the following: telling one’s family and social circles; changing one’s name and pronouns; updating legal documents; medical interventions such as hormone therapy; or surgical intervention, often called gender confirmation surgery. 

Gender expression is how a person presents gender outwardly, most typically signalled through clothing, voice, behavior, and other perceived characteristics. Society identifies these cues and performances as masculine or feminine, although what is considered masculine or feminine varies over time and between cultures.  

Gender dysphoria refers to psychological distress that results from the incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity. People of all genders may experience dysphoria at varying levels of intensity, or not at all. 

Gender identity is one’s own internal sense of self and their gender. Unlike gender expression, gender identity is not externally visible to others. 

Heteronormativity is the concept that heterosexuality—romantic and/or sexual attraction between people of the “opposite” gender—is the normative or acceptable sexual orientation in a society. Heteronormativity assumes the gender binary, and therefore involves a belief in the alignment between sexuality, gender identity, gender roles, and biological sex. As a dominant social norm, heteronormativity results in discrimination and oppression against those who do not identify as heterosexual.   

Hormone therapy, sometimes called gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) or hormone replacement therapy (HRT), is the process by which sex hormones or other hormonal medications are administered. These hormone changes can trigger physical changes, called secondary sex characteristics, that can help better align the body with a person’s gender identity.

Institutional discrimination refers to prejudiced organizational policies and practices within institutions – such as universities, workplaces, and more – such that an individual or groups of individuals who are marginalized are unequally considered and have unequal rights. 

Inter*, or intersex, is an umbrella term that can describe people who have differences in reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, or hormones that do not fit typical definitions of male and female. The asterisks (*) emphasizes the plurality of intersex realities and physicalities. 

Intergenerational trauma refers to the trauma that is passed from a trauma survivor to their descendent. Due to violent and terrifying events—such as war, ethnic cleansing, political conflict, environmental catastrophe, and more—experienced by previous generations, descendants may experience adverse emotional, physical, and psychological effects. As the original sources of trauma are structured by forms of discrimination such as race and gender, intergenerational trauma also occurs along intersectional axes of oppression. For example, Black communities have brought to light the intergenerational trauma of enslavement. 
Intergenerational trauma is sometimes called historical trauma, multi- or transgenerational trauma, or secondary traumatization. 

Intersectionality names the interconnected nature of systems of oppression and social categorizations such as race, gender, sexuality, migratory background, and class. Intersectionality emphasizes how individual forms of discrimination do not exist independently of each other, nor can they be considered and addressed independently. Rather, addressing oppression should take into account the cumulative and interconnected axes of multiple forms of discrimination. 

Islamophobia is a belief system based on hatred/hostility towards or discrimination against Muslim people as a religious or racial group, muslim institutions or anyone/anything that is perceived Muslim. Islamophobia varies over time and between cultures, with Islamophobia intensifying in different historical moments.

Classism is a term that describes discrimination based on the belief that a person’s social or economic status determines their value in society. Classism, as a form of discrimination and stigmatization, is based on actual or assumed financial means, educational status, and social inclusion. “Inferior” classes in the hierarchy are problematised and stereotyped, and often receive unequal access and rights within society. 

Colonialism is the control and dominance of one power over a dependent area or people. In subjugating another people and land, colonialism entails violently conquering the population, often including mass displacement of people and the systematic exploitation of resources. Beyond material consequences, colonialism also includes processes of forcing the dominant power’s language and cultural values upon the subjugated people, thereby effecting cultural, psychological, and intergenerational trauma. 

Culturally argued racism is directed against people based on their presumed cultural or religious background. This form of discrimination can occur regardless of whether they actually practice one culture or religion and how religious they are (e.g. anti-Muslim racism and anti-Semitism). 

Cultural appropriation is the act of taking on aspects of a marginalized culture by a person or an institution who is outside of that culture, without comprehensive understanding of the context and often lacking respect for the significance of the original. Cultural appropriation, when promoting negative cultural or racial stereotypes, reproduces harm. Acts of cultural appropriation can often reveal power dynamics within a society: for example, a white person who wears a marginalized culture’s traditional dress is praised as fashionable, while a racialized person could be isolated from the dominant group and marked as foreign.  

Marginalization describes any process of displacing minorities to the social fringe. As a rule, marginalised groups are presumed to not correspond to the norm-oriented majority of society and are severely restricted in their ability to behave freely, have equal material access, enjoy public safety, and more.  

Microaggression names individual comments or actions that unconsciously or consciously demonstrate prejudice and enact discrimination against members of marginalized groups. As small, common, and cumulative occurrences, microaggressions can comprise of insults, stereotypes, devaluation, and/or exclusion. Microaggressions often negatively affect the person on the receiving end, affecting their psychological and physical health and wellbeing. 

Misogyny is a term for sexist oppression and contempt for women that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thereby maintaining patriarchal social roles. Misogyny can indicate an attitude held by individuals and a widespread cultural system that often devalues anything perceived as feminine. Misogyny can overlap with other instances of oppression and hate—such as homophobia, trans*-misogyny, and racism. 

Neurodiversity is a term that describes the unique ways each person’s brain structures function. The basic assumption of what kind of brain functioning is healthy and acceptable within a norm-oriented majority society is called neurotypical. 

Nonbinary is a term that can be used by persons who do not describe themselves or their genders as fitting into the binary categories of man or woman. A range of terms are used for these experiences, with nonbinary and genderqueer often used. 

Patriarchy is a social system whereby cis men dominantly hold positions of privilege both in public and private spheres. In feminist theory, patriarchy can be used to describe the power relationship between genders that favors male dominance, as well as the ideology of male superiority that justifies and enacts oppression against women and all non-normative genders. 

Pronouns, or personal gender pronouns (PGPs), are the set of pronouns that an individual uses to refer to themselves and desires for others to use when referring to them. The list of pronouns is continuously evolving. An individual may have several sets of preferred pronouns, or none. The intention of both asking and using a person’s pronouns correctly is to reduce the negative societal effects for those whose personal pronouns don’t match with the gender identity that’s assumed by a cisnormative society. Using gender-neutral wording and terms to refer to groups of people (such as “folks,” instead of “guys”) are also inclusive steps that resist the gender binary and cis-normativity. 

Racism is the process by which systems, policies, actions, and attitudes create unequal opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. More than individual or institutional prejudice, racism occurs when this discrimination is accompanied by the power to limit or oppress the rights of people and/or groups. Racism varies over time and between cultures, with racism towards different groups intensifying in different historical moments.   

Sex-gender difference names the distinction between the concept of “sex” as a biological fact and the concept of “gender” as a product of cultural and social processes, such as socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and gendered identities.

Sexism is the process by which systems, policies, actions, and attitudes create unequal opportunities and outcomes for people based on their attributed or supposed sex and the ideology underlying these phenomena. It is mostly used to name the power relations between dominant and marginalised genders within cisheteronormative patriarchal societies.

Sexual orientation is the term that describes which sex or gender a person feels emotionally, physically, romantically and/or sexually attracted to.

Social origin describes the socio-cultural values and norms into which one is born, including factors such as environment, class, caste, education biography, and more. The values that accompany one’s social origin are constructed, but often have material impact that privileges or under-privileges certain groups and people. For example, someone whose social origin includes living in a Western country, inheriting intergenerational wealth, and having a consistently good education will increase their chances for a high-paying job as an adult. Their social origin must therefore be taken into account, rather than their inherent worthiness for such a job. 

A social norm is a shared belief in the standard of acceptable behaviour by groups, both informal as well as institutionalized into policy or law. Social norms differ over time and between cultures and societies. 

Socioeconomic status, usually described as low, medium, or high, is a way of describing people based on their education, income, and type of job. The values and norms assigned to each socioeconomic class are socially constructed but have material impact. 

Structural discrimination refers to patterns of behaviour, policies, and attitudes found at the macro-level conditions of society. This discrimination of social groups is based on the nature of the structure of society as a whole. Structural discrimination is distinct from individual forms of discrimination (such as a single racist remark, which is a microaggression), though it often provides the contextual framework to understand why these individual instances occur. 

Tokenism is a superficial or symbolic gesture that includes minority members without significantly changing or addressing the structural discrimination of marginalization. Tokenism is a strategy intended to create the appearance of inclusion and to divert allegations of discrimination by requiring a single person to be representative of a minority. 

White supremacy names the beliefs and practices that privilege white people as an inherently superior race, built on the exclusion and detriment of other racial and ethnic groups. It can refer to the interconnected social, economic, and political systems that enable white people to enjoy structural advantages over other racial groups both on a collective and individual level. It can also refer to the underlying political ideology that imposes and maintains multiple forms of domination by white people and non-white supporters, from justifying European colonialism to present-day neo-fascisms. 

Whiteness is a socially and politically constructed behaviour that perpetuates an ideology, culture, history, and economy that results in the unequal distribution of power and privilege favoring those socially deemed white. The material benefits of whiteness are gained at the expense of Black, Indigenous, and people of color, who are systematically denied equal access to those material benefits. 
On our blog, white is often written in small italics to mark it as a political category and emphasize the privileges of whiteness which are often not named as such, but rather taken for granted as the invisible norm. 

Xenophobia names the hostility towards groups or individuals perceived as “outsiders” based on their culture. Xenophobic attitudes are often associated with hostile reception of immigrants or refugees who arrive in societies and communities that are not their homelands. Xenophobic discrimination can result in barriers to equally access socioeconomic opportunities, as well as ethnic, racial, or religious prejudice.

Abolition is a term that names officially ending a system, practice, or institution. Rooted in 19th century movements to abolish slavery, present day abolitionism is often invoked to end the practice of policing and military and/or the interconnected carceral systems of prisons, refugee camps, detention centers, and more. For more, see the definition of prison-industrial complex). 

Accountability is the obligation and willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions. In the context of social justice, accountability refers to the ways in which individuals and communities hold themselves to their principles and goals, as well as acknowledging the groups to which they are responsible. Accountability often requires a transparent process and continuous self- and collective awareness. 

Ageism is discrimination or prejudice based on a person’s age, such as when skills and abilities are questioned and assessed based on one’s older or younger age. 

Agender is an adjective that can be used by persons who do not identify as any gender.

BIPoC stands for Black, Indigenous and people of color. A term that originated in the U.S., it is a self-designation intended to center the specific experiences of Black, Indigenous, and other racialized groups, who are severely impacted by systemic racial injustice rooted in histories of enslavement and colonialism, and to unite people and groups affected by racism. 

Colorism is a term that describes the prejudice or discrimination favoring people with lighter skin tones over those with darker skin tones. This is especially used to describe the nuanced discrimination faced within a racial or ethnic group. 

The Critical Diversity Policy at UdK is a document whose intention is to emphasize and enforce the idea that differences in values, attitudes, cultural perspective, beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation, gender identity, abilities, knowledge and life experiences of each individual in each group of people should be considered and overcome within the university.

Deadnaming is the act of calling a trans*, nonbinary, or gender-expansive person by their birth name, or an incorrect name, when they have changed their name as part of their gender expression. It is never okay or necessary to use a person’s deadname when they have changed their name, including when describing past events. If you deadname someone, take accountability by apologizing and commit to not doing so in the future. Take steps to know someone’s current name and commit to using it.   

This sociological term focuses on how people observe, (re-)produce, and make gender relevant in everyday life. Rather than taking gender as an innate quality, the acts of “doing gender” emphasize how gender is a social construct that is prevalent in daily human interaction. 

Misogynoir is a term, coined by Black feminist Moya Bailey in 2010, that describes the gendered and racial oppression faced by Black cis and transgender women (the latter sometimes referred to as trans*-misogynoir). Taking an intersectional lens, misogynoir examines how anti-Black racism and misogyny combine into a particular form of oppression and discrimination. 

Queer is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. It Is used for a broad spectrum of non-normative sexual and/or gender identities and politics. 

Safer spaces are intended to be places where marginalized communities can gather and communicate shared experiences, free of bias, conflict, or harm perpetrated by members of a dominant group. Recognizing that there is no such thing as a perfectly safe space for marginalized people under the current systems of our society, the term “safer” indicates the goal of temporary relief, as well as acknowledging the fact that harm can be reproduced even within marginalized communities. 
Examples of safer spaces created in organizations and institutions are queer-only spaces and/or spaces only for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. 

Social justice is a form of activism and political movement that promotes the process of transforming society from an injust and unequal state to one that is just and equitable. Social justice is rooted in the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities, and the fundamental right to feel psychologically and physically secure. Social justice therefore aims to change governing laws and societal norms that have historically and presently oppressed some groups over others. Social justice is not just the absence of discrimination, but also the presence of deliberate systems and supports that achieve and sustain equity along lines of race, gender, class, ability, religion, and more. 

Transgender, or simply trans*, is an adjective that refers to people whose gender identity is different than the sex assigned at birth. Trans comes from the Latin prefix which means “across” or “beyond.” The self-designation is not an identity feature that automatically indicates whether this person identifies with a different gender, no gender or multiple genders. Thus, there are several trans* identities. The asterisks (*) emphasizes the plurality and fluidity of trans identities.