Glossary

bigotry
Intolerance or bias towards an identity or group of people.
calling in
Approaching problematic behavior or language with sympathy; asking why the behavior occurred, explaining why it is oppressive, and devising a new course of action collaboratively.
calling out
Approaching problematic behavior or language combatively; striving to shame a group or individual for their behavior to serve as a warning to others.
camp
An aesthetic that privileges “poor taste,” shock value, and irony, posing an intentional challenge to the traditional attributes of high art. It is often characterized by showiness, extreme artifice, and tackiness.
content
The “what” of a story, typically entailing narrative, characters, and dialogue.
form
The way a story is told, including choices such as editing, cinematography, wardrobe, framing, etc.
gender binary
The idea that there are only two genders, men and women, and that everyone should and will identify accordingly.
gender expression
The external presentation of gender, through body language, pronoun choice, and style of dress
heteronormativity
The way to describe policies, beliefs, and behaviors that assume everyone adheres to the gender binary or that everyone is heterosexual.
heterosexist
Policies, beliefs, or behaviors enacted by straight people that discriminate against queer people.
homonormativity
homonormativity is a political and sometimes narrative approach that works to establish LGBTQ lives as no different from straight lives beyond the gender(s) to which one is attracted. It is an assimilation-based approach that invokes the rhetoric of sameness in appeals for civil rights and social acceptance.
homophobia
Fear or hatred for queerness and queer people.
marginalized
To be rendered less important, less powerful, and less visible than what is considered the norm or mainstream.
nuanced
Containing layers of meaning, having subtle differences.
pathologize
To represent a trait, behavior, or identity as a sickness or inevitable tragedy.
prejudice
A preconceived positive or (usually) negative feeling toward someone or something.
privileged
Entitled to advantages that are not available to everyone.
queer
Pertaining to a person or group that does not fall within the gender binary or heterosexuality.
quinceañera
A Latinx tradition of celebrating a girl’s 15th birthday as a transition from girlhood to womanhood.
representation
Portrayal of a person or group by a representative who acts for them or in their interests.
scapegoating
Making someone else take the blame to avoid consequences.
trope
Patterns, phrases, rhetorical devices, or plot points that have been used so often they can be categorized and anticipated.