NOTE: These definitions were created and sourced by the Freedom Oklahoma staff and should be used as a frame of reference for the content and SAQ questions throughout Liberate. They are terms that helped guide us through the development of this project. They are not listed in alphabetical order, rather, they are ordered to form a narrative for easier understanding.

Sexual Health Education (SHE):

SHE informs our understanding of reproductive health, pleasure, social norms, self-beliefs, sexual orientation, and more. A SHE curriculum needs to include medically accurate, age-appropriate, culturally relevant, and developmentally accessible content that promotes healthy, consensual sexual development. Most SHE does not follow these standards. In order to create inclusive, evidence-based SHE, we must know about SHE experiences that did not follow these standards. Sexual Health Education can come from many different places such as schools, peers, churches, mentors, online, etc. There is no one way or place to receive SHE. 

Trauma-Informed Care:

A framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all aspects of trauma. It emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety for trauma survivors and care providers, and helps survivors rebuild a sense of control and empowerment.

Toxic Masculinity: 

The idea that men and boys should be socially dominant and refrain from expressing their emotions. Toxic masculinity also includes the idea that any display of emotion other than anger is weak and inherently feminine. There are related concepts, such as misogyny and homophobia, which can all be "toxic" due to their promotion of violence, including sexual assault, and domestic violence. The socialization of boys in patriarchal societies often normalizes violence, such as the sayings "boys will be boys" in relation to violence, and "man up" or "boys don't cry” when expressing emotions. 

Misogyny:

The hatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against women; often sexual health education centers the male experience at the expense of the female counterpart. Until the last few years, sexual health education rarely included genders that exist outside of the male/female binary, and the education provided often centered reproduction (or lack thereof).

Patriarchy/Patriarchal: 

A society in which men hold the power and all others are largely excluded from it. Many experiences, resources, services, and institutions center men in our society. This kind of gender inequality leads to health & economic disparities and trauma among those who are not male. See Equity, People in the Margins, Intersectionality, and Accountability for more information. 

Purity Culture:

The belief that in order to remain holy or ‘pure’, one must abstain from sex outside of marriage. This concept often carries the belief that women are intended to anticipate and serve the needs of men and prioritize them over their own needs. This framework is based on strict compliance with the gender binary and stereotypical gender roles, which directly harms the 2SLGBTQ+ community which largely exists outside of stereotypical gender norms. Purity culture often places the blame of gender-based violence on women or people who are seen as feminine rather than the men who perpetrate it. It is important to note that the culture of sexism, neglect, and unrealistic gender expectations are harmful; an individual’s faith and decisions are completely up to them. 

Virginity/Virgin: 

A reference to an individual who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. Virginity is often an important aspect of purity culture, with the idea that to be a virgin is to be ‘clean’, ‘pure’, or ‘innocent’. Most often, virgin or virginity is applied to people assigned female at birth and is deeply rooted in purity culture. The concept of virginity is often vague, as there are many different interpretations of what sexual/intimate acts qualify for someone to ‘lose their virginity.’ To lose one’s virginity can have different social implications depending on the identities one holds in dominant culture.

Victim Blaming: 

When a victim/survivor of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm they’ve suffered. This can most often be seen used against women or people assigned female at birth (i.e. “look at what they were wearing,” “look what you made me do,” “they deserved what happened to them,” etc).

Sex Worker: 

An adult who receives money or goods in exchange for consensual sexual services or erotic performances, either regularly or occasionally. Some people engage in sex work as a means of survival, with a much higher rate of sex workers being 2SLGBTQ+. We encourage people to move away from using ‘prostitution’ or ‘prostitute’ when speaking about sex work. 

Gender: 

One's own internal sense of self; whether that is man, woman, neither, both, fluid or built on a construct that exists outside of the dominant culture’s view of gender. This often develops by age 2-3 and is done so in relation to how they feel internally when seeing how people- based on their gender- externally interact with others. Gender is not the same as sex. 

Assigned Sex at Birth: 

The sex assigned to a child at birth, most often based on the child's external anatomy without regard to chromosomes or internal reproductive system. Male and female are most common in dominant culture. Intersex is also a valid assigned sex at birth. Assigned sex at birth does not determine one’s gender.

Dominant Culture:

A society referring to the established language, religion, behavior, values, rituals, and social customs; white, cisgender, able-bodied individuals, and their needs are often seen as “normal”- or dominant culture- within the US. 

Social Construct(s): 

A concept or perception of something based on the collective views developed and maintained within a society or social group. The gender binary is an example of a social construct, as the dichotomy of ‘man’ or ‘woman’ is often the accepted idea of gender in our society, despite the fact that it excludes the experiences of many individuals.

Heteronormative: 

The concept, belief, or attitude that heterosexuality is the preferred, typical, or natural mode or expression of sexuality.

Binary:  

A concept or belief that there are only two genders/sexes and that one's sex or gender assigned at birth will align with traditional social constructs of masculine and feminine identity, expression, and sexuality. 

Colonization: 

The action of taking over a place or domain for one's own use. America was built by colonizing Indigenous people and land. Today, many institutions (such as healthcare), follow a standard of care that is catered to the bodies and needs of white, cisgender people. However, many cultures have and recognize genders/sexes outside of the binary that colonization has created. Often those who do not hold those identities struggle to find providers or services that will individualize their care.

Decolonization: 

A system that puts forth the needs of all people and is responsive to the particular needs of each and every individual rather than defaulting to a system that only serves the dominant culture. Decolonizing is a return to balance between people and the land; finding connectedness and balance in the relationships we build with one another and our environment. 

Intersectionality: 

We recognize that this is an often co-opted and appropriated term and use it with intention. Coined in 1989 by lawyer, advocate, and scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in a legal context, this term was used to help describe how women of color, particularly Black women, are uniquely disadvantaged in society. The term is now used widely to help describe how people with multiple identities outside of dominant culture (white, straight, cisgender, able-bodied, etc.) face unique instances of violence and barriers to justice because they do not fit into dominant categories of identity. People’s experiences differ depending on the types of identities they hold. This is different than adding identities or adding struggles–the idea is that each person’s lived experience is unique or complex since they might be affected by a number of discriminations and disadvantages. 

For example: A Black woman does not go through life the same way that a white woman does because of her race, even though they are both women. They both may face discrimination based on their gender, but the discrimination the Black woman faces will be different because of her race. 

People in the Margins/Marginalized People: 

Groups and communities that experience discrimination and exclusion (racism, sexism, ableism, classism, etc) from dominant culture and its institutions; Stress, anxiety, anger, or depression are valid side effects of being marginalized.

Equity: 

The quality of being fair and impartial; equity involves trying to understand and give people what they need to enjoy full, healthy lives. Equality, in contrast, aims to ensure that everyone gets the same things in order to enjoy full, healthy lives despite an individual’s needs.

Disability: 

Any condition of the body or mind that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities and interact with the world around them. We expand the definition of disability to include the understanding that people’s relationship with disability is fluid and that not everyone sees themselves as disabled or impacted by ableism–nor is it something that people will identify with at all times throughout their lives. 

Accessibility:

The quality of being easy to approach, reach, enter, speak with, use, understand, or obtain. It includes any content or functionality that is fully available to and usable by everyone, including disabled folks. Accessibility is about more than physically accessing a space. 

Accountability:  

An acceptance of responsibility for ones ethical conduct towards others; a willingness to be judged on performance; acknowledging the points of improvement while actively working towards change. 

Radical Vulnerability: 

The choice to be honest, transparent, and authentic in your interactions with other people, even when society may expect us to hide our truth in order to maintain the status quo or not make waves. Engaging in radical vulnerability helps us build relationships based in truth and justice.