GLOSSARY

AUTONOMOUS

Independent and having the power to make one’s own decisions (Cambridge Dictionary)

CARCERAL

Of or relating to prison, imprisonment, policing, or other formal methods of social control (Dictionary.com)

CISHETERONORMATIVE

A set of ideas, social norms, cultural beliefs, and discourse based on the assumption that heterosexuality and being cisgender are the norm, and privileges these over any other form of sexual orientation or gender identity, furthering the marginalization of queer and gender diverse people (HRC, LGBTQ Primary Hub)

CISGENDER

A term that describes a person whose gender identity aligns with the sex assigned to them at birth (HRC)

GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING

A method of mobilization or community organizing that comes from the ground up, in which everyday people come together to address an issue in their community and take action to advocate for change in a variety of ways (Impactive)

DOULA

A person who provides continuous emotional, informational and physical support before, during and just after birth. Doulas provide non-medical support by providing encouragement, information and a variety of comfort measures to help a person throughout their birthing process. Clinical studies show that the presence of a doula at birth tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications, less interventions, a greater success with breast-feeding and an overall feeling of a more positive birth (Black Doula Project)

HYPERSEXUALIZATION

The attribution of sexual or erotic characteristics to someone or something to an extreme or inappropriate degree; the excessive focusing of someone or something on sex or sexuality (Oxford Languages)

INDIGENOUS

A people inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times or from before colonization; native (Oxford Languages)

MARGINALIZED

To relegate or assign to an unimportant or powerless position within a society or group (Merriam-Webster)

Midwife

A trained health professional who works in partnership with birthing people to provide care and support throughout pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum; care may include preventative measures, delivery, the promotion of normal birth, the detection of complications in mother and child, the accessing of medical care or other appropriate assistance and the carrying out of emergency measures (International Confederation of Midwives)

Misogynoir

Coined by Moya Bailey, prejudice against Black women and femmes based on both race and gender; the ways anti-Black and misogynistic representation shape broader ideas about Black women in society and pop culture

ROE V. WADE

The landmark 1973 US Supreme Court decision that ruled that the Constitution protects a person’s liberty to choose to have an abortion, essentially protecting the right to choose at the federal level

POST-ROE WORLD

Referring to the time period after the Roe V. Wade decision was overturned in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case in 2022, in which the right to abortion is not guaranteed or protected by the federal government in the US

Reproductive Justice

As defined by SisterSong, Reproductive Justice is the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities. The term was coined by a group of Black women, later dubbed “Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice,” in 1994, ahead of the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo.

Sovereignty

Supreme power, especially over a body politic; freedom from external control (Merriam-Webster)