A Glossary for the Uninitiated: 50 Feminist Terms Decoded

Why a Glossary

Feminist discourse is rich, evolving, and often jargon-heavy. The language of feminism is not designed to exclude, but it can be alienating to those encountering it for the first time. This glossary is an attempt to bridge that gap — to provide clear, accessible definitions of the terms that shape how feminists think, write, and organise.

This is not an exhaustive list. Feminism is a living tradition, and its vocabulary is constantly expanding. But these fifty terms represent the conceptual infrastructure of contemporary feminist thought — the words you need to understand the conversation.

Language is not neutral. It shapes what we can think, what we can say, and what we can imagine. Understanding feminist language is understanding feminist thought.

Gender and Identity

**Patriarchy** — A social system in which men hold disproportionate power and privilege in political, economic, cultural, and domestic spheres. Patriarchy is not a conspiracy; it is a structure — maintained by norms, laws, institutions, and daily practices. It benefits men as a class, though it does not benefit all men equally.

**Cisgender** — A person whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth. A cisgender woman was assigned female at birth and identifies as a woman. The term exists to distinguish from transgender, making visible the unmarked category.

**Transgender** — A person whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. A transgender woman was assigned male at birth and identifies as a woman. "Trans" is an adjective, not a noun — "a transgender person," not "a transgender."

**Non-binary** — A person whose gender identity does not fit exclusively into the categories of man or woman. Non-binary people may identify as a combination of genders, as neither gender, or as a gender entirely outside the binary framework.

**Gender dysphoria** — The distress experienced by a person whose gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. It is a clinical term, not a political one, and it is used to describe a real experience of suffering.

**Gender expression** — The way a person communicates their gender through clothing, behaviour, hairstyle, voice, and other outward markers. Gender expression exists on a spectrum and is not determined by gender identity.

**Femininity** — The set of behaviours, traits, and roles culturally associated with women. Femininity is not biological; it is socially constructed and varies across cultures and historical periods. Feminists critique the expectation that women perform femininity, not femininity itself.

**Masculinity** — The set of behaviours, traits, and roles culturally associated with men. Like femininity, masculinity is socially constructed. Patriarchal masculinity — the expectation that men be dominant, stoic, and aggressive — is harmful to both men and women.

Gender is not a personality test. It is a system of social organisation that assigns value based on perceived sex.

Power and Privilege

**Intersectionality** — A framework developed by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 that describes how different forms of oppression — race, gender, class, sexuality, disability — interact and compound each other. A Dalit woman in India does not experience gender and caste oppression separately; she experiences them simultaneously, in ways that are distinct from what either axis of oppression would produce alone.

**Privilege** — The unearned advantages that accrue to members of a dominant group. Privilege is not about having an easy life; it is about having certain barriers removed by default. A cisgender man does not face barriers related to cisgender privilege; a wealthy person does not face barriers related to class privilege. Privilege is invisible to those who have it.

**Kyriarchy** — A term coined by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza to describe a system of intersecting dominations — patriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism, heteronormativity — that create hierarchies of oppression. It extends the concept of patriarchy to account for the multiple, overlapping systems that produce inequality.

**Solidarity** — The commitment of members of an oppressed group to support each other's struggles. In feminism, solidarity means recognising that the fight against gender oppression is collective, not individual, and that women's liberation requires collective action.

**Ally** — A person who supports a group to which they do not belong. An ally is defined by actions, not by identity. Male feminists, white anti-racists, and heterosexual LGBTQ+ supporters are allies — if their support is grounded in action, not just sentiment.

**Hegemonic masculinity** — The culturally dominant model of manhood in a given society, which serves to legitimise men's power. Coined by sociologist R.W. Connell, the concept describes how a particular form of masculinity — typically white, heterosexual, physically powerful — is held up as the ideal, marginalising all other forms.

Privilege is not a sin. It is a condition. What you do with it is a choice.

Bodies and Health

**Reproductive justice** — A framework developed by women of colour in the United States that goes beyond "choice" to encompass the right to have children, the right not to have children, and the right to parent children in safe and healthy environments. It connects reproductive rights to economic justice, environmental justice, and racial justice.

**Bodily autonomy** — The right of every person to make decisions about their own body without coercion or interference. Bodily autonomy encompasses reproductive rights, sexual rights, and the right to be free from violence. It is a foundational feminist principle.

**Medical gaslighting** — The dismissal or minimisation of a patient's symptoms by healthcare providers, often on the basis of gender, race, or class. Medical gaslighting is particularly common for women, people of colour, and people with chronic pain conditions.

**Informed consent** — The principle that medical decisions must be made with full knowledge of the risks, benefits, and alternatives of a treatment. Informed consent requires that the patient understands the information provided and makes a voluntary decision. It is a cornerstone of medical ethics.

**Endometriosis** — A condition in which tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, causing pain, inflammation, and sometimes infertility. It affects an estimated one in ten women of reproductive age and is characterised by diagnostic delays of seven to twelve years.

**Postpartum depression** — A mood disorder that affects some women after childbirth, characterised by sadness, anxiety, exhaustion, and difficulty bonding with the baby. It is a medical condition, not a moral failing, and it is treatable.

**Eating disorder** — A psychiatric condition characterised by persistent disturbances in eating behaviour and the distress associated with body weight or shape. Eating disorders are not about vanity; they are about control, trauma, and the gendered politics of appetite.

Your body is not a problem to be solved. It is a site of your autonomy, your pleasure, and your power.

Work and Economics

**Gender pay gap** — The difference between what men and women earn, typically measured as a percentage of men's earnings. In India, the gender pay gap is approximately 27 percent, though the figure varies significantly by sector, caste, and region. It reflects structural discrimination, not individual choice.

**Glass ceiling** — An invisible barrier that prevents women from advancing to the highest levels of professional or political leadership. The glass ceiling is maintained by bias, discrimination, and institutional structures that favour men.

**Unpaid care work** — The domestic and caregiving labour — cooking, cleaning, childcare, eldercare — that is performed without monetary compensation. Women perform approximately 75 percent of the world's unpaid care work. This labour is essential to economic functioning but is systematically undervalued.

**Occupational segregation** — The concentration of men and women in different occupations and sectors. Women are overrepresented in care work, education, and service sectors; men are overrepresented in technology, finance, and construction. This segregation is driven by social norms, not by aptitude.

**Maternal wall** — The discrimination faced by mothers in the workplace, based on the assumption that motherhood diminishes a woman's competence and commitment. The maternal wall is a barrier to career advancement that operates independently of actual performance.

The economy runs on women's labour. It just does not pay for it.

Violence and Safety

**Gender-based violence** — Violence directed at a person because of their gender, or violence that disproportionately affects people of a particular gender. In India, gender-based violence includes domestic violence, sexual assault, dowry-related violence, honour killing, and trafficking.

**Consent** — An affirmative, enthusiastic, and ongoing agreement to participate in a sexual activity. Consent must be freely given, without coercion, and can be withdrawn at any time. Silence, passivity, or the absence of a "no" does not constitute consent.

**Victim blaming** — The attribution of responsibility for a crime or harm to the victim rather than the perpetrator. Victim blaming manifests in questions about what a woman was wearing, drinking, or doing at the time of an assault. It is a mechanism for protecting the status quo.

**Femicide** — The killing of a woman or girl because of her gender. Femicide is the extreme end of a continuum of gender-based violence, and it is epidemic in many countries, including India.

**Marital rape** — Non-consensual sexual activity within marriage. In India, marital rape is not recognised as a criminal offence — a legal gap that feminist organisations have been fighting to close for decades.

Violence against women is not a private matter. It is a public crisis that requires public solutions.

Sexuality and Relationships

**Heteronormativity** — The assumption that heterosexuality is the default, the norm, and the ideal. Heteronormativity structures institutions, laws, and social expectations around heterosexual relationships, marginalising LGBTQ+ people.

**Patriarchal bargain** — A term coined by Deniz Kandiyoti to describe the strategies women use to gain power or security within a patriarchal system. The patriarchal bargain may involve conforming to traditional gender roles in exchange for protection, economic support, or social status.

**Compulsory heterosexuality** — A concept developed by Adrienne Rich that describes heterosexuality as a political institution enforced through socialisation, violence, and the denial of alternatives. It challenges the assumption that heterosexuality is a natural or innate orientation.

**Emotional labour** — The work of managing one's own emotions and the emotions of others, typically expected of women in both professional and personal contexts. Emotional labour includes listening, comforting, mediating, and performing social harmony.

**Love bombing** — A manipulation tactic in which a person overwhelms another with excessive affection, attention, and gifts in the early stages of a relationship. It is a precursor to coercive control.

Relationships should be negotiations between equals, not performances of dominance and submission.

Media and Culture

**Male gaze** — A concept developed by Laura Mulvey to describe how visual media — film, advertising, photography — is structured around the assumed perspective of a heterosexual male viewer. Women in media are often positioned as objects of visual pleasure rather than as subjects with agency.

**Representation** — The depiction of diverse groups of people in media, politics, and culture. Representation matters because it shapes how people see themselves and how they are seen by others. Invisibility in representation is a form of cultural erasure.

**Slut shaming** — The practice of criticising or humiliating a person, typically a woman, for her sexual behaviour or appearance. Slut shaming is a mechanism of sexual control that polices women's behaviour while leaving men's behaviour unscrutinised.

**Tone policing** — The dismissal of an argument based on the emotional tone in which it is delivered, rather than its content. Tone policing is frequently used against women, people of colour, and marginalised groups who express anger or frustration about injustice.

**Gaslighting** — A form of psychological manipulation in which a person is made to doubt their own perception, memory, or sanity. Gaslighting is both a interpersonal tactic and a structural phenomenon — institutions gaslight people when they deny realities that are clearly documented.

Culture is not a backdrop. It is a battlefield. And the fight over representation is a fight over who counts as human.

Law and Policy

**Affirmative action** — Policies designed to increase the representation of historically marginalised groups in education, employment, and politics. In India, affirmative action takes the form of reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes in government education and employment.

**Patriarchal dividend** — A term used by Raewyn Connell to describe the unearned benefits that accrue to men as a result of patriarchal structures. The patriarchal dividend includes higher wages, greater authority, and more freedom — benefits that exist regardless of an individual man's personal qualities.

**Feminist jurisprudence** — An approach to law that analyses how legal systems reflect and reinforce gender inequality. Feminist legal scholars examine how laws that appear neutral may have gendered effects in practice.

**Legal pluralism** — The coexistence of multiple legal systems within a single society. In India, the coexistence of personal laws based on religion — Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi — creates a landscape in which women's rights vary depending on their religious identity.

**CEDAW** — The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted by the United Nations in 1979. CEDAW is often described as the international bill of rights for women. India ratified CEDAW in 1993.

The law is not a neutral instrument. It is shaped by the same power structures it claims to regulate.

Putting It Together

Feminist language is a tool for understanding power. Every term in this glossary names a reality that was previously unnamed or unrecognised. To learn these terms is not to adopt a ideology; it is to acquire a vocabulary for describing the world as it is.

The conversation is ongoing. The language is evolving. The goal remains constant: a world in which gender does not determine a person's access to safety, opportunity, dignity, or freedom.

You do not have to agree with every feminist argument. But you should know what the words mean. Language is the first step toward understanding, and understanding is the first step toward change.