Who We Listen To

This identity is about the diverse array of differences in physical, mental, cognitive, developmental, learning, and/or emotional make-up. It also includes mental health and the impact of social experiences such as trauma and surviving abuse.

This identity category addresses society's perceptions of people in different age groups. For example, college students may be referred to as “kids” despite technically being adults and may be dismissed because of assumptions about this group’s maturity level and capability. Older adults may also be discriminated against in employment or may be treated as children as they age.

This identity addresses a person's cultural associations, such as sharing a common language, ancestry, national origin, and/or a variety of cultural beliefs.

This identity is associated with a person’s deep seated felt sense of who they are. Gender Identity is more than simply identifying a person by their sex, in that sex is generally identified with one’s anatomy. Examples of sex are male, female, and intersex (having a combination of female and male parts). Examples of gender also include cisgender (people whose gender identity matches the gender or sex assigned at birth), transgender (people who identify differently than designated at birth), nonbinary gender identity (those who do not identify as the binary of man or woman in relation to society’s definitions and instead view gender as less fixed), and genderqueer (a person who may not identify with and/or express themselves within the gender binary). Because of these varying gender identities, individuals may identify with a variety of gender pronouns that cannot be known by looking at someone (such as she/her/hers, he/him/his, and they/them/theirs.

This identity refers to the concept used to classify humans based on perceived physical characteristics such as skin color, eye shape and color, body shape, hair texture, and other physical features.

This identity category relates to a person’s or a group’s beliefs about the existence of God or gods and/or an identification with a particular religion or set of spiritual practices. For example, a person may identify with one of the major world religions (e.g. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Folk Religions), and/or as spiritual, agnostic, or atheist.

This identity refers to a person’s sexual, emotional, romantic, and/or affectional attractions, not necessarily dependent on behavior. Examples of identities include heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual (people who are attracted to people of two genders), pansexual (a term referring to the potential for attractions or love toward people of all gender identities and sexes), asexual (people who either do not feel sexual attraction or do not feel desire for a sexual partner or partners. Some asexual individuals may still have romantic attractions), and queer (a self-identification for a person whose gender identity/expression and/or sexual orientation does not conform to societal categories).

This identity category is commonly conceptualized as one’s social standing in society based on income, wealth, or poverty. It is often used interchangeably with social class which includes additional factors such as a combination of education, occupation, lifestyle, and family background.