By: Micaela Burrow, Daily Caller News Foundation
The agency that provides intelligence for the U.S. military promulgated a document defining words for use in conversations about diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice, a leaked, but unclassified, document shows.
The National Security Agency (NSA) document, first obtained by The Daily Wire, includes definitions for different kinds of biases, sexual and gender identities or orientations, economic systems and everyday terms as they pertain to so-called racial “accountability” work. “Core” diversity terms for NSA employees are “diversity,” “workplace diversity,” equitable” — which calls for making adjustments to perceived imbalances and bias over providing equal treatment to everyone — and “inclusion or inclusion culture,” the document, dated May 6, 2022, states.
“It is by no means a comprehensive list and, in every context, the meaning of these words may change and evolve. This glossary and its definitions provide a starting point for engaging in open and honest conversation, and is a tool meant to build a shared language of understanding,” the document reads.
It’s unclear whether this document replaced a similar one or if any other guidance has superseded it.
James Hewitt, a spokesperson for Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, who serves on the NSA subcommittee of the House Intelligence Committee, confirmed the authenticity of the document to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The definition for “anti-racist” cites Ibram X. Kendi’s 2019 “How To Be Antiracist,” which argues that it is racist not to actively combat allegedly racist policies.
It also includes a definition for “white fragility” based on Robin DiAngelo’s 2018 book of the same name
An “accomplice” functions “to directly challenge institutionalized racism, colonization, and white supremacy by blocking or impeding racist people, policies, and structures,” the document says.
It also defines “sex change” in the context of surgery as an “often offensive term.”
The glossary contains definitions for terms including “asexual,” “aromantic,” “bisexual,” “bigender,” “demigender,” “demisexual,” “genderqueer,” “pangender,” “pansexual” as well as the ze/zir pronouns.
“Cisnormativity” is defined as “the belief that being cisgender is normal. This belief feeds into a system of oppression that privileges cisgender individuals and denies equality to transgender people.”
“Cissexism” is the “assumption that all people are cisgender. Because this assumption is so deeply ingrained in our society through socialization, many people say and do things that are cissexist without realizing it or intending to.”
It also includes acronyms AMAB, “assigned male at birth,” and AFAB, “assigned female at birth,” terms used by advocates to enforce the idea that a person’s sex is not inherent.
NSA added a caveat under the term “female-bodied,” which is equivalent to AFAB.
“Though still occasionally used this term is very problematic as it genders bodies non-consensually and plays into cissexism (in that breasts or a vulva, for example, are considered inherently female),” it reads. A corresponding note appeared under the entry for “male-bodied.”
The glossary delves into economic and political systems including neo-liberalism and capitalism, which is defined as “an economic and political order that relies on a mostly-private, unequal market system of production and consumption.”
The NSA did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
