Words & Phrases *Longer post*

There are many ways to describe people with disabilities. Most are good, some are bad. A few can be pretty awful. Then there are terms that, while well-intentioned, can be kind of odd. I've got fairly strong opinions about all of them, and here the all are.


The R Word

Let's get the big, nasty one out of the way first. The "R word", used for retardation and any variation thereof. It's wrong and nobody, disabled or otherwise, should be called that but the truth is that mental retardation is a medically valid term and is used widely. So, while I absolutely support campaigns like Spread the Word to End the Word, I feel like we should look at the medical community to use different terminology before going after organizations like the music and television industries because, let's face it, not much else is going to change unless it changes in that official respect first.

In the meantime, it's still a negative word and shouldn't be said, especially casually. Seriously, this "that's retarded" stuff is starting to get annoying. If you think something's dumb, just say it's dumb. Not offensive, just as effective and, hey, fewer syllables.

Cripple

To me, cripple is a word that's not really offensive, it's just out-dated and old fashioned. When I hear the word cripple I don't think of myself or others I know who are disabled, I think of Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol. It was a common term when many disability organizations were founded. Easter Seals started out as The Society for Crippled Children, but that was in the 1920's. Like I said, old fashioned.

Gimp

Again, another word I don't find totally offensive, it's just that to me "gimp" has always stood for something that has nothing to do with disabilities and can be kind of risky.

See, I'm a Quentin Tarantino fan, so when I hear the word gimp, my mind goes to Pulp Fiction and the gimp character associated with S&M, which is something I NEVER want to think about when I'm talking about disabilities.

Additionally, there's the matter of disabled people calling each other gimps. I've always found this weird. I think it's partly because it sounds like pimp, so people think they're cool, but I also think there's an element of "it's our word, and we're claiming it" which, in my opinion, is kind of ridiculous and needs to stop. (This goes for "cripple"/"crip" as well.)


Person-first Language

In my opinion, person-first language is something that is better in theory than in practice. In theory, I completely support it, but in practice I find that whether you say "Person with a disability" versus "Disabled person" (or any variation of this) doesn't really matter much. It certainly doesn't change the condition of the person who's being talked to or about.

Also, I find ideas like "See the person, not the disability" kind of troublesome. Again, I get the idea, it's just that I think this way of thinking can ignore the disability outright, which is wrong. A) Sometimes you can't help but see a person's disability, B) Acknowledging the disability first can go a long way toward understanding the individual and being able to communicate with them better, and C) It's my opinion that not seeing the disability ignores a fundamental part of the person, and is sort of disrespectful to them.

So, instead of deciding whether to acknowledge the person or disability first, we should just start talking.


Differently-abled, Handi-capable, and Political Correctness 

Now, this stuff really irks me.

Everyone is differently-abled. I am differently abled when compared to people like Kobe Bryant, Brad Pitt, and Eric Clapton. It has nothing to do with my disability, but my lack of prowess in basketball, acting, and music. I get that people wanted to make a more positive version of "disabled" but differently-abled is a general term and should be forgotten in connection to people with disabilities.

Finally, "handi-capable". I would rather be called any of the first three words I brought up in this post a million times than be called handi-capable even once. Handi-capable is a good example of people trying to be polite but, unfortunately, coming up with a word that sounds more ridiculous than the ones they were trying to avoid.


So that's my two-cents about disability-related language. While I think that it's important to be conscientious of how we talk to each other whether disabled or not, and finding better ways to do so is always good, I think that it's more important to just talk, plain and simple. Sure there might be complications, but you'll never know unless you try.

Cheers!