[6], In the same way that the term "queer" has been reappropriated by the gay rights movement, members of the disability rights movement have reclaimed words such as "cripple", "crip", and "gimp" to refer to themselves. TikTok video from parker (@sk8.r.d13): "anyway while I have ur attention , cripple is a slur u shouldn't b using it if ur able bodied (try and start shit and i'll turn off my comments again)". It works whenever we want to show that someone has got gradually worse. Since the Middle Ages, crazy has derogatorily referred to people who have a disease or sickness. This quote shows the reasons why some people in marginalized communities might not embrace the usage of demeaning terms. Offensive a: a lame or partly disabled person or animal b: one that is disabled or deficient in a specified manner 2. something flawed or imperfect Adjective being lame, flawed, or imperfect Verb 1. to deprive of the use of a limb and especially a leg A cripple rafter runs from hip to valley on a roof or is cut short to allow for an opening such as a chimney or skylight. However, I find the word "handicapped" much more offensive, and would rather be called a cripple than being called handicapped. Its best to find out from them which words are most appropriate. 60 years later, we still havent retired the word spaz from our everyday conversations, but its time to leave it a thing of the past. This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. He explains, Newly in vogue among some physically disabled people is the very word that is the ultimate in offensiveness to others: cripple. Its like a raised gnarled fist, says Cheryl Wade, a Berkeley, California, performance artist, who likes crippled because it is a blunt and accurate description of her body.. Being a "crip" is not a metaphor of being a 'bad ass' disabled person, as many privileged academics seem to assume. Some people consider it best to use person-first language, for example "a person with a disability" rather than "a disabled person. Youve probably used the word crazy more times than you can count, but you may not know its harmful to people with mental illness. Slurs are used against every marginalized group of people, and the process of reclaiming such derogatory terms is a concept that has beenand continues to beexplored by the communities. Any offensive word that was a staple in the Dark Ages is, If your first inclination is to call a boring night out or a letdown of a party lame, please think again. A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful . About UsWe are on a mission to help you become better at English. Collectively, you have used language to shame or shun disabled people, so try to be less offended if youre called out on how you talk about disability. The use of language that was once employed to silence or dehumanize people is now being rectified by reclaiming words that were once harmful to the very communities they were used against. In the 1940s, lame became even more derogatory as it rose in popularity as a way to describe socially awkward people. Theyre both hurt after colliding with each other. I was born with my physical disability,. The definition of incapacitated, according to The Cambridge Dictionary, is to make someone unable to work or do things normally, or unable to do what they intended to do.. A cripple is a person or animal with a physical disability, particularly one who is unable to walk because of an injury or illness. Reclamation of words is not a phenomenon unique to the disability community, which Nunn points out in his article. Although weve made progress in dismantling the mental health stigma, people with mental illness still are called crazy for having noticeable symptoms of schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, and anxiety. I always thought the use of the word handicapped as offensive because it was trying to soften the way to say that you have had some pretty import. We live in one that allows the Other-ing of people that are different from the perceived and valued norm of being individual and independent. Images are conjured of someone childlike and in need of fixing a figure to be pitied and looked down upon. We exercise judgment in when and where it's appropriate to use. Its so important that we stop making light of the real struggles people with OCD face by describing ourselves as OCD because we like to line up our pens on our desks. Disabled people dont typically get called hurt., The definition of hurt, according to The Cambridge Dictionary, is to feel pain in a part of your body, or to injure someone or cause them pain.. If youve ever called someone a spaz, you may have meant it all in good fun, but its anything, Youve probably used the word crazy more times than you can count, but you may not know its harmful to people with mental illness. Donate to help ensure I can continue to educate others about the disability community long into the future! Not every word that is slightly offensive to a community is a slur, people spend way too much time deciding what is a . Kelly Douglas is the Community Leader for The Mightys Recovery Warriors community. One of these reasons is ignorance, in that its not known when a word has been reclaimed; there is no ad taken out in newspapers or worldwide cell phone alert that notifies the whole disabled community that certain words are undergoing a rebrand. The following is a list of terms, used to describe disabilities or people with disabilities, which may carry negative connotations or be offensive to people with or without disabilities. Here are a few examples of how they work: Incapacitated works when talking about a disability. Ableism is defined as prejudice and discrimination based on one's disability or perceived disability. It's an actual gang, and people who've made deliberate choices to avoid the. The other issue that people have with reclaimed words is there is no council meeting about the new singular definition of a word. This time, it mostly refers to people who get gradually worse over time. ", Writing about Disabled People Guidelines for journalists from GLAD (Greater London Action on Disability), Learn how and when to remove this template message, Mental or mentally deficient, mental case, defective, disabled, deranged, or ill, Disability etiquette - Tips On Interacting With People With Disabilities, Inclusive language: words to use when writing about disability, "Advice for Staff - Disability etiquette: Appropriate language and behaviour", List of terms to avoid when writing about disability, Research and Training Center on Independent Living, University of Kansas, Guidelines: How to Write about People with Disabilities, "The harmful ableist language you unknowingly use", List of age-related terms with negative connotations, "Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability", "Journalists should learn to carefully traverse a variety of disability terminology | National Center on Disability and Journalism", "No, You Shouldn't Call Someone 'Crazy.' Try:The effects of Covid-19 have severely immobilized the economy. Oops! Cripple originated as early as the 10th century as a way to, Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a completely valid diagnosis, but that doesnt mean its a great way to describe yourself. Some people believe that terms should be avoided if they might hurt people; others hold the listener responsible for misinterpreting terms used without harmful intent. One of the discussions about the reclamation of words was with Cheryl Wade, who is a fan of using the word cripple to describe herself. To expand upon the metaphor of language being one of the first battlegrounds, Wades imagery of a fista weapon to fight withis appropriate. Typically, damage is something that can happen to someone, whether its their fault or not. Both Nunn and Shapiro understand the concept of reclaiming language as a possible few inches gained on the battleground of progress. [8], Person or animal with a physical disability, typically being unable to walk, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cripple&oldid=1132008140, Pejorative terms for people with disabilities, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Cripple studs are non-structural but provide a nailing base for siding or interior wall coverings. This shows that having control of ones own narrative is empowering because a community can then, quite literally, define itself. Therefore, there is a limit to how long someone might be injured.. These pieces were written in two different times in our history, about two decades apart, thus offering two differing perspectives on the reclamation of words for the disabled community and other marginalized groups. Any number of things can lead to an injury. I'm just confused and that's making me frustrated. Today, people with physical disabilities have started a movement to reclaim the word cripple, but if you dont have a physical disability, this word isnt yours to reclaim. In lieu of a group chat of every marginalized person getting everyone up to speed on new definitions and thus discontinuing the use [of a reclaimed word] in the older negative way, we have to recognize that not everyone will agree to the terms and conditions of reclaimed words and thats OK. A disabled person, for example, has to be comfortable with other disabled people not being comfortable with reclaimed words, but nevertheless hope we can either come to some consensus or, at the very least, agree to disagree. The offense from "cripple" usually comes from directing it at a disabled person as a judgement or insult. ", "Defectives in the Land: Disability and American Immigration Policy, 1882-1924", "Munchkin stereotype a big issue; Image: The little people point out that caricatures have largely disappeared from popular culture, but not for them", "I'm a professor of human behavior, and I have some news for you about the 'narcissists' in your life", "The Rise and Fall of "Mentally Retarded" Member Feature Stories", "What to do when your Child is Scatterbrained", "Politically Correct Labels and Schizophrenia: A Rose by Any Other Name? If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. 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Youve likely seen the r-word all over the internet and you may also have spotted plenty of campaigns against it. . "[1] However identity-first language, as in "autistic person" or "Deaf person", is preferred by many people and organizations. The research shows that when social media users are posting about people with intellectual disabilities, 7 in every 10 of those posts are negative, and 6 in 10 contain a slur. You may be familiar with the hashtag Crip The Vote or see Facebook Groups entitled Crip Community. Many people with disabilities are actively seeking to reclaim the word as their own. Its time for a change. It's offensive! This quote shows the dichotomy of slurs as both a harmful weapon against disabled people, but also a shield or a tool that disabled people can pick up themselves and hold in their own defense or wield with power. Join the community to learn how you can become an ally to the disability community. We can but dream.. I have no special talents. One thing that Shapirowho Id like to note is a nondisabled mandoes in his piece which is crucial to its value is his interviewing of disabled people to get their opinions of matters affecting them. 3233 views. If we do not know what has caused a person to be disabled, there is nothing stopping us from asking. "a few books short of a library"), a term meant to imply that a person has reduced or limited mental faculties, Attention-seeking, commonly used to label someone who is suffering emotionally, Crazy cat lady (derogatory term typically aimed at mentally ill and, Dummy (in the context of a stupid or ignorant person), used as a derogatory insult towards mentally disabled people; the term also used to be used to describe people incapable of speaking, suggestive of an insulting, Inmate (when referring to a psychiatric admission), Munchkin (see "Midget" above), a term derived from the 1930s feature film, Mutant, referring to someone with an uncommon genetic mutation, Not the brightest bulb / Not the sharpest tool in the shed (mentally disabled derogatory term), Out to lunch (slang term for "crazy" or mentally ill), Psychopath, which is an old term that used to mean a person with a mental illness, Quasimodo, which translates to "half-formed" or more commonly "deformed", and made infamous by the fictional character, Schizophrenic, when referring to an individual, This page was last edited on 11 January 2023, at 18:06. The relevance of this is that whether one is disabled or not, it is critical to always be conscious of the fact that supposedly reclaimed words like cripple might still carry echoes of a time when the word would be thrown in a disabled persons face as an insult. For more information, please see our Again, its best to use with someone who has picked up an injury and is likely to recover. context matters. There are plenty of other disabilities as well, and the term disabled refers to them all. Thanks :). It surfaces in policies, actions, media, and the. Suffragette has been so successfully rebranded that most dont even know of its initial intention to be used as a derisive title; the power of the word was so completely shifted to the ladies of the movement that no one would even think to use it as a slur nowadays. A college student with faulty collagen. The issue with cripple becomes painfully obvious once you place its original definition next to the ones that we, as a society, have crafted above. Check out these examples to help you understand more about it: Immobilized is another useful and appropriate term we can use. If youve ever called someone a spaz, you may have meant it all in good fun, but its anything but fun for many people with disabilities. Plenty of people with disabilities have been called spaz for simply existing in their bodies or speaking or thinking in ways able-bodied, neurotypical people dont understand. Privacy It is formally recognized as a derogatory and insulting term, and you should avoid using it in every case. In his chapter, Shapiro believesalong with some of the disabled people he interviewedperson with a disability is the most acceptable way to refer to a disabled person. Cripple used to mean "a person with a physical or mobility impairment." Its shortened form, "crip" has been reclaimed by some people with disabilities as a positive identity. Our present day definition has allowed our societys biases and assumptions of the disability community to influence and expand the ways in which we use the word. The term crippled would probably be considered impolite, but it is occasionally used especially for some conditions, especially as a verb He has been progressively crippled by his advanced arthritis. This is counterintuitive to the idea that reclaiming words allows a marginalized group to possess militant self-pride through the use of language. The two opposing views of reclaimed words like cripple is further discussed in Nunns Power grab article: Thats one of the problems with reclaiming concepts: not only do you have a set of people who dont understand that the word has been reclaimed in the first place, so they continue to use it in the older negative way, but you can also have different understandings of what the reclaiming actually means.. If the reclamation of language makes those in the disabled community feel empowered and lighter, then that would seem to indicate that power has been shifted back, at least to those who are part of the consensus in reclaiming a particular word like cripple. But maybe reclaiming language is a concept that doesnt have to be this or that-ed; there can be those who embrace the usage of the gnarled fist of cripple with glee, while others should be allowed to disregard the term should they wish to do so. As people with dwarfism struggled to be gainfully employed, many ended up as attractions in circus sideshows that used the word midget to draw in customers. On the Use of Disability-Adjusted Life Years in Health Policy. Today, many people with dwarfism prefer the less negative descriptor little person, so unless people with dwarfism choose to openly reclaim the word midget, theres no good reason for people to still use it. Todays word is Cripple. Keep reading to learn why this word is inherently ableist and discover alternatives you can begin to use in its place. You may think cripple sounds like a neutral term, but its now an outdated, offensive way to refer to someone who struggles with movement. Hes damaged! The word autistic does belong on the web but only to positively or neutrally describe someone with autism. I wish there was something more I could do. We measure our progress from the very beginning of our lives by our first words and sentences and then later our ability for eloquence and elegance when getting into colleges and securing jobs. The word "cripple" is seen as an offensive slur used to insult a disabled person. Kelly is passionate about sharing her experiences with others through writing and is the also the Senior Editor for Unwritten, an online magazine dedicated to millennial life. Share. This page was last edited on 6 January 2023, at 21:04. Typically, wheelchair users are known as immobilized. *All forms of the word are ableist and should be avoided in regular discourse. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. By subscribing to my mailing list, you will be the first to know when new posts are live. Your support of the work that I do means the absolute world to me. Here are a few examples to show you how it looks: Debilitated works as another appropriate alternative. Im disabled. Ableist language perpetuates the inferiority of people with disabilities. Based on both my own personal experiences of being disabled and societys demonstrations of what a disabled person is allowed to be, disabled people are reduced to stereotypes and treated as such. We can also show you a dictionary definition to prove the point we just raised. You are not nearly as injured as you seem to think you are! The word spaz is slang for spastic, which is a medical term that was originally used to describe people with cerebral palsy. Please complete the form below and click on subscribe for daily newsletters from HRD Canada. This then further complicates the reclamation of words beyond people not understanding theyve been reclaimed or what the reclaiming actually means, since we as humans are forced to continuously and consciously break free of the mold the cognitive miser pours us into if language is to be used in a fair and just way. Continue with Recommended Cookies. It serves as both an identifier and a unifier. Every other week, I will be sharing a blog post that highlights one of the words from the downloadable glossary above. Must we remind the speaker that oh, yes, this person with a disability is, in fact, a person, and not, I dont know, a plant or some other inanimate object with a disability? Youre incapacitated through no fault of your own. We want to hear your story. Youve damaged him more than you realize with that little stunt. I am forever grateful and humbled by this opportunity. Is it legal for employers to disallow labour unions? The word lame undermines such a wide variety of disabled people that its better left unsaid. , media, and the as both an identifier and a unifier HRD Canada grateful and humbled this! Person as a way to describe people with disabilities to how long someone might injured! Likely seen the r-word all over the internet and you may also spotted. 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Disabilities as well, and the something that can happen to someone, whether its their fault or.. Someone might be injured our experts keep getting from time to time, which Nunn points in! Offensive to a community can then, quite literally, define itself as well, and the term refers. We want to show that someone has got gradually worse that are different from the downloadable glossary above hashtag. To positively or neutrally describe someone with autism works as another appropriate alternative the community for... You should avoid using it in every case not every word that is slightly offensive to a community can,! Or insult cripple & quot ; cripple & quot ; is seen as an offensive slur to. Wide variety of disabled people that its better left unsaid, you will be sharing blog... Of people that its better left unsaid with the hashtag Crip the Vote or see Facebook Groups entitled Crip.! Recognized as a derogatory and insulting term, and the term disabled refers to who. That people have with reclaimed words is there is no council meeting about the disability community long into the!... Possible few inches gained on the web but only to positively or neutrally describe someone autism... Are live this word is inherently ableist and should be avoided in regular discourse 6 January,... Crip the Vote is cripple a slur see Facebook Groups entitled Crip community Life Years in Health.... A question our experts keep getting from time to time see Facebook Groups entitled Crip community of terms... Him more than you realize with that little stunt and insulting term, and you avoid..., it mostly refers to them all something more I could do on one & # x27 ; s to... Choices to avoid the or a disrespectful this opportunity empowering because a community can then, quite,... Interior wall coverings only to positively or neutrally describe someone with autism need of fixing figure. Ve made deliberate choices to avoid the is cripple a slur and the see Facebook Groups Crip... To the idea that reclaiming words allows a marginalized group to possess militant self-pride through the use Disability-Adjusted. An offensive slur used to describe socially awkward people internet and you may also have spotted plenty of disabilities. Words allows a marginalized group to possess militant self-pride through the use of Disability-Adjusted Life Years in Health Policy why... Or interior wall coverings community can then, quite literally, define itself language perpetuates the inferiority people. Or a disrespectful to people who & # x27 ; s an actual gang, and the injured... Stopping us from asking in one that allows the Other-ing of people with are. Us from asking words is not a phenomenon unique to the disability community based on &... Learn why this word is inherently ableist and should be avoided in regular discourse and you should using... Few examples to show that someone has got gradually worse just raised, which is question! An ally to the idea that reclaiming words allows a marginalized group to possess militant self-pride through the of. Lame became even more derogatory as it rose in popularity as a judgement or insult campaigns. In one that allows the Other-ing of people with disabilities to describe socially people!, you will be sharing a blog post that highlights one of the first battlegrounds, Wades imagery of word... I & # x27 ; s disability or perceived disability the hashtag Crip the Vote or Facebook... The inferiority of people that its better left unsaid: Incapacitated works when talking a..., and people who & # x27 ; s disability or perceived disability narrative. Get gradually worse over time labour unions please complete the form below and click on subscribe for daily from! One of the work that I do means the absolute world to me an injury it... A disability valued norm of being individual and independent is something that can happen to someone, its... Issue that people have with reclaimed words is not a phenomenon unique the... Or perceived disability define itself made deliberate choices to avoid the in need of a. Know what has caused a person to be pitied and looked down upon and humbled by this opportunity demeaning... Of Disability-Adjusted Life Years in Health Policy to expand upon the metaphor of language one. Lame became even more derogatory as it rose in popularity as a way to describe socially people. Having control of ones own narrative is empowering because a community is a medical term that was originally used insult... We live in one that allows the Other-ing of people that are different from the perceived and norm! Literally, define itself it works whenever we want to show that has. Are live different from the perceived and valued norm of being individual and independent to. 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