Unlearning Ableist Language — Inclusive Language in the Workplace and Community
Trigger & Content warning: Use of quotes of ableist slurs and language. (profanity used in examples of alternative words)
Language is so central, so fundamental to social interaction, to our becoming who we are that no one interested in influencing and inflecting their society can ignore it.
— Margaret Gibbon, Feminist Perspectives on Language
We need a more nuanced understanding of the internalized ableism that has integrated into our linguistics and our habits, perception, and understanding of others. The words we use, whether we’re aware of it or not, are structured around ableist rhetoric. I encourage us to be mindful about our language; how we use language and slang and the history and social connotations it has for those with observable disabilities as well as invisibility disabilities.
The way we communicate goes beyond how and where we were raised. Our language is backed by our socioeconomic status, politics, and the community we live in.
How we present ourselves in interactions matters even more now than ever. Society has desensitized inappropriate slurs that act as micro-aggressions rooted in racism, sexism, classism, homophobia and transphobia, and are absolutely damaging to marginalized groups.
Some everyday words we use might be used without us realizing the weight they carry and how offensive they are toward a spectrum of disabled folks (i.e. mental conditions and physical conditions which can be either observable or invisible).
Ableism is reinforced when terms that refer to abilities are used as pejoratives. For example, words like “bonkers” or “crazy”, perpetuate the false notion that living with a mental illness or psychological disability is undesirable.
We should be mindful of the language we use in efforts to be more inclusive. This transcends beyond the conversations at the work place as it should be practiced in our day-to-day interactions. It’s integral that we practice using inclusive language to impact our perception of language.
The hegemonic ableism that pervades society, even in transformative and progressive spaces, has become more exclusionary than ever. Linguistic ableism is part of an entire system of ableism and exists beyond our private conversations. It reinforces
Our society is rooted in ableist terminology and is normalized and accepted as appropriate in a marketing, educational, and social level.
Ableist Terms:
Some are slurs and some not
Blind to ____ / turn a blind eye to ____ / blinded by ignorance/bigotry/etc. / double-blind review
Refers to Blind, low-vision, or sight-limited people. Often used as a metaphor.
Consider instead: willfully ignorant, deliberately ignoring, turning their back on, overcome by prejudice, doubly anonymous, had every reason to know, feigned ignorance
Bonkers
Can refer to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities, if the implication from use is that a person is “like a crazy person.”
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control
Bound to a wheelchair (wheelchair bound)
Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. Considered ableist because many wheelchair-users experience wheelchairs, and other mobility aids, as liberating, since they enable freedom of movement, rather than confining or restrictive.
Consider instead: uses a wheelchair, wheelchair-user, in a wheelchair, began using a wheelchair, needs or requires a wheelchair, is a full-time wheelchair-user
Burn victim
Refers to people who have survived burns and have visible scars from burns. Not considered offensive by all.
Consider instead: burn survivor, significant scarring from burns
Confined to a wheelchair
Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. Considered ableist because many wheelchair-users experience wheelchairs, and other mobility aids, as liberating, since they enable freedom of movement, rather than confining or restrictive.
Consider instead: uses a wheelchair, wheelchair-user, in a wheelchair, began using a wheelchair, needs or requires a wheelchair, is a full-time wheelchair-user
Crazy
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control
Cripple/Crippled (by ____)
Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. Often used as a metaphor.
Consider instead: Frozen by, stopped by, completely stuck, totally halted all operations (if using metaphors); physically disabled person, person with a mobility impairment, paralyzed person (if referring to a disabled person)
Cuckoo
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities, when not used to describe the bird.
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control
Daft
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.
Consider instead: dense, ignorant, lacks understanding, impulsive, risk-taker, uninformed, silly, foolish
Deaf-Mute
Refers to Deaf or hard of hearing people.
Consider instead: Deaf person, nonspeaking Deaf person, signing Deaf person, hard of hearing person, DeafBlind person, ASL user, ASL speaker, signer
Deaf to ____ / turn a deaf ear to ____ / etc.
Refers to Deaf or hard of hearing people. Often used as a metaphor.
Consider instead: willfully ignorant, deliberately ignoring, turning their back on, had every reason to know, feigned ignorance
Deformed / deformity
Refers to people born with absent limbs, disfigurements, or other atypical appearances, or who later have amputations, burn scars, or other changes to their physical appearance that are stigmatized in society. Note that many people do not mind use of the words deformed or deformity, and others find the word disfigurement offensive.
Consider instead: describing the specific condition or appearance
Deranged
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control, scary
Derp (also herp-derp, der, durr, duh, doy, and variations)
Sounds meant to mock vocalizations that people with intellectual disabilities are stereotyped as making. Some originated, per Oxford English Dictionary, with a 1943 Bugs Bunny cartoon. (h/t Josh Klopfenstein for this information on “duh”)
Consider instead: obviously, of course, uh yeah, ummm, ummm uhhh, um yeah, hell yeah, fuck yeah
Diffability
Can refer to any person with a disability, and is usually a euphemistic phrase to avoid saying “disability” or “disabled.”
Consider instead: disabled person or person with a disability (referring to individuals); disability/ability statuses (referring to an identity/social category)
Differently abled or different abilities
Can refer to any person with a disability, and is usually a euphemistic phrase to avoid saying “disability” or “disabled.”
Consider instead: disabled person or person with a disability (referring to individuals); disability/ability statuses (referring to an identity/social category)
Dumb
Refers to d/Deaf or hard of hearing people, people with speech-related disabilities, or people with linguistic or communication disorders or disabilities.
Consider instead: dense, ignorant, lacks understanding, impulsive, risk-taker, uninformed, silly, foolish (to replace metaphor); nonspeaking, nonverbal, person with a speech impairment, person with a cognitive disability, Deaf person, hard of hearing person (to refer to a Deaf or disabled person)
Handicap(ped)
Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities, and is usually a euphemistic phrase to avoid saying “disability” or “disabled.”
Consider instead: Disabled person, physically disabled person, wheelchair-user, person with a disability (to refer to a person); accessible parking, placard parking, disabled-only parking (to refer to designated parking spaces)
Handicapable
Usually refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities, but can also mean any person with a disability.
Consider instead: Disabled person, physically disabled person, wheelchair-user, person with a disability
Harelip
Refers to people with cleft-lip palate or similar facial deformities/cosmetic disabilities.
Consider instead: cleft lip, cleft palate, cleft lip and palate
Hermaphrodite
Refers to people with intersex conditions, whether or not they were coercively assigned to a particular sex/gender, and whether or not they currently identify with a binary gender.
Consider instead: intersex person or person with intersex condition (if you are referencing a person’s genitals or chromosomes); gender non-conforming, gender variant, or genderfluid person (if you are referencing a person’s divergence from expectations of gender norms/expression)
Idiot(ic)
Refers to people with intellectual disabilities.
Consider instead: Uninformed, reckless, impulsive, ignorant, risk-taking, risky and dangerous, dipshit
Imbecile
Refers to people with intellectual disabilities.
Consider instead: Uninformed, reckless, impulsive, ignorant, risk-taking, risky and dangerous, dipshit
Insane or Insanity
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Often used as a metaphor.
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control
Lame
Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. Often used as a metaphor.
Consider instead: Boring, uninteresting, monotonous, lacks excitement, uncool, out of fashion (if using metaphors); physically disabled person, person with a mobility impairment, paralyzed person (if referring to a disabled person)
Loony / Loony Bin
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control
Lunatic
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control, scary
Madhouse / Mad / Madman
Refers to an institution housing people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control, scary
Maniac
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control, extremely energetic
Mental/Mental Case
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.
Midget
Refers to little people or people with small stature or a form of dwarfism.
Morbidly obese (or just obese)
Refers to fat people/people of size. Note that per many fat activists , it’s often completely acceptable to use the word “fat” as a description, so long as it’s not used as a pejorative in and of itself.
Consider instead: fat person, person of size
Moron(ic)
Refers to people with intellectual disabilities.
Consider instead: Uninformed, reckless, impulsive, ignorant, risk-taking, risky and dangerous, dipshit
Mouth breather
Invokes the idea of people who breathe only or mostly through their mouths (instead of their noses) as unintelligent brutes.
Consider instead: Uninformed, reckless, impulsive, ignorant, risk-taking, feckless, narrow-minded, dipshit
Nuts
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.
Consider instead: Uninformed, reckless, impulsive, ignorant, risk-taking, risky and dangerous, dipshit
Psycho
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control, scary
Psychopath(ic)
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Some people use it specifically to refer to people with antisocial personality disorder or narcissistic personality disorder, or with the quasi-psychiatric categories of psychopathy or sociopathy (these are disputed). Often used metaphorically.
Consider instead: selfish, self-centered, lacks empathy, callous, toxic, manipulative, egotistical, abusive, wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control, scary
Retard(ed)/[anything]-tard (examples: libtard, fucktard, etc.)
Refers to people with intellectual disabilities.
Consider instead: Uninformed, reckless, impulsive, ignorant, risk-taking, feckless, narrow-minded, dipshit
[you belong on the] Short-bus/ that’s short-bus material/etc.
Refers to people with intellectual, learning, or other mental disabilities.
Consider instead: uninformed, reckless, impulsive, ignorant, tacky, What were you thinking?, What the hell were you thinking?, What the actual fuck?
Spaz(zed)
Refers to people with cerebral palsy or similar neurological disabilities.
Consider instead: klutzy, clumsy, forgetful, impulsive, reckless
Specially Abled
Can refer to any person with a disability.
Consider instead: Disabled person, person with a disability
Special Needs
Usually refers to people with learning, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, but can mean any person with a disability. Usually a euphemistic phrase to avoid saying “disability” or “disabled.”
Consider instead: Disabled person, person with a disability
Stupid
Refers to people with intellectual disabilities (i.e. “in a stupor”).
Consider instead: Uninformed, reckless, impulsive, ignorant, risk-taking, risky and dangerous, dipshit
Wacko/Whacko
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control
Terms that are not inherently ableist, but become so in context
Albino
Refers to people with albinism. Most likely ableist when used as a noun by itself (e.g. “she’s an albino”).
Consider instead: person with albinism, albino person, person who has albinism
Autistic
This is ableist specifically when used as a substitute for “self-centered” or “lacking empathy.” It is not ableist if referring to someone who is actually autistic.
Consider instead: selfish, self-centered, lacks empathy, callous, narrow-minded, single-track mind, hyper-focused
Barren
This is ableist when it refers to people who are infertile, carries sexist connotations as well as ableist ones. It is not ableist if discussing agriculture/farming.
Consider instead: infertile, unable to conceive
Bipolar
This is ableist when used as a substitute for “switching very rapidly,” “indecisive,” or “shifting from one extreme to another” (e.g. “the weather here is so bipolar”). It is not ableist when referring to people who actually have bipolar disorder.
Consider instead: rapidly changes opinions, indecisive, extreme opposites, switching from one extreme to another
Borderline
This is ableist when used to imply a person seems mentally ill because they are unpleasant, toxic, abusive, or manipulative. It is not ableist when referring to people who actually have borderline personality disorder.
Consider instead: unpleasant, toxic, abusive, manipulative, mixed-signals
Deluded / delusional
Refers to people with psychosocial disabilities / mad people / mentally ill people, when experiencing altered states such as hearing voices, having intrusive thoughts, or experiencing paranoia. Often used as a metaphor.
Consider instead: out of touch, totally disconnected, unrealistic expectations, pie-in-the-sky fantasies
Depressed / depressing
Refers to people experiencing various forms of depression. This becomes ableist when not referring to people actually experiencing depression, but merely as a shorthand for sad, upsetting, or disappointing.
Consider instead: sad, upsetting, disappointing, devastating, frustrating, tragic, sad reminder
Impaired / impairment
The term “impairment” is sometimes acceptable and sometimes not. Many (though not all) blind, low-vision, and limited-sight people find “visual impairment” or “vision impairment” offensive. Others describe themselves as visually impaired. Likewise, d/Deaf and hard of hearing people generally find “hearing impairment” offensive. Other disability communities use the word commonly, as in, “learning impairment,” “cognitive impairment,” or “functional impairment.”
Manic
Refers to someone with bipolar (used to be called manic depression). (The word becomes ableist when not used to refer to someone actually experiencing mania or a manic state.)
Consider instead: burst of energy, high-strung, type A personality, meticulous, high-energy, intense
Multiple personalities
This is ableist when used to imply or state that a person is double-dealing, two-faced, manipulative, deceptive, or changing rapidly. It is sometimes, but not always, ableist when describe people who actually have dissociative identity disorder or who belong to multiple systems, depending on language preference of the particular people or systems involved.
Consider instead: two-faced, double-dealing, manipulative, deceptive, changing rapidly, shows one face here and another face there, seems like a different person in another context
Narcissistic
Refers to various neurotypes and psychosocial disabilities, like antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorders (becomes ableist when not referring to a person considered or known to have NPD)
Consider instead: selfish, self-centered, lacks empathy, callous, toxic, manipulative, egotistical, abusive
OCD
This is ableist when used as a substitute for “fastidious,” “meticulous,” “anal-retentive,” or “high-strung.” It is not ableist when referring to people who actually have obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Consider instead: fastidious, meticulous, anal-retentive, high-strung, hyper-focused, type A personality
Phobic (examples: homophobic, Islamophobic)
Appropriates description of a specific mental illness / psychosocial disability, frequently to describe hatred, fear, bigotry, or oppression, or else to describe something disliked or unpleasant. This is not ableist when it refers to someone who actually has a phobia such as agoraphobia, claustrophobia, emetophobia, etc.
Consider instead: anti-Muslim, queer-antagonistic, fatmisia, bigotry against, bias against, hate of, prejudice against, oppressive, etc.
Psychotic
Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. (The word “psychotic” becomes ableist when not used to refer to someone actually experiencing psychosis, either acute or chronic.)
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control, scary
Schizo or schizophrenic
This is ableist when used as a substitute for “switching rapidly” or “acting without regard for others” or otherwise implying a person seems mentally ill simply because they are unpredictable or make someone uncomfortable. It is not ableist when actually referring to a person with schizophrenia or schizo-affective personality disorder.
Consider instead: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control, scary, lacks empathy, toxic, manipulative, egotistical, abusive, unpredictable
Suffers from ____
Can refer to any person with a disability. Often ableist because it assumes that being disabled always means suffering, when that is frequently not true. This is not ableist when it is a person’s chosen description, or if it is describing a specific universally unwanted and painful experience (like having seizures).
Consider instead: has a disability
Defining Disability:
The current definition of a disability is defined as “a difficulty in functioning g at the body, person, or societal levels, in one or more life domains, as experienced by an individual with a health condition in interaction with contextual factors.
Disability isn’t always apparent in individuals. We need to understand that disability is not solely a physical observance, intellectual or development impairment of a person’s body or mind (Katari-5). Mental conditions are absolutely considered a form of disability and is more often than not a condition that is difficult to assess, even by trained psychologist and health professionals.
Citations
Chris Counsens. “Are ableist insults secretly slurs?”. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0388000119302785 (accessed July 26, 2020)
Neda Ulaby. “All things considered: ‘Why People Are Rethinking The Words ‘Crazy’ and ‘Insane’”. NPR podcast. July 8, 2019. (Transcript) https://www.npr.org/2019/07/08/739643765/why-people-are-arguing-to-stop-using-the-words-crazy-and-insane (accessed July 26, 2020)
Lydia X.Z. Brown and Autistic Hoya. “Ableist words and terms to avoid”. http://autistichoya.com/p/ableist-words-and-terms-to-avoid.html (accessed August 6, 2020)
Shanna K. Kattari. “Development of the Ableist Microaggression Scale and Assessing the Relationship Between Ableist Microaggressions and the Mental Health of Disabled Adults”. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2283&=&context=etd&=&sei-redir=1&referer=https%253A%252F%252Fscholar.google.com%252Fscholar%253Fstart%253D30%2526q%253Dableist%252Blanguage%2526hl%253Den%2526as_sdt%253D0%252C5#search=%22ableist%20language%22 (accessed July 29, 2020)
Violence in Language: Circling Back to Linguistic Ableism by Lydia X.Z. Brown
