Ableist Language & Choosing Your Words More Intentionally
In case it wasn't obvious from the fact that I run a blog, I'm a big fan of language. Some may even call me a nerd... and they have. It feels like almost an inevitability that with two multilingual parents I would end up being so fascinated by language and its many dimensions.
See, language is about more than just speech or text, as is evident from the existence of braille and sign language. It's about concepts and how we communicate them. There are many words which all mean one thing, and many words with multiple meanings. Today I want to briefly discuss ableist language and then provide some alternatives to common words and phrases that have much darker meanings than people often realise.
"Ableist language" refers to language that is derogatory or offensive towards disabled people, and/or perpetuates negative and oppressive ideas towards disabled people. There's some debate around whether or not avoiding words classed as ableist is "political correctness gone too far" but I ask you to consider this: not only do these words often pose disability as a moral failing but when you use any of these words, it's probably not what you actually mean. I'm not trying to limit your vocabulary - I'm inviting you to expand your vocabulary and choose your words more intentionally and precisely so that you don't fall back on words with dark, harmful undertones.
I'm going to briefly give an overview of some of the most common ableist words I see/hear used, and then I'm going to give examples of the different contexts they're used in, and attempt to offer some alternatives to hopefully help you say what you mean with more accuracy.
Words that refer to someone having a mental disability:
See, language is about more than just speech or text, as is evident from the existence of braille and sign language. It's about concepts and how we communicate them. There are many words which all mean one thing, and many words with multiple meanings. Today I want to briefly discuss ableist language and then provide some alternatives to common words and phrases that have much darker meanings than people often realise.
"Ableist language" refers to language that is derogatory or offensive towards disabled people, and/or perpetuates negative and oppressive ideas towards disabled people. There's some debate around whether or not avoiding words classed as ableist is "political correctness gone too far" but I ask you to consider this: not only do these words often pose disability as a moral failing but when you use any of these words, it's probably not what you actually mean. I'm not trying to limit your vocabulary - I'm inviting you to expand your vocabulary and choose your words more intentionally and precisely so that you don't fall back on words with dark, harmful undertones.
I'm going to briefly give an overview of some of the most common ableist words I see/hear used, and then I'm going to give examples of the different contexts they're used in, and attempt to offer some alternatives to hopefully help you say what you mean with more accuracy.
Words that refer to someone having a mental disability:
daft, dim, dumb, idiot/ic, imbecile/ic, mongo/loid, moron/ic, retard/ed. stupid
Words that refer to someone having a mental illness:
bonkers, crazy, insane, mad, maniac/manic, nuts, psychopath/psychotic
Words that refer to someone having a physical disability:
cripple/crippled/crippling, lame
Other phrases that pose disability as inherently negative or a moral failing:
blinded by/blind to, deaf to
That's [daft/dumb/idiotic/imbecilic/moronic/retarded/stupid].
annoying, asinine, careless, foolish, ill-advised, ill-conceived, irresponsible, irritating, meaningless, naive, nonsensical, pointless, reckless, senseless, silly, trivial, unimportant, unwise, useless, worthless
They're (a) [daft/dim/idiotic/insane/imbecillic/mongoloid/moronic/retarded/stupid].
careless, complacent, clueless, foolish, gullible, ignorant, inept, naive, silly, undiscerning, unskilled, unthinking, unwise, useless
Words that refer to someone having a mental illness:
bonkers, crazy, insane, mad, maniac/manic, nuts, psychopath/psychotic
Words that refer to someone having a physical disability:
cripple/crippled/crippling, lame
Other phrases that pose disability as inherently negative or a moral failing:
blinded by/blind to, deaf to
That's [daft/dumb/idiotic/imbecilic/moronic/retarded/stupid].
annoying, asinine, careless, foolish, ill-advised, ill-conceived, irresponsible, irritating, meaningless, naive, nonsensical, pointless, reckless, senseless, silly, trivial, unimportant, unwise, useless, worthless
They're (a) [daft/dim/idiotic/insane/imbecillic/mongoloid/moronic/retarded/stupid].
careless, complacent, clueless, foolish, gullible, ignorant, inept, naive, silly, undiscerning, unskilled, unthinking, unwise, useless
That's [bonkers/crazy/insane/mad/maniacal/nuts/psychotic].
absurd, astonishing, confusing, ill-advised, ill-conceived, illogical, irrational, nonsensical, outlandish, preposterous, ridiculous, shocking, unbelievable, unfathomable, unimaginable, unprecedented, weird, wild
They're [bonkers/crazy/insane/maniacal, nuts, psychotic].
absurd, careless, cold, cruel, erratic, illogical, impulsive, inconsistent, irrational, out of control, reckless, self-centred, selfish, unconventional, unpredictable, weird, whimsical, wild
absurd, astonishing, confusing, ill-advised, ill-conceived, illogical, irrational, nonsensical, outlandish, preposterous, ridiculous, shocking, unbelievable, unfathomable, unimaginable, unprecedented, weird, wild
They're [bonkers/crazy/insane/maniacal, nuts, psychotic].
absurd, careless, cold, cruel, erratic, illogical, impulsive, inconsistent, irrational, out of control, reckless, self-centred, selfish, unconventional, unpredictable, weird, whimsical, wild
[Crazily/insanely/madly] in love.
absurdly, exceedingly, extremely, intensely, passionately
absurdly, exceedingly, extremely, intensely, passionately
In [crippling] debt.
extreme, limiting, severe
That's [lame].
annoying, irritating, rubbish, uncool, unfair
[Blind/deaf] to criticism.
ignorant, oblivious, unaware, willfully ignorant
[Blinded] by love.
dazzled, giddy, hypnotised, naive, overwhelmed, undiscerning, unquestioning
extreme, limiting, severe
That's [lame].
annoying, irritating, rubbish, uncool, unfair
[Blind/deaf] to criticism.
ignorant, oblivious, unaware, willfully ignorant
[Blinded] by love.
dazzled, giddy, hypnotised, naive, overwhelmed, undiscerning, unquestioning
If you want to learn more about this topic, I highly recommend checking out these links. I used them to help me write this piece and Autistic Hoya's post especially goes into much more depth about what ableist language is and why it's an important topic to address.
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