- why disabled isn't or shouldn't be offensive (in some people's opinions):
There's an idea that the correct terminology is "people with disabilities". It's quite cute because it's born of a belief that we're people first.
But speak to a disability studies student or rights campaigner and you're likely to be told this is a thoroughly incorrect use of language, due to a concept known as "the social model of disability".
They will tell you the correct term is "disabled people". Why? Because the word disabled and disability refer to how society treats them, not their impairment, which is a medical matter.
Disabled refers to what barriers have been placed in their way due to the physical environment: steps instead of ramps, no Braille menus in restaurants etc. It also refers to attitudes which perpetuate joblessness or non-inclusion.
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Also:
like 'person with a disability' , it focusses on the defficencies of the individual . And that is offensive because it implies Disabled people are somehow lesser. 'Disabled' on the other hand implies something coming in from the outside and impaired you. Like when you disengage a wheelchair battery or put key lock on your phone, you're literally 'disabling' it, it's not that the battery won't work, it's that you've stopped it from working
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However, I'm not sure about handicapped either. To me it has the same connotations as disabled (someone is being handicapped by society/something). I guess the difference is "having a handicap" and "being handicapped"--the latter is the term I'd use.
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from a bbc article and some other place
Date: 2009-09-04 09:21 am (UTC)There's an idea that the correct terminology is "people with disabilities". It's quite cute because it's born of a belief that we're people first.
But speak to a disability studies student or rights campaigner and you're likely to be told this is a thoroughly incorrect use of language, due to a concept known as "the social model of disability".
They will tell you the correct term is "disabled people". Why? Because the word disabled and disability refer to how society treats them, not their impairment, which is a medical matter.
Disabled refers to what barriers have been placed in their way due to the physical environment: steps instead of ramps, no Braille menus in restaurants etc. It also refers to attitudes which perpetuate joblessness or non-inclusion.
----
Also:
like 'person with a disability' , it focusses on the defficencies of the individual . And that is offensive because it implies Disabled people are somehow lesser. 'Disabled' on the other hand implies something coming in from the outside and impaired you. Like when you disengage a wheelchair battery or put key lock on your phone, you're literally 'disabling' it, it's not that the battery won't work, it's that you've stopped it from working
----
However, I'm not sure about handicapped either. To me it has the same connotations as disabled (someone is being handicapped by society/something). I guess the difference is "having a handicap" and "being handicapped"--the latter is the term I'd use.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/messageboards/F2322273?thread=928757