I have to: I read lips in order to communicate, and that isn't an easy skill nor something you can do without concentration. If something is falling upon my (deaf) ears, I'm laser-tuned into it.Ībleist terms aren't only outdated but also woefully incorrect. As someone who's partially deaf, I pay more attention, not less. It's "just words," but how we talk about people contributes to our comfort with their status in society as less-than. Disabled people live in poverty at more than double the rate of the non-disabled population. More than 80% of disabled women have been sexually assaulted.Īcross all age groups and education levels, disabled people are much less likely to be employed than non-disabled people, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a glaring issue when the rate of violent crimes against people with disabilities is nearly four times higher than the rate of violent crimes against non-disabled people. Part of the problem with ableist language is that it dehumanizes. If you've often used terms that are degrading for disabled people, when you meet those people you're less likely to view them as human, as anything more than a slur. How would you feel if the way your body is or works had a constant association with bad things? "Turning a blind eye to" implies that blind people pay no attention. Saying someone is "tone-deaf" or that something "falls upon deaf ears" ascribes being inattentive, distracted and willfully ignorant to deaf people. They link disabilities with negative qualities. Yet the "just words" of ableism - the discrimination and prejudice against people with disabilities - are actively harmful. Why does harmful language for disability persist, even among informed people such as Lizzo, an advocate for body positivity?
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