If you have been reading my posts, you’ll probably know how important I believe language is to how we perceive the world.
For that reason, I have pondered the term ‘disability’ often. I know that it is generally embraced by the community, and they of course have a right to choose the terms they feel best describe them.
But it’s not a term I much like (although I don’t have a better alternative). And I am going to explore why.
The word disability - dis-ability - suggests that able-bodied people suffer from no lack of ability. But of course we do. The vast majority of us have physical and mental limitations. But more than that, one's abled-bodiedness, often means we don’t bother acquiring really important abilities: patience and perseverance and determination. Something I have noticed many, many people with ‘disabilities’ have these abilities in great amounts.
I guess I find all blanket terms a little dehumanising.
@Remittancegirl Just to add a thought as a person born disabled.
With any word people choose to use or not there is - in the disabilty community of my country but I've seen it elsewhere too - a question that may help to find a solution for one's individual choice:
WHO brought a term up?
We ourselves use "behindert" or disabled because these are neutral self-determined words
Parents, care-takers etc who want to indicate shame or suffering because of us (or being 'inspired') like 1/
Coming from the specific psychoanalytical theoretical place I come from, I just believe that how one copes with any hurdle is so incredibly specific to that person. I must say that I am inspired. It makes my life richer to acknowledge the triumphs of others. Mentally, it makes me feel less hopeless.
@Remittancegirl ok my mind is buzzing here, will you come on a journey with me?
I think the moment of inspiration is not the problem-- in fact it is a moment of empathy, I believe, when we see past categories and assumptions and relate human to human.
What can be problem is how we resolve the cognitive dissonance that follows.
This person is disabled, and yet she has climbed a mountain! I do not have her disability, and yet I have not-- despite feeling on some level that it is a worthy achievement. (Otherwise I would not be inspired by it).
It is common language to report her achievement as "she overcame her disability to climb..."
But she has not in fact overcome anything. She remains disabled, and lack of accessible facilities will continue to hamper her despite having Ben Nevis under her belt. We cannot and should not flatten her into the "abled" category, because this minimises her needs and the barriers we as society make for her.
What if, in this moment of connection, we were inspired to see ourselves as *dis*abled?
(Take a sec, note: how does that sentence feel for you?)
What has disabled us from climbing that mountain, using the broadest interpretation of disability? Is it sexism in the mountain climbing community? A simple lack of money? Burdens of care for others? Incompatibilities with our self-concept due to how we were raised to see ourselves? Our employment not allowing us sufficient free time? Lack of access to fitness facilities, or nourishing food?
Then what changes would we have to make in order to circumvent these disabilities, and are they feasible? If not, what does that say about our society?
I'm not saying that we should actually all start claiming the term "disabled"-- there are more appropriate existing terms in most cases. But I am pointing out that resolving cognitive dissonance by changing how we think about ourselves rather than how we think about disabled people is far more likely to end up with us making necessary changes in our own lives, or being inspired to fight for social justice. With us growing more in understanding of ourselves, and of the society we live in. And it's far less likely to end with us minimising the struggles of disabled people.
@JustinMac84 @aurora
Madeleine Morris
Aurora
Justin Macleod
Tattie