If you had to give up one word that you use regularly, what would it be?
Hi! It’s your friendly neighborhood, disabled editor here! 👋🏻
Removing ableist language from your vocabulary is one of the most loving things that you can do to honor disabled people.
A lot more of our language is ableist than you realize. Everyday words like stupid and idiot have their origins in harmful medical terminology about intelligence. I physically cringe when people use the word crazy casually in casual conversation.
Some truly offensive words that we’d removed from our lexicon, like the R slur, seem to be making a resurgence. Most likely as a result of some politically charged offshoots.
Many people don’t want to use hurtful language and are open to learning.
But where do you start?
Start with a good style guide
The best place I recommend is the Conscious Style Guide. Originally an online collations of other online resources, it’s also now available as an ebook, audiobook, paperback, and hardback guide by Karen Yin.
The online resource breaks down by the following topics for easy reference:
- Ability and disability
- Age
- Appearance
- Climate and environment
- Gender, sex, and sexuality
- Health
- Socioeconomic status
- Spirituality, region, and atheism
- Miscellaneous
I use it in my writing often, especially on topics in which I am not well versed.
Talk to disabled people
You can also talk to disabled people. Ask us what terms we prefer. For example do we prefer identity first or person first language? If we say a word is harmful, believe us. We have lived experience with these words. I was called the r word as a kid.
Remember: progress is better than perfection
We all have to start somewhere. For me, idiot was one of my toughest changes. One of my most popular blogs uses that language. You don’t realize how often you say a word until you decide not to say it any more. In the case of that blog, I kept the usage but made a note. It is my way of showing my growth over time while still acknowledging the harmful language I once employed so casually.