I am constantly amazed by the language used to describe disability. It's interesting to notice that phrases that get assigned to having a disability often carry other meanings and are well ingrained in our culture.
Take the phrase that some people choose to use that "disability is an inconvenience". I looked up inconvenience and found not only numerous definitions, but some very commonly used phrases around those definitions, such as:
" the quality of being difficult; "they agreed about the difficulty of the climb"
trouble in carrying or managing caused by bulk or shape; "the movers cursed the unwieldiness of the big piano"
flea bite - a very minor inconvenience
fly in the ointment - an inconvenience that detracts from the usefulness of something
unsuitability, unsuitableness, ineptness - the quality of having the wrong properties for a specific purpose
inaccessibility, unavailability - the quality of not being available when needed"
{Via Free Dictionary}
and then there was
"inconvenience - to cause inconvenience or discomfort to; "Sorry to trouble you, but.."
I like that one if used in a humorous way. "Sorry to trouble you, but I'm a quadriplegic" has potential. It's also very British-sounding. I might develop an accent to go with it.
The phrase I don't like is the one described by "trouble in carrying or managing caused by bulk or shape". Oh dear. Not flattering as an image, is it? Movers "cursing the unwieldiness of the big piano". Unwieldiness just is not good for anyone's self esteem.
Now the flea bite and very minor inconvenience could be saved for those moments when you want to appear noble. "It's okay, my disability is just like a flea bite" or "the fact that I have no accessible transportation is just a fly in the ointment".
I mean no offense to people who want to think of their disability as an inconvenience. As for others who think of it that way- I know I don't like having people with disabilities thought of as an inconvenience.
Language and disability - it's a fascinating subject.
2 comments:
I get tired of being seen as an " inconvenience". I don't think people realize how obvious they make it sometimes and it hurts my feelings. I have muscular dystrophy and can't get out much. I like what you write on your blog. But how about more about power wheelchairs?
Thanks for coming by.
You got it. I put up a post on a shirt controlled wheelchair. Yeah. Really. Check it out.
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