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Born Freak

Watch your language

People in Britain have become much more aware of social exclusion since the First and Second World Wars, when many strapping young men came home with permanent physical and psychological injuries. Over the last 50 years, tremendous efforts have been made to arrange our world so that people with disabilities can carry out everyday tasks in the same way as non-disabled people. But whilst the law has changed to enforce equal opportunities, the language we use still relegates people with disabilities to second class status.

The Pen is mightier than the Sword

Generally, people with disabilities prefer to be known as 'disabled people' and not 'the disabled', which implies that the disability is the individual's defining feature. Similarly, terms such as 'the deaf, the blind' and 'spastics/epileptics/diabetics' reinforce the idea that they are a minority group rather than individuals. As a reaction to that, some members of the deaf community re-interpreted 'the deaf' as a political term in the 1960s. Their intention was to emphasise their status as a linguistic minority, rather than a disabled (and marginalised) minority.

In any case, deafness or blindness are not absolute. A person may have partial sight or partial hearing. There are, in fact, many degrees of disability and for this reason the word 'handicapped', another verbal act of lumping together, has been replaced by terms such as 'impairment/condition/disorder'. These terms acknowledge the disability without necessarily assuming that it automatically brings disadvantage.

Test your ability

Are you ability-aware? Or do you unknowingly insult all and sundry by using inappropriate language? Try our test and see how well you do.

1	A physical or mental impairment that has a long-term effect on a person's ability to carry out ordinary activities is:
	a A disability
	b A shame
	c A good excuse to get everybody else to do things for you
2	Which of the following insults is slang for a recognised disability?
	a Spaz
	b Prat
	c Shit for brains
3	Imagine you're a fairground talker, trying to attract punters into your side show. Which speech would you choose to lure people in?
	a 'Step this way, ladies and gentleman, for the most astounding aggregation of marvels gathered together in one edifice'
	b 'Roll up, roll up – come right in to see the craziest crowd of crackpots in town'
	c 'Ten freaks for a pound! Ten freaks for a pound!'

Answers

Mostly As. Well done. You are a paragon of political correctness and treat everyone with the deference and respect they deserve.

Mostly Bs. You're kind of on the right track but could do with a quick look in the dictionary to make sure you're not confusing empathy with sympathy.

Mostly Cs. Fetch the ethics police! You are totally insensitive and wouldn't even make it on to the guest list of a bad-taste party.

Happy birthday thalidomide

Mat Fraser

Beauty and the beast

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