Principles for Media Representations of Disabled People The Language of Disability Societys misconceptions about disabled people are constantly being reinforced by disabling terms like cripple, spastic, and idiot. Of course there is nothing inherently wrong with these terms it is simply that their meaning has been substantially devalued by societal perceptions of disabled people; in short, they have been turned into terms of abuse. Their continued use contributes significantly to the negative self image of disabled people and, at the same time, perpetuates discriminatory attitudes and practices among the general public. Referring to disabled people as handicapped stems from the notion that the whole of life is a competition as in horse racing or in golf and implies that they will not do well. Also Handicap has allusions to cap in hand and begging. Neither term is acceptable to the disabled community. Use of phrases such as the impaired, the disabled, the handicapped, the blind, the deaf, the deaf and dumb, the crippled tend to dehumanise and objectify disabled people and should be avoided. It is also offensive to label someone by their impairment. For example; an epileptic or an arthritic. Where it is absolutely necessary to refer to an individuals impairment it is better to say has epilepsy or has arthritis.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 08:36:39 +0000
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