Defable “disabled” for a clean slate of perspective
– there is no one-size-fits-all.
Alright, time to get uncomfortable. What’s with the word “disabled”?! Anyone care to define it for me? Come on, settle in and feel the awkward uncomfortable clench as you pin your name to and stake your reputation on the ultimate definition of this one iddy biddy little word… go on… i dare you. Step right on in! Either you’re in the thick of it or you’re a spectator….feeling uneasy yet?!
I think we can ALL agree that the world invented dictionaries for anonymity to reign in place of our reputation, right?! No backlash on our coining of the term disabled: “Merriam” said it first. Ok, I’ll drop my roguish prompting. I want to talk disability and hack away at the cramped quarters of this box, or rather, cage – thanks @GlennonDoyle.
Hel-lo Google. “Define disabled”. Random pick from the top of page one – yourdictionary.com – these words jump right out at me “an example of something disabled is a car on the side of the road that isn’t running, called a disabled car.” Let’s skip the reactionary retort, because of course we know that this is not the be-all-end-all definition, yet, there is something extremely relevant that shouldn’t be ignored: disabled is by fact synonymous with Lacking, Dysfunctional, and Incomplete. Isn’t it ironic that in response to this “able”-antonym so much time is spent on activism around defining what the box isn’t intended to be. We’ve lost sight of the inherent limitations and imbedded perceptions it imposes – and all in the name of supposedly empowering the very same label DISABLED.
So let’s unpack the “dis” of this: “ the definition of ‘dis’ in one English dictionary is to ‘have a primitive, negative or reversing force’. To discredit. To disengage. And in recent parlance ‘diss’, with an extra s, has been popularised as an abbreviation of disrespect – ‘Don’t diss me.’ ‘Dis’ is not a thing that many people want prefixed on their child or themselves. It is, after all, inherently negative. “ – Rebecca Atkinson | Is it time to stop using the word “disability”?
At TOUGHERthan we acknowledge that there is a place for the word “Disabled”. For example when it comes to the community at large “disabled” has come to play a vital role to make visible a marginalised group and protect human rights through societal structure, accommodations, and services. Altruistically linguistic terminology is designed to aid mutual understanding. And notably, there are individuals who adopt “Disabled” as a matter of proud self-identification and representative of a long-fought battle for acknowledgement and inclusion. All this respectfully considered, I just personally cannot get onboard with sitting side-by-side with a definition that feels so deeply disempowering – I am not a broken-down car!
So here it is – TOUGHERthan has deliberately chosen to use the term “DiffAbled” – we intend it as a literary device for reclaiming intention whilst discarding negative preconceptions. We are NOT offering “diffabled” as some sort of non-offensive alternative or euphemistic rewrite. TOUGHERthan is, however, making a stand. TOUGHERthan will continue to use “diffabled” for as long as it takes to debunk the “disabled” stigma so that the focus remains on topic. This isn’t to make you comfortable. It’s to diss the cage.
Too much time is lost around labels – definitions, assumptions, political correctness – that the actual information is impeded from any sort of real exposure. TOUGHERthan wants the spotlight on each individual and not a label – ironic to have to exchange a label for a label to achieve this but take it as you will.
Labels are by nature dangerous. If used wisely a label can illuminate direction – an intimation of comprehension – but if relied upon solely it becomes a restrictive end-all.
Labels have the ability to misdirect or, better yet, direct through the very nature of their flavour. Dissing the negative flavour of “Dis”, in favour of the neutral “Diff”, aims to deweaponise the label. Add a new label “TypAbled” – the amalgamation of “typical” and “ability” – and we have two relatively neutral designations to work with.
To some “typical” may have a flavour of negativity and certainly this can help to rebalance the somatic markers associated with this sticky topic – something we hope you can agree is long overdue. “Typical” is neither better nor worse than “different”, it merely designates what we perceive as the familiar and commonplace. Thus, by choosing two words with blurred borders we consequently release ourselves from associated preconceptions, acknowledge the relativity of labels, and force inquiry into the equation. Let’s get the conversation back on track.
So there you have it, TOUGHERthan is unapologetically unpacking labels. We are choosing less limited – uncaging ourselves – and it starts here:
DiffAbled and TypAbled.
I am not a broken-down car
Nor am i someone else’s definition of a noun or an adjective.