Hello again list memnbers. In 1994 Dick Sobsey of U of A published, (in
the States) one of the classics of disability issues Ending the Silent
Oppression Stoppeing Violence and abuse against Disable People. When he
was writing that book he used people first language and so did the
editors. The guest writer of the preface was noneotherthan Barbara Faye
Waxman who is a "disabled woman" and she was edited by the editors
everywhere she used the language disabled woman instead of women with
disabilities. I too have been edited down from capital D Deaf to lower
case d deaf because someone thought it more appropriate. I have also been
told to use people who are deaf rather than Deaf people. I think that
there is both a journalistic issue, editorial issue and a political one.
On some days I might be a woman with a disability ( if im priveleging my
womanhood) and on other days I might claim to be a Deaf woman with a
disability, and on other days still a Deaf disabled mother. My identity
is not static. I do think people with developmental disabilities such as
those representing themselves in the self advocacy movement world wide
have more of a reason to gow people first language because of the stigma
associated with diagnostic categories like autism, downs syndrome and
other impairment related labels. Labelling is powerful and we do not
always get to choose our labels, especially if some
one has decision making powert over us. (When we are children or deemed
incompetent etc). Dick Sobsey recently told that story at a seminar in
newHampshire to make the point that somtetimes (not always) it is more
dangerous to put the disability
second if that obscures the disability issues. Specficially he was
speaking of how disabled people are victimized IN PART because people
PERCEIVE their disabilities as making them vulnerable therfore easy
targets.
SoSo, there is a political issue FOR CERTAIN but th there is also a
PRACTICAL issue of of context-. People with disabilities or disabled
people, or people disabled by society or those impaired in some functional
wayare fare too diverse to agree on ONE label. I think this is a useful
discussion, and for both Simi and Shelley, a useful research question, but
I am not sure it has AN ANSWER, but rather many answers. I apologizze for
the typing errors and repeated letters, I have a bad buffer ( impaired)
and I dont always see what I am typing. Maybe soon Ill get it fixed as I
know it can be hard to read. Thanks
Tanis is moving in August please stay
tuned for new address and phone
number. Visit http://members.xoom.com/doetanis1/newhome.html for some
links. Pls send attachments to [log in to unmask] not to this email thanks.
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