The personal is political, when I call myself disabled I am
aligning myself with the disability rights movement. It is a conscious deliberate
and pride filled choice. Disabled as a self-chosen marker of identity and pride has a
more recent history, one in which it has experienced a positive reclamation of
a stigmatised identity, in much the same way the LGBTI community has reclaimed
queer as an identity and pride term.
The pervasive idea that disability is an inherently negative
experience which one must feel ashamed of is, I argue, central to person first
language, ie. 'person with a disability'. I do not need to remind people that I
am a person because I use a wheelchair, as though my disability renders me
without personhood.
Language holds power, the power to transform ideas and
attitudes. It shapes how you see yourself and the world. Words like disabled
are not just words, they hold an entire history of struggle for social justice
and provides connection to others experiencing the same marginality.
Self-chosen labels hold immense power for individuals and minority groups.
Self-chosen labels are political, they enable minorities to mobilise on issues of discrimination.
Read more of my thoughts on this in my article here
