What the heck does 'abled' mean, anyway?

A Thread about Disability Language:

I like language! I like talking about language. The words we use when talking about issues and identities helps us understand how we frame things in our minds.

But language is just a tool - a tool to describe and reflect. So let's discuss...b/c too many people been asking me.

The right language doesn't replace fighting for accessibility and disability rights, and the wrong language (esp. if used by someone in the group) certainly doesn't (IMO) negate good work.

But let's chat about disability language. There's so much here, and I am constantly learning on this.

Everyone has different preferences.

So why do I sometimes use the word 'abled'? To me, especially when speaking publicly, 'abled' serves the same purpose as when I label myself as white. It denotes the lack of a specific experience.

Yes, you can have close disabled friends or family members and still not get it.

What really grinds my gears though, is the messages I've gotten in recent weeks from people telling me I should say 'abled' and not 'able-bodied'.

It's true that for too long, disability advocacy has centered on physical disabilities like mine. That doesn't necessitate erasure.

I say able-bodied when I mean able-bodied. If I am talking about ramps in a museum, the height of shelves, the cost of mobility devices...why would I make the language imprecise?

On the flip side, however, far too many people use able-bodied whenever they right about non-disabled individuals.

It is SO so so SO important to recognize the full spectrum of disabilities - and you can show that you have by using 'abled' just like 'disabled' - no 'body' talk.

So now that we understand the difference between 'abled' and 'able-bodied' let me share when I use it.

I don't call people 'abled.' I am too cognizant of how invisible disabilities can be, how hard it is to share openly, and how many people might still be on their journey.

I call society abled, because it is built on an abled mindset. I write about 'what abled people think' because it is not specific to a person, but rather, identifying the group of abled individuals that I cannot enumerate but who I want to address nonetheless.

An example:

What is it going to take for abled people to realize how extraordinarily dangerous this pandemic is?

Now that we've talked about identifiers for groups of people, let's discuss person-first vs. identity-first language.

Am I a future #DisabledDoc or a future #DocsWithDisabilities?

To be honest, I feel I am both and also neither. Like everything, it depends supremely on context.

Out with my friends (lol do you remember that?), I'm just Harry.

When I'm speaking or writing publicly, I use identity-first language (a disabled medical student) because it is key to my existence in that space.

I haven't always used these terms. I don't love it when third parties use it to describe me.

I use it to call out my expertise.

But, as always:

ask the person

Some identities are more stigmatizing than others. If someone doesn't want to define themselves by their identity, please respect that. It's fluid.

How about another example?

When I'm in a lecture hall, a public and professional space, and want to ask a question without 'outing' myself too much, I might say:

"Well professor, as a medical student who happens to have a disability, don't you think there are many worse things in the world than having to use a wheelchair?"

This separates me, keeps the focus on the issue, and keeps me safe.

One of the many op-eds I've written this summer?

As a disabled medical student....

Why? Because most people can't imagine that's true. And that's the point. And that's why I write, why I tweet, why I speak. To change minds as well as policies.

So please, think about the language you use.

But not so much that you let it get in the way of the actual work.

Questions?

Our first question is a great one! Thanks @JoseARodrigues8...

I find it fitting that I "forgot" to discuss differently-abled in my thread. It is, in my honest opinion, a trash fire.

Let's unpack: https://twitter.com/JoseARodrigues8/status/1293554067457835014?s=20

The first use of 'differently-abled' that I can find is from 1980, where the @DNC used it as a less-offensive alternative to 'handicapped' when discussing ramps, etc. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/differently-abled.html

In high school, I think I used it once or twice, in the period in my life in which I was trying to fit in and call as little attention to my body as possible.

But let's be real for a second? What does differently-abled mean? It means I have different abilities than someone else.

....Doesn't everyone?

Terms like differently-abled function to excuse, soften, and make comfortable abled people and their prejudices.

(See how I used abled to describe a group, without specifics?)

Unless all disabled people suddenly sprout X-Ray vision, terms like differently-abled actually don't say anything about disability, about a condition, about accessibility, about what changes in someone's life when a feature of one's body clashes with a feature of society.