4. how do we say this…

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hi hello hey, we’re back and coming out swinging.

It’s no secret that there seem an endless number of terms in diverse spaces. It could seem overwhelming trying to educate yourself on a community you’ve had possibly little experience in. We recognize that, and that was part of the motivation behind this episode on terms surrounding disability and blindness. While much of what we share in this episode are our personal opinions, we also cite facts, definitions, and histories of many of the terms we say. If you’d like to learn more, you’re in the right place, so go ahead and jump to the links in the notes. Also, we mostly discuss terms that directly apply to us, since there could be an entire podcast dedicated to disability-related terms. That being said, in true Rare with Flair fashion, we tried to make it as engaging and fun as possible.

We dive right in to talking about terms that we use, and those surrounding blindness. We make a pit stop to emphasize the difference between a “disease” and a “condition.” We also speak on the word “disabled” and when we started identifying with it. After, we break apart inappropriate terms surrounding disabilities in general, followed by discussing disability euphemisms like “special needs” and “differently abled.”. Finally, we lead up to a rant on “inspiration porn” (that is the real name of the term) and why over-glorifying people with disabilities is damaging and exploitative. Since we didn’t wan to just end on a rant and didn’t have a game this week, we end by saying what we’ve been into lately with shows, shopping, and activities.

As always, thank you to all our listeners that have sent us questions and engaged with us on Twitter! Feel free to send us questions, stories, comments, or game ideas since we need some. 😉

show notes

housekeeping

• It’s absolutely true that we started late because I (Cassandra) Doordashed myself two pints of ice cream… no shame 😉 I mention my love of ice cream in our intro episode
• We’re almost halfway to hearing Casey’s dog voice! For context, this is the voice she talks to her dog Rupert in which you can hear us mention at the end of our intro linked above. Please give us a rating and review on Apple podcasts so we can hear it!
• Casey plugs our social media
  • @RareWithFlair on Twitter
  • @Rare.With.Flair on Instagram
  • Rare with Flair on Facebook
  • Also we have since gotten a new email just for inquiries, so if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, hit us up at hello@rarewithflair.com

terms on blindness + terms we use

• Cassandra references a publication by the American Foundation for the Blind that defines terms on blindness (she said “of the blind” instead of “for”) including legally blind, visually impaired, and low vision. Many of the points we make point to it, so we recommend giving it a read!
• Cassandra mentions episode 2 where we discuss our visual acuities and what they mean
  • Casey mentions that we had a listener write us and correct us after a previous episode for neglecting the visual field (peripheral vision) aspect of legally blind, which you can see in the AFB article above. Thanks, David!
• Check out our dialogue on Twitter to hear more voices on this!
• Cassandra references the AFB article on the different categories of “visually impaired”
• Casey and Cassandra again reference a conversation on episode 2 (linked above) about correctable and non-correctable vision and why Cassandra wears glasses
• Cassandra mentions the National Federation of the Blind and their stance on the term “blind” as one of empowerment
• Cassandra points out the difference in “disease” and “condition” since we both have a rare disease (APA Style Insider)
  • to learn about our disease Hermanksy-Pudlak Syndrome (HPS), check our about HPS page!
• Casey mentions that HPS is part of NORD, the National Organization for Rare Disorders
• Casey defines the term “disabled” from Oxford Languages’ + Google definition of “disabled”

inappropriate terms

• Casey references a Special Olympics publication discussing the word “retarded.” Please never say this! It’s best use “cognitive disability” or “developmental disability” if trying to describe a person you would’ve used the “r-word” for.
• Cassandra uses her History Fun Fact to tell the convoluted history of the term “handicapped” (Today I Found Out). (she mistakenly mentions the time frame of the “fake” history to one of the world wars, but according to the source it’s actually 15th and 16th centuries).
  • Please note that the term “disabled” is preferred to “handicapped” (Mental Floss)
• Casey discusses the term “albino” and how it can be triggering to people in the albinism community. Read more about “albino” from the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation
• Cassandra talks about not using disabilities as adjectives, including using OCD as an adjective (Psychology Today) and bipolar as an adjective (International Bipolar Foundation)

ineffective terms + euphemisms

• Casey mentions the terms “differently abled” (National Center on Disability and Journalism) and “handicapable” (Vanderbilt University Research). They express that these are problematic euphemisms that invalidate people with disabilities’ experiences
• Cassandra cites a 2016 study published to the NIH on the term “special needs.“ The study determined that it was an ineffective euphemism giving people an overall more negative impression of disability
• Casey explains person-first vs identity-first terminology for disabilities (Freedom Resource Center). Cassandra stresses the importance of asking individuals for their individual preferences

inspiration porn

• Cassandra mentions Stella Young (TED bio), an Australian disability activist who sadly passed in 2014. Young is credited with coining the term inspiration porn (Disability Visibility Project)
• Casey says “person with an amputee,” but means “person with an amputation”
• Casey and Cassandra reference Stella Young’s famous TED talk, “I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much.” They also joke about Stella and Casey’s mutual love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Also, Casey does many amazing things and doesn’t JUST sit around 😉