Access Fandom

Language: spotted on Tumblr

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:21:24 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

I'm actually not sure how to link to things on Tumblr (LOL) so I'm just going to quote the entire post from UnF*ck Your Habitat that I saw Today while backreading my dash:

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Just a reminder:
OCD is something one has, not something one “is,” and most people who say, “I’m so OCD” do not have OCD and could use a thesaurus and some sensitivity training.

Here at UfYH HQ, we don’t use “OCD” as shorthand or a humorous description for personality quirks or behaviors. It’s a legitimate medical condition. Words are important, and there are better ways to get your point across without trivializing someone else’s health issue. Some potential alternatives:

Extremely particular
Attentive to cleanliness
Hates when things are dirty
Excessively tidy
Fastidious
Exceptionally neat
Predisposed to cleanliness
P.S. OCD doesn’t always (or even usually) mean that someone is extremely clean or organized.

Tag: It's not about being politically correct it's about not being a jerk

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1 link 14 Dec 2012

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 23:59:53 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

Lesley Kinzel at xojane: An Incomplete Compendium of Potentially Offensive Language

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1 link 18 Sept 2012

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:17:08 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

tim: Alternatives to 'intelligent'

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1 Link 31 August 2012

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:26:52 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

Sarah Fazeli at xojane: I'm a Bit Holier than Thou when it Comes to the R Word

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1 Link 7 June 2012

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 23:17:11 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

linaerys: An apology, and (I Hope) an Evolution
Crosspost at LJ: http://linaerys.livejournal.com/852708.html

A post about ableist language use. There is some foolishness in comments at LJ.

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1 Link to Twitter. 22 April 2012

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 03:49:24 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

Jessica Coen, the Editor of "Jezebel", tweeted this:

https://twitter.com/#!/jessicacoen/status/190529717286338563

The word "ableist" is crazy and lame. MT @TheNatFantastic: @jezebel insisting on being ableist. AGAIN. http://bit.ly/Iqnpn0

She was responding to a criticism of "Crazy" in this Jezebel headline:

Meet the anti-abortion movement's pretty, new, super-crazy face.

I'm not sure if she is being ironic or dismissive or what.

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1 Link 19 March 2012

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 03:13:01 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

SF and mystery author Nicola Griffith: Lame is so Gay: A Rant (from July 2011)

Words matter. Like icebergs, nine-tenths of their heft lies out of sight. Insults like gay and lame can kill. If you're not gay or lame, you might not see the grinding damage that's occurring below the waterline to those who are.

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Links 1 Feb 2012: Yes we're talking about Glee again

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:29:16 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

laceblade: It's kind of disgusting/ so what does it mean

Mirror post at LiveJournal

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Gary Presley: Never Use Blackface if you use a Wheelchair

This is a response to the magazine "New Mobility" choosing the character of Artie from Glee as its "Person of the Year".

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Terence Blacker: Cruel Jokes are just a symptom

(I actually don't know what this is in response to, but think it's interesting nonetheless.)

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If you have more links feel free to drop them in comments!

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2 links on language, 31 January 2011

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 03:59:23 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

Rolling Around in My Head (Dave Hingsburger): An Open Letter to Jeremy Boxen and Allen Hawco; Regarding: The Republic of Doyle, Episode entitled 'The Woman Who Knew Too Little'

Every legitimate call for the concept of respectful language to include disability concerns are ignored by the powers the be and attacked by supporters of the status quo. Those who wish the freedom to hate mask themselves as fighters for the freedom to speak.

jesse_the_k: We've Always Failed, We've Always Learned

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1 link 20 Dec 2010: language again

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 05:03:28 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

ffrantsrants: OP: Isn't lame kind of ableist?

This is in reference to the last post. There are currently 123 comments.

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1 link 19 Dec 2010: Language

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 18:21:37 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

In fanficrants: This one has been done to death, but:

This one has been done to death, but:

Don't judge a fic by it's lame summary.

One: "Lame." Nice. I am not an expert on this stuff, but isn't that kinda ableist?

Note that there are currently 308 comments

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1 link 18 Dec 2010: language

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 04:26:30 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

lauredhel: "I don't even THINK about disability when I hear the word 'lame'! No one does!"

Feel free to link to this post if you're ever trying to rebut these statements:

"But lame doesn't mean that anymore!"

"That's completely archaic! No-one alive THESE days would ever have used it that way!"

"I don't even THINK about disability when I say or hear 'lame'! No one does!"

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Linkspam: Glee 1x19 'Dream On'

Sat, 22 May 2010 05:01:48 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

linkspam Glee 1x19 'Dream On'
21 May 2010

I still have not seen a full episode of this show! Here are a few links.

Bad Cripple: Glee Makes Me Glum

hi_falootin: oh, glee

Natalie DeBruin: The Language of Disability plus 3 easy ways you can Improve it

National Public Radio: Reclaiming Roles: Actors Play Beyond Disabilities

s.e. smith at This Ain't Livin': Glee: Dream On

Wheelie Catholic: Let's all Dream On

Wheelchair Dancer: Dream On: What a Nightmare on Glee

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Links for 19 May 2010

Thu, 20 May 2010 01:46:07 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

Now with quotes because it's what the other cool linkspammers do!

FWD/Forward: Guest post from RMJ: Ableist Word Profile: Crazy

Crazy [is] a destructive word, used to hurt people with mental disabilities. It’s used to discredit, to marginalize, to make sure that we feel shame for our disability and discourage self-care, to make sure that those of us brave enough to publicly identify as having mental disabilities are continually discredited.

kaz: Ableist words and all that

This is what I have discovered by trying to rid my vocabulary of those words: one of the main things I use them for is to hurt myself. Whenever I think I've done something wrong or remember something I think I did wrong, I turn them inwards.

telesilla: 3w4dw -- Day ???

I don't need to explain to anyone why I'm on government assistance, because you know what? It's none of anyone's damn business.

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towards a new disability bingo card; and, a question for users of screen readers etc.

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:47:35 GMT

Posted by: the_jack

Inspired by both the Physical Disability Bingo Card and the Invisible Disability Bingo Card (and IDBC the sequel), I'd like to make a bingo card highlighting the horrifically unhelpful things people with disabilities all too often hear from people who should really, really know better: doctors (and other medical personnel including but not limited to nurses and EMTs, but primarily doctors).

My personal "favourite" is when I see a doctor for a follow-up appointment after they've ordered some tests, and they announce to me, "Great news! You don't have [insert diagnosis here]!" without actually having the real good news that they've identified the cause of the symptoms I came to them about. Especially when this is then followed by them essentially washing their hands of me, as they've looked for "everything" and "all the tests came out normal." Thanks, genius, unless your statement alone magically makes my body work again, it's not helpful at all.

I know other people probably have their own contributions to this category of fail!statements and fail!questions, and other people may come up with better phrasing than mine for many of them. (Brevity, alas, is rarely one of my virtues.) So please, contribute your own "favourite" inanities you've heard from doctor after doctor.

Another favourite of mine is "I'm not filling out any disability paperwork for patients (any more)" -- sometimes phrased as, "If you want the doctor to fill out disability paperwork, there's a fee of $___ for each form, which your insurance won't cover because oh right, it's actually illegal for us to charge for that especially when we're already billing for the office visit."

Then there's "No, I won't prescribe that medication for you, even though it's neither controlled nor a risk for addiction, and I actually don't have any particular reason for refusing, I'm just being stubborn."

Yet another favourite, though I haven't run into it personally in years, is "Either you really have that symptom/condition, OR you know some technical terms used to describe it in medical literature and other exclusive content like WebMD and Wikipedia; any patient who comes in and uses the correct terms to discuss either a symptom they claim to have or a specific diagnosis they want to be checked for is obviously either a hypochondriac, a malingerer or both!"

edited to add:
"If you just go back to your regular routine, you'll be feeling yourself again in no time." (Yes, this is different when it's actual medical advice and also being given in place of appropriate medical care, as opposed to when some doubtless-well-meaning layperson says it.)
and
"Your presenting with both symptom A and symptom B is suspicious, despite the fact that at least a dozen recognised illnesses feature both symptoms as common and/or diagnostic."
and
"I see that you're taking medication X, based on which I will assume that you have condition B, even though you helpfully wrote right next to the medication name and dosage that the medication was actually prescribed to treat condition A, and even though you wrote in the medical-history section that you have condition A and made no mention of condition B."

Although I've heard things like "but you're so young!" and "you seem fine / don't look disabled" from doctors and other medical professionals, I'm aiming for things which are profession-specific and haven't already been addressed on one of the other bingo cards.

As you can see I need help trimming these down from rant-size to bingo-card size, so suggestions toward that end are appreciated.

While I'm here... I've been wondering how screen readers and/or other assistive technology handle emphasised text, be it bolded, underlined, italicised or formatted with some other HTML tag, and whether some tags are more likely than others to get dropped by (or become illegible to) people using various kinds of assistive technology. Toward that end, some examples so people can tell how their tech does at letting them know what formatting the writer has applied:

1. This sentence has no HTML formatting tags.

2.

This sentence is enclosed in HTML "pre" tags.

3. This sentence is enclosed in HTML "B" (bold) tags.

4. This sentence is enclosed in HTML "U" (underline) tags.

5. This sentence is enclosed in HTML "I" (italic) tags.

6. This sentence is enclosed in HTML "em" (emphasis) tags.

7. ~~This sentence is enclosed in HTML "S" (strikethrough) tags.~~

8. _{This sentence is enclosed in HTML "sub" (subscript) tags.}

9. ^{This sentence is enclosed in HTML "sup" (superscript) tags.}

Those are most of the tags I use. If there are other tags other people use frequently and are willing to change their usage of, if necessary, so that their intended meaning can be better conveyed to those using assistive technology -- or tags that people who use assistive technology know don't come through for them -- please comment, and I'll modify this post to reflect those, too. Please also note which software and/or hardware you're using, not so much for me as for other AT users, so we can helpfully compare how text renders in different programs. I encourage people using magnification (or some other assistive technology) rather than or in addition to a screen-reader to contribute their experiences as well.

Finally, does the "fandom heart" emoticon, <3 (less-than / pointy-bracket numeral-three) get lost in translation for anyone? Would the ASCII ♥ be better?

(Please also suggest any tags -- post tags, that is, not html tags -- I ought to have included but didn't. Or, actually, other html tags would also be good! But for different purposes.)

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3 links 28 March 2010

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 21:43:52 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

jonquil:Please do not be on my side (regarding language)

sophy: On my usage of "Crazy"

sheafrotherdon:Sunday reading (a book review, discussion in comments)

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Link: "temporarily able-bodied"

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:38:22 GMT

Posted by: lizw

I posted in my journal about the phrase "temporarily able-bodied" and why I don't like it (though I do also understand why some find it useful):

On Dreamwidth
On Livejournal

There are some good comments in both places, including from people with disabilities who do use the phrase or something like it, and as yet no derailing (long may it continue).

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links 21 March 2010: Glee

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:20:10 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

Center for Disability Information and Referral: Television with a Conscience

Disability Scoop: 'Glee' Among TV shows with 'Conscience' for highlighting Disability

haddayr: Glee to be Honored by Academy of Arts and Sciences for "Television with a Conscience"

Terence Blacker: Glee, Ricky Gervais and Vinne Jones-- the Offensiveness Debate Gets Confusing

trouble: That Glee Thing

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Links 17 March 2010: Physical Disability Bingo Card

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:53:31 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

~~ETA: Temporarily removing these links until the bingo card is altered to fix disabling language.~~

haddayr: Phsyical Disability Bingo Card

dot_gimp_snark: Crosspost of Physical Disability Bingo Card

(comments recommended at both places)

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2 links on language

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:48:04 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

Thank you to the person who bought paid time for access_fandom!!

An updated Bingo card done by haddayr and codeman38, including link for PDF:
Prettier Bingo Card

fiction_theory: The fiction of "free speech"

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...Is anyone interested in linkspamming the Amanda Palmer controversy? Comment or send me a PM if you are interested.
ETA: The linkspam community is doing this already, thankfully.

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Links 12 February 2010

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:56:25 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

gnatkip: Glee art: Being a Part of Something Special 1.01 Pilot (visual art)
Glee art: Being a Part of something Special 1.09 Wheels

haddayr: Oh, great (on language)

haddayr: PLUCKY CRIPPLE DOESN'T LET LACK OF BINGO CARD STOP HER!
ETA: Final version: PLUCKY CRIPPLES DON'T LET LACK OF BINGO CARD STOP THEM!

trouble: Follow-up on Feministing

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2 Links: Language and Air Security

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:30:10 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

Links 21 Jan 2010

villainny": Language Can be such a Fucker, Sometimes
nny: Language Can be such a Fucker, Sometimes

eruthros: Air Security and the Normal Body (from 30 Dec 2009)

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1 Link about Language

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:27:09 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

I have only one link for today but it is a doozy:

Zero at the Bone: Disability is Not your Analogy

In which one of the authors of The Ethical Slut drops by to get into an argument with the blogger, Chally. I recommend reading all of the comments if you're up for it.

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4 Links of interest

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:40:11 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

eruthros: Casual ableism

synecdochic: Six things make a post (disabling language)

Glee/Representation:

FWD/Forward: Glee: The Halfway Point: the Introduction (post 1 of 4)

Ramping it Up: Wheelchairs on TV and other representational bits and pieces

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Linkspam on Representation #1

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:55:08 GMT

Posted by: sasha_feather

1 link about language:
The Transcontinental Disability Choir: What is Ableist Language and Why should you Care? (Bitch Magazine)

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'Glee' wheelchair episode hits bump with disabled (USA Today)

From Oct 13 NY Times: Hearing Actor Cast as Deaf Role Stirs Protests in New York
This is in reference to the play The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, based on the novel by Carson McCullers

pgdudda: More Evidence that 2009 is the year of fail (On The Heart is a Lonely Hunter)

Screen Actors Guild: Latest Data follows Historical Trends and Continues to Exclude PWD

FWD: Where are all the People with Disabilities?

FWD: And if this keeps up, there won't be any

FWD: Guest Post: Daleks, Davros, and Disability

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