I first started using "Masked" instead of "Blind" when I worked on a scientific study where some blind people were participants. Blind is both a medical term and an identity category, and therefore it means a lot of things already; "masked" is more respectful and we used it in place of "double blind study" for example. This was before I got into disability politics, maybe around 2005.

Then I met jesse_the_k who convinced me to stop using "blind" as a metaphor entirely.

Here is some background reading:
Kestrell: What Good writers Still Get Wrong about Blind People
Kate Nepveu, panel writeup: I'm not your metaphor: Explaining Oppression with Analogies
Jesse the K: I'm not Colorblind, I'm Totally Blind!

Jesse says: "Blindness doesn't endow one with greater spiritual insight nor better hearing than sighted people..."

This is key. The whole idea of a "blind" study is that it makes a scientist less biased. But it's the built in ignorance of the drug or intervention being used that makes the scientist less biased. It's a way to build safety into a study. It has nothing do with sight in particular: it has to do with knowledge, and sequestering knowledge. In the case of reviewing, it's the ignorance of who the author is, etc.

The stereotype of blindness, of blind people, being perpetuated here is that they are purer, less biased, more forgiving of flaws, better judges of data and of character. They can't be, you know, just people. Once again, disabled people aren't given the benefit of being full human beings, of having full moral character.

"Masked" is preferable because it is a separate term that evokes temporarily putting on and taking off of a mask, for the purpose of doing a study or review. A mask could cover up your identity, make you seem like someone else, or no one at all: it gives the idea of being anonymous. For reviewing in particular, this metaphor works very well: what if the manuscript was submitted by Anonymous? A person in a mask. It's not that the reviewer is "blind"--a stereotype of someone pure and unbiased, it's that the submitter is wearing a mask.

Your thoughts here are welcome.

This post brought to you by recent SF/F calls for "blind reviews" (blech).

Think Progress: In "The Michael J. Fox Show" and "Ironside", NBC bets big on Characters with Physical Limitations

The network is remaking Ironside, a show about a detective who uses a wheelchair after he’s shot in the line of duty that ran on NBC for eight seasons between 1967 and 1975. And it’ll be airing The Michael J. Fox show, a sitcom featuring the titular comedian, who did seven years on NBC with Family Ties, which ran from 1982 to 1989, as a news anchor who returns to work despite the way his Parkinson’s Disease, from which Fox suffers in real life. In other words, NBC is putting two shows on air that feature characters with physical limitations, moving a kind of character who’s often relegated to supporting roles—and who’s often there to illustrate the goodness of or provide moral tests to fully able-bodied characters—to the center of the frame. And from the trailers, it looks like both Ironside and The Michael J. Fox show won’t shy away from discussing their characters’ physical limitations, and other people’s reactions to them, directly.

Myke Cole: What PTSD Is (and isn't)

Excellent post. Text is white on black.

wellingtongoose: Bipolar Sherlock: A more detailed analysis

A follow-up to the previous post with lots of information.

littlebutfierce: Self Care: A buncha links, or something

Aimed at activists; these seem to be posted in response to an article called "An End to Self-Care". Useful and interesting.

janice_lester: meta: Give sexy actors sexy wheelchairs!

This is about wheels, (mostly) white (mostly) male characters, and how The Powers That Be on TV and film sets seem fated--whether by unpleasant design or mere privileged ignorance--to be forever Getting It Wrong. When they could be getting it oh, so right.

This post talks about media portrayals of characters who use wheelchairs. It is image heavy with some video; there aren't image descriptions for all of the images nor captions on the video.

ChiCon.org: ChiCon Acknowledges Concerns of mobility-impaired members

File770: Chicon7 Apologizes for Access Issues

Comments are hit and miss so far--read them at your own risk.

eta: I got in an argument in comments about the phrase "death march" being used as an analogy. WHY. /o\

World Con and Accessibility (or lack thereof)

I would appreciate feedback from people who attended and/are involved with world con, thanks!

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