Labels. Are they fair to use? Is there a better way?
The question is often raised when addressing populations with special needs how to define or refer to an individual. People in our country have created labels and hyphenated labels to describe individuals from any cultural, ethnic or religious background, as well as other characteristics.
Recently, Erica Stark, graduate student in the School of Journalism, raised the question of whether labels are appropriate. She mentioned the attitudinal barriers that sometimes create more roadblocks for disabled individuals than the actual physical barriers.
Terms and labels which Stark described as offensive or negative were handicapper, physically challenged and handicapable. She indicated that these were euphemistic and overly general, lumping all disabled individuals together into one group. Terms specific to the disability such as blind and deaf were also dismissed by Stark, who said they emphasized that person's disability rather than her/his ability.
Stark's suggestion was to use names, rather than labels. "One thing we all have in common is names," she said. "We are all given one when we are born, and even though we might not like it, it makes up part of who we are."
OPHS Director Marge Chmielewski agreed that labels, while popular, do not define the individual or even fully describe the individual. "I'd rather be called Marge than anything else," she said.
Visual Characteristics Specialist Mike Hudson feels that labels are negative until an individual becomes comfortable with his or her disability. "I like to think of a handicapper as one who defines himself or herself, rather than allowing others to do so through labels," he said. However, labels are often used because they are convenient and allow us to categorize and classify, good or bad, people as well as places, foods, animals, etc.