Close Menu
Honi Soit
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • 2025 USU Board Election Provisional Results Announced
    • 77 Years of Nakba: Thousands protest in Sydney against Israel’s Occupation
    • جذوري my roots
    • Patterns of a War-Torn Conscience: Towards a Healing Conceptualisation of Praxis
    • Enmore Psychogeography
    • The night has its own logic
    • Yield
    • Microsoft OneNote is the Digital Note Taking App for All YourDevices
    • About
    • Print Edition
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    • Writing Comp
    • Advertise
    • Locations
    • Contact
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok
    Honi SoitHoni Soit
    Saturday, May 17
    • News
    • Analysis
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • University
    • Features
    • Perspective
    • Investigation
    • Reviews
    • Comedy
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    Honi Soit
    Home»Perspective

    Why we need to ditch “differently abled”

    Moving past euphemisms for disability
    By Noa ZulmanNovember 23, 2018 Perspective 4 Mins Read
    Artwork by Robin Eames
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    If I had a dollar for every time a well-meaning care worker, acquaintance, or old lady on the train stumbled over referring to me as ‘disabled,’ I might not need such a robust NDIS plan. Where public discourse has played catch-up to the preferred language of other marginalised identities (see: ‘queer’ and ‘person of colour’), the disabled community has struggled to achieve such linguistic autonomy. We are spoken for, often in hushed and reverent tones, with terms like ‘differently abled’ and ‘special needs’ sugar-coating society’s deep discomfort with disability. Some have argued that the deployment of such language is a much-needed corrective to centuries of objectification and negative stereotyping of people with disabilities. But while this approach might be well-intentioned, I argue that it is woefully misguided.

    I preface this argument with the caveat that the disabled community is a diverse one with a wealth of different opinions on self-identification; there may indeed be those among us who prefer ‘differently abled’ over more historically-loaded terms like ‘disabled’ or ‘crippled.’ What is most important is to respect the preferences of disabled folk rather than impose patronising terminology on their behalf in an act of supposed ‘good will’. That being said, I’d like to put forth a case for letting the euphemism die a long overdue death.

    For starters, the phrase is awkward and clunky, tripping up the most fluent of tongues with its self-righteous sing-song. If we are looking for an elegant and accessible adjective to describe people with disabilities, ‘differently abled’ definitely isn’t it. Worse than the term itself however, is the way in which it is spoken. Most often deployed by abled and neurotypical folk, phrases like ‘differently abled’ and ‘special needs’ reek of a patronising smugness that implies the speaker’s supposed allyship.

    Beyond the semantic stickiness of the term, I think that there are several significant harms which are perpetuated when we use language like ‘differently abled’ and ‘special needs’. First coined by the U.S. Democratic National Committee in the 1980s, the development of the term was distinctly devoid of any input from disabled folk themselves. Herein lies my first substantive objection to the use of ‘differently abled’ – it was created to soothe the social conscience of abled allies, rather than to serve the community it purports to describe. Far from the empowerment that the DNC were trying to inspire, such a term denies people with disabilities linguistic self-determination.

    Moreover, replacing ‘disabled’ with these fluffier, feel-good counterparts contributes to a culture that alienates disabled folk by deflecting the harsh realities of living with a disability through recourse to a rhetoric of difference and uniqueness. Instead of having our pain and struggle acknowledged, we are constantly reminded of our ‘untapped’ potential and held up as a pinnacle of inspiration for the masses. This in turn engenders what English philosopher, Miranda Fricker, terms as ‘hermeneutic injustice’ whereby the disabled community have their social experience obscured from collective understanding due to structural prejudices in society’s understanding of disability. The constant reiteration of our specialness slowly eats away at the community’s capacity to make sense of our experiences, often leaving us feeling guilty and confused.

    On a practical level, the adoption of language like ‘differently abled’ and ‘special needs’ within popular discourse has done nothing to materially improve the lives of disabled, mentally ill, and neurodivergent people. In fact, I would argue that is has done quite the opposite, reinforcing a medical model of disability that focuses on individual ability, rather than structural inequality and social support. Perhaps this is controversial, but I don’t believe that disabled folk have different abilities or needs than anyone else; rather, we face higher barriers to achieving our goals and meeting our basic needs due to inaccessible institutions, infrastructure, and ableist societal attitudes.

    In the words of actress Lauren Potter, “What we really need is education, jobs, opportunities, friends, and some love. Just like everybody else. Are these needs special?”

    I think not. So let’s ditch the niceties and call ‘difference’ what it really is: disability.

    This article appeared in the autonomous Disabilities edition, Disabled Honi 2018.

    disability disabled honi disabled honi 2018 language

    Keep Reading

    My Name is Anonymous and I’m an Alcoholic

    Loss, to which I return often.

    Losing My Religion: Elegies from an Atheist who desperately wants to believe in God

    In Defence of Diaspora Poetry

    Does Grief Fracture or Fuel Faith?

    Put The Rose-Coloured Glasses Back On!

    Just In

    2025 USU Board Election Provisional Results Announced

    May 16, 2025

    77 Years of Nakba: Thousands protest in Sydney against Israel’s Occupation

    May 16, 2025

    جذوري my roots

    May 16, 2025

    Patterns of a War-Torn Conscience: Towards a Healing Conceptualisation of Praxis

    May 16, 2025
    Editor's Picks

    A meditation on God and the impossible pursuit of answers

    May 14, 2025

    We Will Be Remembered As More Than Administrative Errors

    May 7, 2025

    NSW universities in the red as plague of cuts hit students & staff

    April 30, 2025

    Your Compliance Will Not Save You

    April 16, 2025
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok

    From the mines

    • News
    • Analysis
    • Higher Education
    • Culture
    • Features
    • Investigation
    • Comedy
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Misc

     

    • Opinion
    • Perspective
    • Profiles
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Social
    • Sport
    • SRC Reports
    • Tech

    Admin

    • About
    • Editors
    • Send an Anonymous Tip
    • Write/Produce/Create For Us
    • Print Edition
    • Locations
    • Archive
    • Advertise in Honi Soit
    • Contact Us

    We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The University of Sydney – where we write, publish and distribute Honi Soit – is on the sovereign land of these people. As students and journalists, we recognise our complicity in the ongoing colonisation of Indigenous land. In recognition of our privilege, we vow to not only include, but to prioritise and centre the experiences of Indigenous people, and to be reflective when we fail to be a counterpoint to the racism that plagues the mainstream media.

    © 2025 Honi Soit
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Accessibility

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.