Danger by Association

I've been thinking about the semantics of civil rights movements and how harsh the language is on young ears like mine, and not just for youngish people in the disability rights community but for those feminists, GLTB and people of color who sometimes grow a little weary of the linguistic autopsies going on all around us.

Cause of death? Unruly Prefix. Excessive Hyphenation. Misuse of the Acronym.

Take the story I posted a few days ago, "From 'Passing' to 'Coming Out.' " I love the idea that a disabled woman might come clean about her disability as a result of embarking on motherhood, but I've always found the use of the term, "coming out" a little odd for people with physical disabilities. Particularly if the disability is plainly visible, it would seem that what happens here has more to do with reconceptualizing or renaming one's body as a social rather than a medicalized self. Not that I'm opposed to clever cross- references, but it would be nice if there were some reciprocation once in awhile. As yet, only a handful of Punks and Anarchists have come anywhere close: there's that Ramones song with the chant from Freaks in the chorus, the novel Geek Love, and... and...

Of course, the truth is that many of the same prejudices that effect disabled people today once plagued (and plague) other minorities. Their bodies were and are medicalized/ violated, their communities segregated, their access to information and public space limited. Now, it's like, "We got what we wanted. You kids are on your own." But more on this later.