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New Zealand Media Continues To Use Inappropriate Disability Language
December 13th, 2011Journalists need to respect disability language. There have been many instances of the use of the expression "Wheelchair bound" in the New Zealand press. When someone points out this is an expression to be avoided, the journalists or newspapers have been saying they thought the expression appropriate. They continue to use it.
I am thinking specifically about the Manawatu Standard's Health Reporter, Stacey Kirk, who uses the expression in her recent "Pair share very special bond". I contacted Mrs Kirk in September about her use of that expression in "Stouch over disability parking".
I explained why the expression "wheelchair-bound" is wrong. I suggested that saying "wheelchair user" would be more appropriate. But she said that she thought the expression relevant and appropriate to the story. I was hoping that the next time she wrote about a wheelchair user, she would say "wheelchair user" rather than "wheelchair bound".
Mrs Kirk's refusal to use disability-appropriate vocabulary is distressing, especially as she is the Health Reporter of the paper. Also distressing is the Manawatu Standard's stance that the expression could be relevant to a story.
But I'm not picking on Mrs Kirk specifically. She simply has the misfortune of being a handy example of something that is prevalent in the media, at least in NZ written press as delivered through Stuff. See "Laptop is stolen from wheelchair-bound woman", or "Gardens for wheel-chair-bound opened in Porirua" for a couple recent articles. Or "Wheelchair-bound man apologises for sex crimes" or "Woman drove car into wheelchair-bound partner" for a couple slightly older articles. But the NZ press is not alone in using improper disability language - we hear such language regularly on NZ television, I just don't have handy examples of these at the moment.
It is obviously not enough to make individual journalists aware of the issues with the language they use, otherwise Mrs Kirk would not use the term "wheelchair bound" anymore.
What is it going to take for the media to change their attitude? What is it going to take for the media to start using disability-appropriate language?
Read my previous blog about why the expression wheelchair bound is not appropriate.
This post was tagged: Language
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4 comments on “New Zealand Media Continues To Use Inappropriate Disability Language”
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1
13th December, 2011, 14:33
A common acquaintance tweeted this for you and I found it. I'm not a reporter but from the media realm.
Excuse my ignorance, but what is the difference? You haven't explained here why it's wrong to say wheelchair bound - is it found insulting in some way? Would be useful in educating folks.
2
13th December, 2011, 14:34
Congratulations, you win the award for useless-political correctness.
3
13th December, 2011, 14:36
So, could you please explain WHY exactly "Wheelchair-bound" is not appropriate? Is this another example of rampant PC'ism or is there a real, justifiable, even quantifiable, reason this term is unsuitable?
Having spent my entire life as a "Wheelchair User", I fail to see anything unpleasant, derogatory or inappropriate in this term at all, and suspect this is just another misguided example of the type of language-guidance so eloquently presented by George Orwell in his seminal masterpiece "1984".
This strikes me as double-plus-ungood.
4
13th December, 2011, 14:41
Steve, Simon, I linked to why it is not appropriate language in the text. Thank you for pointing out it was not visible enough. I've ammended the text.