9. What NOT to Say
I'm going to start this project by prefacing that I am in fact, not someone who is handicapped. I come from a position of privilege, and I don't want to impose my ideas on what handicapped life is like on anyone.
BBC Three has helpfully made a video titled
Things Not To Say To Someone Who Uses A Wheelchair
In the video, wheelchair users voice their annoyance at condescending or overly-intrusive comments they get from people in their lives.
Some key examples of annoying comments shown in the video are:
1. What happened to you?
- It's kind of not everyone's business. They don't need to know.
2. You're so brave
- They're people. Not all of them want to be heroes for existing and living
3. Do you work?
- As opposed to "What do you do?", and people assuming people in wheelchairs can live off government benefits easily
4. How do you have sex?
- Why. Why do people ask this. Why do they need to know?
5. That's awful, I'm so sorry
- But it's not actually that person's fault? Unless it is...? *conspiracy hat*
Working on this project, I really need to pay attention to how I write all the text involved in the game - phrasing things in a respectable manner. Wheelchair users are not defined by their wheelchair, and I must not treat them as such.
References:
BBC Three (2017). Things Not To Say To Someone Who Uses A Wheelchair. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RLTtk9Mc14 [Accessed 18 Oct. 2018].
BBC Three has helpfully made a video titled
Things Not To Say To Someone Who Uses A Wheelchair
Some key examples of annoying comments shown in the video are:
1. What happened to you?
- It's kind of not everyone's business. They don't need to know.
2. You're so brave
- They're people. Not all of them want to be heroes for existing and living
3. Do you work?
- As opposed to "What do you do?", and people assuming people in wheelchairs can live off government benefits easily
4. How do you have sex?
- Why. Why do people ask this. Why do they need to know?
5. That's awful, I'm so sorry
- But it's not actually that person's fault? Unless it is...? *conspiracy hat*
Working on this project, I really need to pay attention to how I write all the text involved in the game - phrasing things in a respectable manner. Wheelchair users are not defined by their wheelchair, and I must not treat them as such.
References:
BBC Three (2017). Things Not To Say To Someone Who Uses A Wheelchair. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RLTtk9Mc14 [Accessed 18 Oct. 2018].
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