Over the past several decades—even before the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and more emphatically ever since—the idea of disability shifted from a medical signifier to an emblem of cultural identity. People will tell you, in various ways, “Don’t say I have ‘special needs’ or am ‘physically challenged.’ Don’t even call me a ‘person with a disability.’ I’m a disabled person”—with disabled first and foremost, imparting an unapologetic pride.
Pride in disability isn’t new—there have been Disability Pride parades at least since the early 1990s—but the language preference and the culture and identity shift it reflects are new. At least, to me. My generation of activists preferred “person first” language, which is why the law isn’t called the Disabled Americans Act. Clunky and awkward as it became the standard. It emphasized our humanity, we thought.
