I recently looked at the lists I am listed in by other people on Twitter. Quite a few of the people called the grop I was in "hip crips." Maybe it's just me, but when I think of myself I am not a "crip." I am not crippled I am mobility impaired. I have no problem saying I'm disabled, but a "crip?" No, I do not think of myself that way.
Is this blogged stemmed from some sort of denial? I guess it could be, but I sincerely doubt it. I just don't belong in those groups. The other bothersome groups I found myself listed in were three "team gimps." Do I even have to say how crazy that drives me?
I think it stems more of a lack of exposure to a cultural model of disability
ReplyDeleteMost politically active PWDs on the west coast call themselves Crips in my experience while Gimp is more popular on the east coast.
Most people with CIs haven't traveled in the same circles I have so aren't as familiar with the terms.
And honestly, even some young, hip PWDs don't like the terms Crip or Gimp. It was once explained to me as a reclamation of the term. Kind of lik how some lesbians have reclaimed the term 'dyke.'
So I would say first, nobody should label you a crip or a gimp. If you choose to reclaim those words, and it seems that you aren't currently wanting to, then nobody should put that label on you! I agree with what wacky lisa said, about people reclaiming those words like the African American community has done with the word 'niggger' a person that's white or more specifically not African American is not allowed to claim or use that word because of the huge past oppressions that while have been worked on are not anywhere near completely healed. Yet you will still find PoC that refuse to use that word.
ReplyDeleteIt's the same with the disability community, PwD have similar reasons to want to reclaim the oppressive words. So hopefully the people that have grouped you under those terms are doing it from a place of empowerment but one can not easily tell when in a public group setting like that, so it's probably wiser for people to not use those words in such settings.
Also I just want to say like wacky lisa the different models of disability tend to have different viewpoints of word reclamation.
So if wacky lisa and I are right thats why those words are being used, but o have to agree with you.
I don't consider myself a gimp, or a crip, I do consider myself a person however! The only time I use the term gimp is when I refer to the group gimpgirl which is an awesome group of women that come together to support each other. They have been immensely helpful to me!
With love,
Tara
Crip is a term that's become quite common in the UK for alot of disabled people to self-identify. Its one of those 'reclaimed' labels that has been reclaimed by a group as a 'we are who we are and we are proud' term from it's original purpose of insult to the group by outsiders. (similar to LGBT people reclaiming 'queer', 'dyke' etc).
ReplyDeleteGimp is a term we don't have in the UK...well we do...it just means something completely non-disability related :)