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Derogatory Language

In 2009, the “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign began, when use of the R-Word (‘retard(ed)’) was incredibly frequent throughout society. The efforts substantially cut into the use of the R-Word in everyday life, but the push to see it fully eradicated from conversational norms remains an ongoing process. For context, the R-Word is the most common phrase used to demean, insult, and discriminate against people with disabilities, and it has an extremely negative effect on social and self-esteem of people it’s used against.

The frequency that derogatory language like the R-word is used against people with disabilities is staggering, and that’s a result of ingrained societal stereotypes that alienate people with disabilities and emphasize differences in one another. For people with disabilities, the R-word and other derogatory language has real effects, as illustrated by a few of the examples below.

“It hurts and scares me when I am the only person with intellectual disabilities on the bus and young people start making “retard” jokes or references. Please put yourself on that bus and fill the bus with people who are different from you. Imagine that they start making jokes using a term that describes you. It hurts and it is scary.”
John Franklin Stephens, Special Olympics Virginia Athlete

The Spread the Word campaign has made significant strides in the last decade, but there is still so much work to be done to reframe the conversation into inclusive language that works for all. That work starts in the schools and on the field with Special Olympics, where key changes in how we discuss and interact with people with disabilities can be successfully implemented for generations to come.

For more on derogatory language, its impacts, and the ongoing efforts to change society’s vocabulary, visit our extensive library of resources below.

“I hate that word. It’s not nice, it’s horrible. It’s trying to say we’re stupid or something, we’re not stupid. We’ve got brains at the end of the day, we’ve got feelings, we’re human nature...So do not use the R-Word at all. If you keep using the R-Word, it’s like emotional bullets at us.”
Richard, in a Mencap Anti-Bullying Campaign

ARTICLES
The following is an excerpt from Page Six’s article titled, Caitlyn Jenner’s ‘repeated use’ of R-word condemned by Special Olympics: ‘Do better.’
Practice Inclusion: End the Use of the R-Word The research shows that when social media users are posting about people with intellectual disabilities, 7 in every 10 of those posts are negative, and 6 in 10 contain a slur.
New research shows 7 in every 10 posts are negative toward people with intellectual disabilities and 6 in every 10 posts contain a slur. Special Olympics and Best Buddies continue to ‘Spread the Word to End the Word’ in the Campaign’s 10th Year.
10 Tips for Supporting Dignity and Fighting Negative Stereotypes
A journey that began as one Maryland family’s battle for respect and acceptance for their daughter and sister, Rosa, became a significant milestone in the ongoing battle for dignity, inclusion and respect of all people with intellectual disabilities when United States President Barack Obama signed bill S.2781 into federal law on October 5, 2010.
Advocates explain why the R-word is so hurtful when used in jokes or as part of everyday speech.
“A Girl and a Word” was written by Laura Linn for the Spring 2011 issue of Teaching Tolerance magazine.
When you hear the term “offensive language” what do you think of? Swear words, threatening words, discriminating words? After recent events in the news, I started thinking about what this term means.
On the rare occasion that I spend time with people who are not educators, it’s inevitable that someone will drop the word “retarded.” The “R-word” has been used colloquially for decades to describe and degrade anyone or anything out of the ordinary, inferior, or somehow slow. I can still hear the snickers from my own classmates back in 10th-grade health class when we read the words “fire retardant” in our textbook.
The nudge comes the way it usually does. “Did you see this?” asked a dear friend in an email forwarded from The Arc of Washington. The subject line: “A statement on use of R word in state Senate.”
Most companies are not prepared to have someone like me as an employee. How can we change this? I believe we can, but only if we do this together.
Once pushed to the margins of acceptable language thanks to campaigns like "Spread the Word to End the Word," the R-word all but disappeared from common use by the early 2010s.
Disability advocates spent a decade campaigning against the slur. Now it’s coming back.
For a decade, disability advocates led a concerted effort to stomp out use of the word “retard.” Now they’re concerned that the language appears to be making a comeback.