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WMC Unspinning the Spin

able-bodied

this term and its buddy "temporarily able-bodied" have lost ground due to their vagueness (few people are 100% able-bodied, whether a toddler needs help up the stairs, a young person wears glasses, or an older person has arthritis). A one-size-fits-all term for the opposite of "people with disabilities" frames an us/them, either/or perspective. Instead describe the situation: "both those who use wheelchairs and those who don't."


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Unspinning the Spin: The Women's Media Center Guide to Fair and Accurate Language

By Rosalie Maggio


 

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