What amazes me is how the white disabled community gets riled up when Beyonce or Lizzo unintentionally use ableist terms. They aren’t angered that 50% people killed by the police are disabled. Their advocacy extends to them and not Black disabled people.https://t.co/3pcUMhyUfR
This is why I don’t feel the disabled community is actually a community. It mostly caters to white disabled people and they literally don’t allow black disabled people to have a voice in most issues.
Hadn’t thought about this, i personally criticize ableist language from anyone if i’m aware of it. But i have noticed there seems to be much more anger and discussion when it’s from POC regardless of context and severity. We need to be better.
after backlash from fans and disability activists — some of which was right, and some of which was racist. It’s a messy one.
The offending song in question was “Heated” — which was written by international menace — and a spokesperson has since confirmed the lyric will be changed.
“The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,” the spokesperson said in a statement to .
While it’s great that Beyoncé has owned the mistake and is doing the work to fix it, the entire situation has opened up some messy discourse.
ICYMI, “sp*z” is a derogatory way of saying “spastic” and is used as an ableist slur against those with spastic diplegia. Those with the condition have described the word as extremely hurtful. It’s often targeted at people with facial and body differences, especially with movements like involuntary muscle spasms.
was for using the slur in her song “GRRRLS”, so you’d think Beyoncé and/or her team would have learned from that and considered removing it before the album was released. If not to avoid hurting people with involuntary muscle spasms, then at least to avoid being at the centre of another Twitterstorm.
While white disability activists have jumped at the opportunity to call out Beyoncé and write think-pieces about their disappointment at her slur use, Black disability activists have called out the blatant misogynoir (ingrained prejudice targeting Black women specifically) that has come from people who are supposed to be their allies.
by disability activist and writer is excellent and dives into the racial powers at play in this conversation.
Ojewumi points out Beyoncé’s history of uplifting Black disabled people in her music and projects — why was this instantly forgotten for the sake of some suspiciously targeted stories?
While there’s no doubt the word is an ableist slur and Beyoncé should have known better (it’s 2022 FFS), it’s also worth discussing how do not face the same heat. Unsurprisingly, many of them are white. Yet again, Black women are held to higher standards than everyone else.
Situations where multiple forms of oppression are at play require nuance, especially given the racial optics of white women decrying their hurt by Black women.
Basically, you can acknowledge and call out ableism without weaponising white femininity or white fragility. Shocking, I know.
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