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It is important to know the expressions and attitudes of empowerment to ensure inclusion.
About the item
The new edition of the reality show Big Brother Brazil has raised a debate on ableism, a form of prejudice that places people with disabilities in an inferior position.
During the first competition of the leaders of the Globo show, which began on Monday (1/9), the participant Maycon made remarks considered offensive towards the Paralympic athlete Vinícius Rodrigues.
The school cook referred to Vinicio’s amputated leg as “cotoco” and “cotinho”, expressions considered derogatory for amputated limbs.
Maycon also asked the sprinter if he could “nickname” his prosthetic and he suggested calling it “cotinho”.
Vinicius laughed at his colleague’s remarks, but according to Alice Rosa Ramos, superintendent of assistive practices at the AACD, such expressions can be perceived as offensive and invalidating by other people with disabilities.
“Some people may see these comments as part of a joke and not feel offended, but others may simply laugh to avoid feeling left out,” he explains.
“The most respectful way is to ask the disabled person if they understand the prosthesis or disability in another way – and use their own term.
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Daniel Dias, a Paralympic swimmer and ambassador for Ottobock, the manufacturer of the prosthetics Vinícius uses on the show, also called the comments clever in a video posted to his social media.
“This attitude that happened to Vinícius on the show happens every day in our lives,” Dias told UOL.
“If it were someone else they wouldn’t talk like that. What we want is for people to look at us, not at our disability. Before the disability there is the person.”
To raise awareness and suggest eliminating them from daily life, the Superior Labor Court (TST) and the Ministry of Citizenship have developed mini-guides covering expressions and attitudes considered discriminatory towards people with disabilities.
BBC News Brazil has collected some of them below.
1. Treat people with disabilities childishly
Many people with disabilities point out that they are constantly infantilized, which should be avoided as much as possible.
Using condescending language in conversations with people with disabilities is ableism.
Experts say that by doing so, parents, caregivers and others may believe they are being kind and caring when in reality they are preventing the disabled person from exercising their right to independence.
Furthermore, disability is not an illness and a disabled person is not necessarily in poor health.
Taking this for granted or treating a disabled person like a sick person is also a form of prejudice.
The Ministry of Citizenship also advises against, for example, repeating the same thing several times in a row to people with disabilities, as if they did not understand, or speaking out loud to a blind person (unless they also suffer from a hearing disability). . ).
Photo credit, Alessandra Cabral/CPB
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Vinícius Rodrigues won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the T63 100 meters race.
Some also point out the existence of myths and taboos about sex and people with disabilities.
Actress Mared Jarman, left blind in her right eye after being diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease (a degenerative condition associated with progressive loss of sight) at the age of 10, wrote the BBC comedy How This Blind Girl because she was tired of seeing disabled characters. depicted as asexual or fetishized.
“It’s just ridiculous to think that we don’t have the same instincts and impulses as everyone else,” he told the BBC.
2. Viewing a person’s accomplishments as a “miracle”
Saying that a disabled person “is a warrior”, “an example of overcoming” or that “he works miracles” can be considered offensive.
According to the TST, ableism is often disguised as a feeling or behavior of “sympathy” towards people with disabilities, but which supports an idea of social and economic subordination.
“Understand disability as a possibility for life. Detach it from tragedy,” the court says.
According to Mr. Ramos it is always good to recognize the merit of the objective achieved, “but without assuming that, due to his disability, this person cannot do something”.
3. A glorification of disability as a justification for special treatment
Treating people with disabilities differently from people without disabilities can be a form of exclusion.
Disability does not mean that one person is less intelligent or less capable than another. Furthermore, it is not because he is disabled that a person is inferior.
According to the Ministry of Citizenship brochure, a disabled person does not necessarily have to set an example for others.
“Of course, you can admire them, but don’t make them your motivation,” recommends the ministry.
“If you want to be an example, do it for your behavior, okay? But not because you have a disability.
This also applies to the world of work: disability does not make a person less professional than others.
There is no specific activity that is better or worse for people with disabilities.
“With the necessary adjustments in the workplace, even the sky is no longer the limit,” the brochure reads.
Ramos points out that adjustments may be needed at school or in the workplace to ensure integration.
But this does not mean that the disabled person is less competent.
4. Offer help without being asked
According to the TST brochure, this behavior should be avoided.
Everyone needs support. This is why it is important not to confuse ableism with the need for care and assistance.
The Ministry of Citizenship explains that, for example, in the case of a disabled person who has difficulty crossing the road, we can offer help, but without insisting.
“If the disabled person needs your help, he (or possibly his companion) will ask for it”, specifies the ministry.
“The disabled person is not proud and does not interfere if he refuses to be helped when you offer help. Sometimes he doesn’t need help at all.”
5. Disabled people, people with special needs or disabilities?
The guideline is to use the term “person with disability” (PwD) and never use phrases such as “person with special needs”, “handicapped” or “disabled”.
The term “person with disability” was defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, approved in 2006 by the United Nations General Assembly and ratified by Brazil.
This convention states that disability is the result of the combination of two factors: the clinical disabilities of people (which can be physical, intellectual, sensorial, etc.) and the barriers that surround them (in architecture, in means of transport, in communication and, above all, in our attitude).
According to experts, paying attention to words is not a value, but is part of the search for a more civil coexistence.
6. Terms that should be removed from the vocabulary
“Retarded”, “bastard”, “demented”, “imbecile”.
These terms are completely inappropriate and offensive even when referring to people with intellectual disabilities.
Discrimination is prohibited by the status of people with disabilities (law 13.146/2015) and by the Federal Constitution itself.
Additionally, these terms should not be used to refer to non-disabled people, as they are associated with a history of prejudice.
7. “You made a mistake”
Even some expressions used by many people in daily life are considered the result of prejudice and should be banned from our vocabulary.
The expression “deu mancada”, for example, refers to people whose gait is asymmetrical.
By associating limping with making mistakes or making mistakes, the phrase is considered ableist and offensive.
8. “We don’t have the arm/leg for that”
Saying that one “has no weapons” to perform a task is considered a way of implying that a person who does not have weapons could not perform that job or fulfill the obligation with quality.
“Who says that an amputee, who doesn’t have an arm or a leg, can’t do this activity?”, says the AACD superintendent.
9. “False dementia”
Dementia is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that affect brain function, such as problems with memory, reasoning, language and behavior.
It is therefore not an illness that one chooses or pretends to have, nor should it be associated with a person’s negative behavior.
10. “He played John without arms.”
Armlessness is a physical condition, not a behavior.
The absence of an arm therefore does not mean that the person is lazy, less willing to help others or take on responsibilities.
“Using this expression means that the person who doesn’t have arms is using them as an excuse not to do an activity,” explains Mr. Ramos.
Photo credit, Getty Images
Image caption,
It is very important not to distract guide dogs while working.
Good habits
The Ministry of Citizenship lists some practical tips for good behavior, such as:
- do not distract guide dogs;
- do not park in the car park or use the toilets reserved for disabled people;
- do not use the wheelchair to hang or lean on objects (unless you have the owner’s permission).
“More tips: Only push a person’s wheelchair if they ask you to. And remember, the chair goes where the wheelchair user needs it to go. It’s as simple as that,” the file states.
Sitting down to meet or talk to a person in a wheelchair is also good practice, so that the person in the wheelchair does not have to look up for too long.
But in general, the guideline is always to respect human diversity and understand people as a whole.
“Disability is only one of their characteristics,” states the TST brochure.
The Court also advises you to always respect the law and do your part to ensure accessibility: “Value differences and live with them”.
2024-01-19 17:32:01
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