I have always thought it to mean this. Someone high sprung or a goof. Never have I ever heard the word Spaz used to put down someone with cerebral palsy.
When Beyoncé dropped the same ableist slur as Lizzo on her new album, my heart sank
Hannah Diviney
It’s not very often that I don’t know what to
say, rendered speechless by ignorance, sadness and a simmering anger
born of bone-deep exhaustion. But that’s how I feel right now.
Six weeks ago I called out American singer, Lizzo,
on Twitter for her use of an ableist slur (“spaz”) in a new song. That
tweet of mine – which explained how the slur was connected to my
disability, cerebral palsy – took me less than five minutes to write and
it went viral, landing on the front page of global news outlets
including the BBC, New York Times and the Washington Post.
Lizzo herself even took notice, changing the lyric and giving us all a masterclass in how to be a true and effective ally.
I thought we’d changed the music industry and started a global
conversation about why ableist language – intentional or not – has no
place in music. But I guess I was wrong, because now Beyoncé has gone
and done exactly the same thing. In fact, she’s used the word “spaz”
twice in a new song Heated, a co-write with Canadian rapper Drake off her new album, Renaissance, which dropped on Friday.
I found out by way of a snarky mention on Twitter asking if I planned to
tell Queen Bey to “do better” like I had with Lizzo. My heart sank.
Here we were again, but this time the stakes feel higher. Calling this
one out is a whole other level.
Whenever Beyoncé
so much as breathes it becomes a cultural moment. She’s often the
blueprint for the music industry – with artists and entertainers
following her lead. That’s the status she has earned after decades of a
career at the top, never making the same move twice, seeming to play in
an entirely different league to the majority of the music industry.
Beyoncé’s
commitment to storytelling musically and visually is unparalleled, as
is her power to have the world paying attention to the narratives,
struggles and nuanced lived experience of being a black woman – a world I
can only ever understand as an ally, and have no desire to overshadow.
But
that doesn’t excuse her use of ableist language – language that gets
used and ignored all too often. Language you can be sure I will never
ignore, no matter who it comes from or what the circumstances are. It
doesn’t excuse the fact that the teams of people involved in making this
album somehow missed all the noise the disabled community made only six
weeks ago when Lizzo did the same thing.
It
doesn’t explain how millions of people have already heard this album and
yet aren’t raising the issue, except to make fun of or degrade the
disabled community.
I’m so tired. Disabled people deserve better. I don’t want to have this conversation again.
Yeah. I heard it in the song last week. It’s a bummer. I’d rather them own it and be better going forward than not doing anything.
I'm really hoping she comes around on this one. And it probably wasn't meant to be derogatory, but how do you tell that to someone with a disability? She would do well to make amends somehow. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Never heard of it used in that way. Is this new?
Same with me.. like a dork.
I'm sure someone is going to tell me that "dork" is a slur for something too.
It's where I draw the line at the PC thing sometimes... I still don't get how mulatto is a slur...
I get that one.. it's someone half black and half white. To me, a person can choose to be a spaz, a dork, a jerk, an idiot. It's not specific to race, creed, color, etc. Mulatto is specific.
I always thought it was to describe a color, not black not white, a mix. Again, I don't get to why it's a slur. Someone back in the day must have done stupid shit with the word to make it taboo.
No, it's a description of your parents, not a color. Miscegenation was illegal in many states, so being a 'mulatto' is akin to being a bastard or being illegal.
No shit? That was a term to describe an illegal mixed breeding? Any time I have looked up mulatto it says "mix of black and white" so you can see how I never get the taboo part out of it.
I’ve only ever known the word ‘sp*z’ as an offensive term (it’s literally an abbreviation of spastic paralysis). Growing up in the UK we’d always get into trouble if anyone called someone that word. I guess that highlights the differences in countries and cultures.
Another example would be the word ‘c**n’. In the UK, it was a really offensive racist slur, in the US, it could be short for raccoon, in Australia it’s a brand of cheese!
I can see both sides - on the one hand, are Beyoncé and Lizzo really supposed to know the global differences in interpretations? On the other hand, there are so many co-writers and collaborators on a Beyoncé record that she’s more like a band than a solo artist. Surely one of them would’ve picked up on it, especially so soon after Lizzo?
You also call a fag a cigarette where here in the US it has a complete different meaning. Is anyone trying to change the culture over there and stop calling a smoke a fag?
I have always thought it to mean this. Someone high sprung or a goof. Never have I ever heard the word Spaz used to put down someone with cerebral palsy.
When Beyoncé dropped the same ableist slur as Lizzo on her new album, my heart sank
Hannah Diviney
It’s not very often that I don’t know what to
say, rendered speechless by ignorance, sadness and a simmering anger
born of bone-deep exhaustion. But that’s how I feel right now.
Six weeks ago I called out American singer, Lizzo,
on Twitter for her use of an ableist slur (“spaz”) in a new song. That
tweet of mine – which explained how the slur was connected to my
disability, cerebral palsy – took me less than five minutes to write and
it went viral, landing on the front page of global news outlets
including the BBC, New York Times and the Washington Post.
Lizzo herself even took notice, changing the lyric and giving us all a masterclass in how to be a true and effective ally.
I thought we’d changed the music industry and started a global
conversation about why ableist language – intentional or not – has no
place in music. But I guess I was wrong, because now Beyoncé has gone
and done exactly the same thing. In fact, she’s used the word “spaz”
twice in a new song Heated, a co-write with Canadian rapper Drake off her new album, Renaissance, which dropped on Friday.
I found out by way of a snarky mention on Twitter asking if I planned to
tell Queen Bey to “do better” like I had with Lizzo. My heart sank.
Here we were again, but this time the stakes feel higher. Calling this
one out is a whole other level.
Whenever Beyoncé
so much as breathes it becomes a cultural moment. She’s often the
blueprint for the music industry – with artists and entertainers
following her lead. That’s the status she has earned after decades of a
career at the top, never making the same move twice, seeming to play in
an entirely different league to the majority of the music industry.
Beyoncé’s
commitment to storytelling musically and visually is unparalleled, as
is her power to have the world paying attention to the narratives,
struggles and nuanced lived experience of being a black woman – a world I
can only ever understand as an ally, and have no desire to overshadow.
But
that doesn’t excuse her use of ableist language – language that gets
used and ignored all too often. Language you can be sure I will never
ignore, no matter who it comes from or what the circumstances are. It
doesn’t excuse the fact that the teams of people involved in making this
album somehow missed all the noise the disabled community made only six
weeks ago when Lizzo did the same thing.
It
doesn’t explain how millions of people have already heard this album and
yet aren’t raising the issue, except to make fun of or degrade the
disabled community.
I’m so tired. Disabled people deserve better. I don’t want to have this conversation again.
Yeah. I heard it in the song last week. It’s a bummer. I’d rather them own it and be better going forward than not doing anything.
I'm really hoping she comes around on this one. And it probably wasn't meant to be derogatory, but how do you tell that to someone with a disability? She would do well to make amends somehow. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Never heard of it used in that way. Is this new?
Same with me.. like a dork.
I'm sure someone is going to tell me that "dork" is a slur for something too.
It's where I draw the line at the PC thing sometimes... I still don't get how mulatto is a slur...
I get that one.. it's someone half black and half white. To me, a person can choose to be a spaz, a dork, a jerk, an idiot. It's not specific to race, creed, color, etc. Mulatto is specific.
I always thought it was to describe a color, not black not white, a mix. Again, I don't get to why it's a slur. Someone back in the day must have done stupid shit with the word to make it taboo.
No, it's a description of your parents, not a color. Miscegenation was illegal in many states, so being a 'mulatto' is akin to being a bastard or being illegal.
No shit? That was a term to describe an illegal mixed breeding? Any time I have looked up mulatto it says "mix of black and white" so you can see how I never get the taboo part out of it.
I wouldn't go so far as it's a term to describe ILLEGAL mixed breeding. I'm saying it's a breeding term and mixed was illegal in some states.
I have always thought it to mean this. Someone high sprung or a goof. Never have I ever heard the word Spaz used to put down someone with cerebral palsy.
When Beyoncé dropped the same ableist slur as Lizzo on her new album, my heart sank
Hannah Diviney
It’s not very often that I don’t know what to
say, rendered speechless by ignorance, sadness and a simmering anger
born of bone-deep exhaustion. But that’s how I feel right now.
Six weeks ago I called out American singer, Lizzo,
on Twitter for her use of an ableist slur (“spaz”) in a new song. That
tweet of mine – which explained how the slur was connected to my
disability, cerebral palsy – took me less than five minutes to write and
it went viral, landing on the front page of global news outlets
including the BBC, New York Times and the Washington Post.
Lizzo herself even took notice, changing the lyric and giving us all a masterclass in how to be a true and effective ally.
I thought we’d changed the music industry and started a global
conversation about why ableist language – intentional or not – has no
place in music. But I guess I was wrong, because now Beyoncé has gone
and done exactly the same thing. In fact, she’s used the word “spaz”
twice in a new song Heated, a co-write with Canadian rapper Drake off her new album, Renaissance, which dropped on Friday.
I found out by way of a snarky mention on Twitter asking if I planned to
tell Queen Bey to “do better” like I had with Lizzo. My heart sank.
Here we were again, but this time the stakes feel higher. Calling this
one out is a whole other level.
Whenever Beyoncé
so much as breathes it becomes a cultural moment. She’s often the
blueprint for the music industry – with artists and entertainers
following her lead. That’s the status she has earned after decades of a
career at the top, never making the same move twice, seeming to play in
an entirely different league to the majority of the music industry.
Beyoncé’s
commitment to storytelling musically and visually is unparalleled, as
is her power to have the world paying attention to the narratives,
struggles and nuanced lived experience of being a black woman – a world I
can only ever understand as an ally, and have no desire to overshadow.
But
that doesn’t excuse her use of ableist language – language that gets
used and ignored all too often. Language you can be sure I will never
ignore, no matter who it comes from or what the circumstances are. It
doesn’t excuse the fact that the teams of people involved in making this
album somehow missed all the noise the disabled community made only six
weeks ago when Lizzo did the same thing.
It
doesn’t explain how millions of people have already heard this album and
yet aren’t raising the issue, except to make fun of or degrade the
disabled community.
I’m so tired. Disabled people deserve better. I don’t want to have this conversation again.
Yeah. I heard it in the song last week. It’s a bummer. I’d rather them own it and be better going forward than not doing anything.
I'm really hoping she comes around on this one. And it probably wasn't meant to be derogatory, but how do you tell that to someone with a disability? She would do well to make amends somehow. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Never heard of it used in that way. Is this new?
Same with me.. like a dork.
I'm sure someone is going to tell me that "dork" is a slur for something too.
It's where I draw the line at the PC thing sometimes... I still don't get how mulatto is a slur...
I get that one.. it's someone half black and half white. To me, a person can choose to be a spaz, a dork, a jerk, an idiot. It's not specific to race, creed, color, etc. Mulatto is specific.
I always thought it was to describe a color, not black not white, a mix. Again, I don't get to why it's a slur. Someone back in the day must have done stupid shit with the word to make it taboo.
No, it's a description of your parents, not a color. Miscegenation was illegal in many states, so being a 'mulatto' is akin to being a bastard or being illegal.
No shit? That was a term to describe an illegal mixed breeding? Any time I have looked up mulatto it says "mix of black and white" so you can see how I never get the taboo part out of it.
I wouldn't go so far as it's a term to describe ILLEGAL mixed breeding. I'm saying it's a breeding term and mixed was illegal in some states.
So I am back to square one and don't see the taboo part... I need to research the word and go down the rabbit hole.
I’ve only ever known the word ‘sp*z’ as an offensive term (it’s literally an abbreviation of spastic paralysis). Growing up in the UK we’d always get into trouble if anyone called someone that word. I guess that highlights the differences in countries and cultures.
Another example would be the word ‘c**n’. In the UK, it was a really offensive racist slur, in the US, it could be short for raccoon, in Australia it’s a brand of cheese!
I can see both sides - on the one hand, are Beyoncé and Lizzo really supposed to know the global differences in interpretations? On the other hand, there are so many co-writers and collaborators on a Beyoncé record that she’s more like a band than a solo artist. Surely one of them would’ve picked up on it, especially so soon after Lizzo?
You also call a fag a cigarette where here in the US it has a complete different meaning. Is anyone trying to change the culture over there and stop calling a smoke a fag?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
I gotta be honest, theres no derogatory term that I am willing to die on a hill to defend using. Its not a big deal to me to stop using something if it offends people.
I’ve only ever known the word ‘sp*z’ as an offensive term (it’s literally an abbreviation of spastic paralysis). Growing up in the UK we’d always get into trouble if anyone called someone that word. I guess that highlights the differences in countries and cultures.
Another example would be the word ‘c**n’. In the UK, it was a really offensive racist slur, in the US, it could be short for raccoon, in Australia it’s a brand of cheese!
I can see both sides - on the one hand, are Beyoncé and Lizzo really supposed to know the global differences in interpretations? On the other hand, there are so many co-writers and collaborators on a Beyoncé record that she’s more like a band than a solo artist. Surely one of them would’ve picked up on it, especially so soon after Lizzo?
You also call a fag a cigarette where here in the US it has a complete different meaning. Is anyone trying to change the culture over there and stop calling a smoke a fag?
Or is that ridiculous?
not to mention the uk and aus liberal use of cunt
I love that word and when they use it, lol. It's a term of endearment sometimes too but here? Nope...
I gotta be honest, theres no derogatory term that I am willing to die on a hill to defend using. Its not a big deal to me to stop using something if it offends people.
If it has a separate meaning. Words and meaning of them change. But yeah, I have changed my use of certain words over the years and have removed plenty from my vocabulary.
I gotta be honest, theres no derogatory term that I am willing to die on a hill to defend using. Its not a big deal to me to stop using something if it offends people.
If it has a separate meaning. Words and meaning of them change. But yeah, I have changed my use of certain words over the years and have removed plenty from my vocabulary.
I gotta be honest, theres no derogatory term that I am willing to die on a hill to defend using. Its not a big deal to me to stop using something if it offends people.
If it has a separate meaning. Words and meaning of them change. But yeah, I have changed my use of certain words over the years and have removed plenty from my vocabulary.
So long as they don't touch "douchebag"
I always thought Son of a Bitch was a prime target to get the axe but here we are in the year 2022 and it's still a favorite of the people, lol!
Honestly. I said mother f..ker to my friend that's from south america and he was very offended. Here, in US insulting someone's mom was always kind of a fun joke as kids. So I get that we need to be understanding. Where it gets confusing to me is when is it time for the people that are offended to understand that it's not intended to be insulting. Idk. It's confusing. Love most people of this world and hope never to insult anyone unintentionally.
Honestly. I said mother f..ker to my friend that's from south america and he was very offended. Here, in US insulting someone's mom was always kind of a fun joke as kids. So I get that we need to be understanding. Where it gets confusing to me is when is it time for the people that are offended to understand that it's not intended to be insulting. Idk. It's confusing. Love most people of this world and hope never to insult anyone unintentionally.
Right, MFer is not a literal statement here in the US and doesn't have anything to do with one's mom (like sonuvabitch).
Thread integrity Donovan-open road-only listened to side a, different but love Donovan Ink spots-band signed score. Kind of dumb but am a sucker for band signed stuff. Thinking about its history and how important it was for someone. Both dirt cheap Would post a picture, but my phone is not behaving properly.
@mrussel1, I just picked up 2 very nice VG+++ '75-'77 pressings of Exile and Sticky Fingers. Can't wait to A/B these with the reissues. The Exile is an Artisan plate... was excited to get these.
In the same purchase picked up late VG+++ 70s pressings of Animals and Meddle. All of these from the same seller, crazy good condition.
That's great! What happened with that other Exile you found a few weeks ago?
I gotta be honest, theres no derogatory term that I am willing to die on a hill to defend using. Its not a big deal to me to stop using something if it offends people.
A Tim is derogatory irish slang for being catholic.
Please make sure to change your username at your earliest convenience.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
@mrussel1, I just picked up 2 very nice VG+++ '75-'77 pressings of Exile and Sticky Fingers. Can't wait to A/B these with the reissues. The Exile is an Artisan plate... was excited to get these.
In the same purchase picked up late VG+++ 70s pressings of Animals and Meddle. All of these from the same seller, crazy good condition.
That's great! What happened with that other Exile you found a few weeks ago?
I have always thought it to mean this. Someone high sprung or a goof. Never have I ever heard the word Spaz used to put down someone with cerebral palsy.
When Beyoncé dropped the same ableist slur as Lizzo on her new album, my heart sank
Hannah Diviney
It’s not very often that I don’t know what to
say, rendered speechless by ignorance, sadness and a simmering anger
born of bone-deep exhaustion. But that’s how I feel right now.
Six weeks ago I called out American singer, Lizzo,
on Twitter for her use of an ableist slur (“spaz”) in a new song. That
tweet of mine – which explained how the slur was connected to my
disability, cerebral palsy – took me less than five minutes to write and
it went viral, landing on the front page of global news outlets
including the BBC, New York Times and the Washington Post.
Lizzo herself even took notice, changing the lyric and giving us all a masterclass in how to be a true and effective ally.
I thought we’d changed the music industry and started a global
conversation about why ableist language – intentional or not – has no
place in music. But I guess I was wrong, because now Beyoncé has gone
and done exactly the same thing. In fact, she’s used the word “spaz”
twice in a new song Heated, a co-write with Canadian rapper Drake off her new album, Renaissance, which dropped on Friday.
I found out by way of a snarky mention on Twitter asking if I planned to
tell Queen Bey to “do better” like I had with Lizzo. My heart sank.
Here we were again, but this time the stakes feel higher. Calling this
one out is a whole other level.
Whenever Beyoncé
so much as breathes it becomes a cultural moment. She’s often the
blueprint for the music industry – with artists and entertainers
following her lead. That’s the status she has earned after decades of a
career at the top, never making the same move twice, seeming to play in
an entirely different league to the majority of the music industry.
Beyoncé’s
commitment to storytelling musically and visually is unparalleled, as
is her power to have the world paying attention to the narratives,
struggles and nuanced lived experience of being a black woman – a world I
can only ever understand as an ally, and have no desire to overshadow.
But
that doesn’t excuse her use of ableist language – language that gets
used and ignored all too often. Language you can be sure I will never
ignore, no matter who it comes from or what the circumstances are. It
doesn’t excuse the fact that the teams of people involved in making this
album somehow missed all the noise the disabled community made only six
weeks ago when Lizzo did the same thing.
It
doesn’t explain how millions of people have already heard this album and
yet aren’t raising the issue, except to make fun of or degrade the
disabled community.
I’m so tired. Disabled people deserve better. I don’t want to have this conversation again.
Yeah. I heard it in the song last week. It’s a bummer. I’d rather them own it and be better going forward than not doing anything.
I'm really hoping she comes around on this one. And it probably wasn't meant to be derogatory, but how do you tell that to someone with a disability? She would do well to make amends somehow. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Never heard of it used in that way. Is this new?
It's not new to my knowledge, but then in the late 80's I subbed special ed a few times, have personally known Down Syndrome folks, have worked with people in the disabilities office at our local community college from the late 1990's to early 2000's, volunteered 1,000 hours at our health library, so I might take it for granted that most people know "spaz" is a derogatory term. To my way of thinking, it really should be common knowledge.
And yes, same with "dork". Kind of hard to believe that one is still thrown around. It too, by definition, is a derogatory term.
It seems to me that people who throw those terms around either have no experience with people with disabilities or maybe even have disdain for them. It sucks being disabled. Why make it harder? (I mean that generally. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone specifically.)
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
I have always thought it to mean this. Someone high sprung or a goof. Never have I ever heard the word Spaz used to put down someone with cerebral palsy.
When Beyoncé dropped the same ableist slur as Lizzo on her new album, my heart sank
Hannah Diviney
It’s not very often that I don’t know what to
say, rendered speechless by ignorance, sadness and a simmering anger
born of bone-deep exhaustion. But that’s how I feel right now.
Six weeks ago I called out American singer, Lizzo,
on Twitter for her use of an ableist slur (“spaz”) in a new song. That
tweet of mine – which explained how the slur was connected to my
disability, cerebral palsy – took me less than five minutes to write and
it went viral, landing on the front page of global news outlets
including the BBC, New York Times and the Washington Post.
Lizzo herself even took notice, changing the lyric and giving us all a masterclass in how to be a true and effective ally.
I thought we’d changed the music industry and started a global
conversation about why ableist language – intentional or not – has no
place in music. But I guess I was wrong, because now Beyoncé has gone
and done exactly the same thing. In fact, she’s used the word “spaz”
twice in a new song Heated, a co-write with Canadian rapper Drake off her new album, Renaissance, which dropped on Friday.
I found out by way of a snarky mention on Twitter asking if I planned to
tell Queen Bey to “do better” like I had with Lizzo. My heart sank.
Here we were again, but this time the stakes feel higher. Calling this
one out is a whole other level.
Whenever Beyoncé
so much as breathes it becomes a cultural moment. She’s often the
blueprint for the music industry – with artists and entertainers
following her lead. That’s the status she has earned after decades of a
career at the top, never making the same move twice, seeming to play in
an entirely different league to the majority of the music industry.
Beyoncé’s
commitment to storytelling musically and visually is unparalleled, as
is her power to have the world paying attention to the narratives,
struggles and nuanced lived experience of being a black woman – a world I
can only ever understand as an ally, and have no desire to overshadow.
But
that doesn’t excuse her use of ableist language – language that gets
used and ignored all too often. Language you can be sure I will never
ignore, no matter who it comes from or what the circumstances are. It
doesn’t excuse the fact that the teams of people involved in making this
album somehow missed all the noise the disabled community made only six
weeks ago when Lizzo did the same thing.
It
doesn’t explain how millions of people have already heard this album and
yet aren’t raising the issue, except to make fun of or degrade the
disabled community.
I’m so tired. Disabled people deserve better. I don’t want to have this conversation again.
Yeah. I heard it in the song last week. It’s a bummer. I’d rather them own it and be better going forward than not doing anything.
I'm really hoping she comes around on this one. And it probably wasn't meant to be derogatory, but how do you tell that to someone with a disability? She would do well to make amends somehow. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Never heard of it used in that way. Is this new?
It's not new to my knowledge, but then in the late 80's I subbed special ed a few times, have personally known Down Syndrome folks, have worked with people in the disabilities office at our local community college from the late 1990's to early 2000's, volunteered 1,000 hours at our health library, so I might take it for granted that most people know "spaz" is a derogatory term. To my way of thinking, it really should be common knowledge.
And yes, same with "dork". Kind of hard to believe that one is still thrown around. It too, by definition, is a derogatory term.
It seems to me that people who throw those terms around either have no experience with people with disabilities or maybe even have disdain for them. It sucks being disabled. Why make it harder? (I mean that generally. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone specifically.)
I would gather to say that everyone that uses dork or spaz is not targeting the special needs people. The term restarted wasn't doing that either IMO but because there was a past stigma with those words and people still want to revisit words that have taken on new meanings.
The term "gypped" as in "gypped me on that price" is a derogatory term or so I have read. It refers to Gypsies. They get a lot of flack.
Anybody feel like starting a thread on this, lol? Offensive words you didn't know that were?
@mrussel1, I just picked up 2 very nice VG+++ '75-'77 pressings of Exile and Sticky Fingers. Can't wait to A/B these with the reissues. The Exile is an Artisan plate... was excited to get these.
In the same purchase picked up late VG+++ 70s pressings of Animals and Meddle. All of these from the same seller, crazy good condition.
That's great! What happened with that other Exile you found a few weeks ago?
I have always thought it to mean this. Someone high sprung or a goof. Never have I ever heard the word Spaz used to put down someone with cerebral palsy.
When Beyoncé dropped the same ableist slur as Lizzo on her new album, my heart sank
Hannah Diviney
It’s not very often that I don’t know what to
say, rendered speechless by ignorance, sadness and a simmering anger
born of bone-deep exhaustion. But that’s how I feel right now.
Six weeks ago I called out American singer, Lizzo,
on Twitter for her use of an ableist slur (“spaz”) in a new song. That
tweet of mine – which explained how the slur was connected to my
disability, cerebral palsy – took me less than five minutes to write and
it went viral, landing on the front page of global news outlets
including the BBC, New York Times and the Washington Post.
Lizzo herself even took notice, changing the lyric and giving us all a masterclass in how to be a true and effective ally.
I thought we’d changed the music industry and started a global
conversation about why ableist language – intentional or not – has no
place in music. But I guess I was wrong, because now Beyoncé has gone
and done exactly the same thing. In fact, she’s used the word “spaz”
twice in a new song Heated, a co-write with Canadian rapper Drake off her new album, Renaissance, which dropped on Friday.
I found out by way of a snarky mention on Twitter asking if I planned to
tell Queen Bey to “do better” like I had with Lizzo. My heart sank.
Here we were again, but this time the stakes feel higher. Calling this
one out is a whole other level.
Whenever Beyoncé
so much as breathes it becomes a cultural moment. She’s often the
blueprint for the music industry – with artists and entertainers
following her lead. That’s the status she has earned after decades of a
career at the top, never making the same move twice, seeming to play in
an entirely different league to the majority of the music industry.
Beyoncé’s
commitment to storytelling musically and visually is unparalleled, as
is her power to have the world paying attention to the narratives,
struggles and nuanced lived experience of being a black woman – a world I
can only ever understand as an ally, and have no desire to overshadow.
But
that doesn’t excuse her use of ableist language – language that gets
used and ignored all too often. Language you can be sure I will never
ignore, no matter who it comes from or what the circumstances are. It
doesn’t excuse the fact that the teams of people involved in making this
album somehow missed all the noise the disabled community made only six
weeks ago when Lizzo did the same thing.
It
doesn’t explain how millions of people have already heard this album and
yet aren’t raising the issue, except to make fun of or degrade the
disabled community.
I’m so tired. Disabled people deserve better. I don’t want to have this conversation again.
Yeah. I heard it in the song last week. It’s a bummer. I’d rather them own it and be better going forward than not doing anything.
I'm really hoping she comes around on this one. And it probably wasn't meant to be derogatory, but how do you tell that to someone with a disability? She would do well to make amends somehow. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Never heard of it used in that way. Is this new?
It's not new to my knowledge, but then in the late 80's I subbed special ed a few times, have personally known Down Syndrome folks, have worked with people in the disabilities office at our local community college from the late 1990's to early 2000's, volunteered 1,000 hours at our health library, so I might take it for granted that most people know "spaz" is a derogatory term. To my way of thinking, it really should be common knowledge.
And yes, same with "dork". Kind of hard to believe that one is still thrown around. It too, by definition, is a derogatory term.
It seems to me that people who throw those terms around either have no experience with people with disabilities or maybe even have disdain for them. It sucks being disabled. Why make it harder? (I mean that generally. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone specifically.)
I would gather to say that everyone that uses dork or spaz is not targeting the special needs people. The term restarted wasn't doing that either IMO but because there was a past stigma with those words and people still want to revisit words that have taken on new meanings.
The term "gypped" as in "gypped me on that price" is a derogatory term or so I have read. It refers to Gypsies. They get a lot of flack.
Anybody feel like starting a thread on this, lol? Offensive words you didn't know that were?
Do doubt you're right that people saying "dork" and "spaz" are not intentionally targeting special needs people... but inadvertently, they are. Besides, those are words 4th graders, not grown adults.
In any case, yeah, this needs a different. thread.
On topic, still waiting for the live Dinosaur Jr pre-order (and actually glad to let my ears settle down after seeing The Dream Syndicate show). That Dino LP should be excellent!
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Comments
Or is that ridiculous?
not to mention the uk and aus liberal use of cunt
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Love most people of this world and hope never to insult anyone unintentionally.
Donovan-open road-only listened to side a, different but love Donovan
Ink spots-band signed score. Kind of dumb but am a sucker for band signed stuff. Thinking about its history and how important it was for someone.
Both dirt cheap
Would post a picture, but my phone is not behaving properly.
Please make sure to change your username at your earliest convenience.
not here. dont ask how I know. just trust and believe.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Looks like it'll be less than a fortnight.
I have already spun it though, and it is crazy quiet. Sounds really good, but I want to see where it stands listening to both back to back.
The term "gypped" as in "gypped me on that price" is a derogatory term or so I have read. It refers to Gypsies. They get a lot of flack.
Anybody feel like starting a thread on this, lol? Offensive words you didn't know that were?