Another excellent article on person-first and identity first language. Here’s an excerpt:
Throughout the disability community, preferences on how to refer to people vary widely, which was reflected in a poll we conducted of our social media followers. We had 129 people answer our poll and share their opinions on this topic. Here were the results:
- 11% preferred identity-first language
- 56% preferred people-first language
- 26% were okay with using either
- 7% answered “other” but didn’t tell us why
One person who preferred identity-first language said, “I’m disabled. My daughter is disabled. Person-first is often (not always) pushed by parents and providers as if disabled is a shameful word.”
Another who preferred people-first said, “My son is diagnosed with Down Syndrome/Autism, but that’s not who he is.”
Others said that as long as a person was speaking and acting respectfully, they didn’t have a preference.
When in doubt, ask
Ultimately, this issue of what language to use is all about respect. If you aren’t sure about how to refer to someone, do the respectful thing and just ask them. Getting the person’s preference directly from them ensures that they choose – not someone else – how they’re referred to.