“That test was SO lame.”
“You feel sick tonight? Aw, that’s so lame.”
“You’ve never done that before? Dude, you’re lame!”
“You feel sick tonight? Aw, that’s so lame.”
“You’ve never done that before? Dude, you’re lame!”
These are statements that have become so incorporated into modern, everyday language that most people never think twice about the word “lame.” “Lame” is originally defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “Disabled or impaired in any way; weak, infirm; paralysed; disabled through injury to, or defect in, a limb” (Lame, Adj., Oxford English Dictionary, c725). It has developed over time to have a different meaning and to be used in a different context than how it was first intended. In current use, this original definition is often not associated with the word, and “lame” has acquired the colloquial definition of “annoying” or “stupid.” Moreover, the word “lame” is not one that comes to many people’s minds when offensive language is brought up, because there is so little awareness of the general public around its negative effect on people with physical disabilities. Despite the huge shift in the meaning of the word “lame” over time, use of the word still negatively impacts people with mobility impairments and should be acknowledged as an offensive word in some communities. A word, no matter how much the definition has changed, can still have power and is still rooted in its original meaning. By searching for other opinions on the word “lame” than just those voiced by the general public, it can be found that the word “lame” can be deeply offensive and associate people with disabilities with being "stupid" or "annoying."
In contrast to the Oxford English Dictionary definition of the word “lame,” the website Urban Dictionary defines it differently. Urban Dictionary is used to define popular, slang or colloquial words that are often not found in academic dictionaries, along with providing alternate definitions for any number of words. Urban Dictionary defines “lame” as “just plain stupid, un-original, or lifeless,” and a “noun or adjective used to describe someone or something which is not cool” (Urban Dictionary: Lame). Urban Dictionary’s definition demonstrates that the common and more current definition of “lame” is typically no longer associated with the original definition, because it is so far from the original Oxford English definition. Interestingly enough, there is no mention of “lame” in reference to a physical disability in the first thirty posted definitions.
Like the word “retarded,” “lame” has developed a new meaning over time. However, although both words share this particular change in meaning, “Lame” does not have the same amount of awareness about its negative affect on specific communities as the word “retarded” does. Nonetheless, many of the arguments against using the word “lame” parallel those used for the word “retarded.” Both words have developed from being terms once specifically used in reference to medical conditions to terms that are now used as derogatory descriptors for things that are stupid or annoying. The word “retarded,” however, has gotten a lot more publicity and protest against its usage than “lame.” The “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign (www.r-word.org) is focused on raising awareness around the issue of using the word “retarded” and works to stop its casual use in everyday conversation to mean negative things. It does this through pledges held at schools, speeches, and presentations through social media. The campaign is a huge force that has gotten national attention, spurring a movement to bring more general awareness to what words people use and their varying impacts on different groups of people as well. “Lame” is not a word with a movement whose slogan people can quote like the movement against the word “retarded.” This may be because "lame" has existed as a word since c725, while "retarded" was born into the English language in 1636. Words change over time, and "lame" has had a significant amount of time to shift in meaning and to have the power of the word dispel. However, "retarded" is a relatively new word in comparison, and the original definition is very much prevalent today. However, with more investigation, there are many individuals who might take a strong position against the use of the word “lame” as a synonym for “stupid” or “annoying.”
There are people in society who disagree with the modernized definition of “lame” because it associates those who are disabled (or, more specifically, labeled as “lame” through medical terminology) with negative and demeaning attributes. These opinions are voiced on blogs and in articles online. On the blog Alas!, an article was posted entitled “Why Not to Use The Word Lame: I Think I’m Starting to Get It.” In this post, the author, Mandolin, writes that although “having functional legs is useful” and “the state of having legs which are not as functional as other legs is not as nice as the state of having normally functional legs,” it does not mean that people who are disabled like being associated with negative and depreciating words, or as Mandolin emphatically puts it, “BEING THE CULTURAL GO-TO FOR THINGS THAT SUCK” (Mandolin). Mandolin bluntly points out that just because something is negative does not mean that it should be used to describe everything negative. It is important to acknowledge that not all negative things are synonymous and that interchanging them can, in the case of “lame,” associate people who have disabilities with all frustrating things in life.
There are people in society who disagree with the modernized definition of “lame” because it associates those who are disabled (or, more specifically, labeled as “lame” through medical terminology) with negative and demeaning attributes. These opinions are voiced on blogs and in articles online. On the blog Alas!, an article was posted entitled “Why Not to Use The Word Lame: I Think I’m Starting to Get It.” In this post, the author, Mandolin, writes that although “having functional legs is useful” and “the state of having legs which are not as functional as other legs is not as nice as the state of having normally functional legs,” it does not mean that people who are disabled like being associated with negative and depreciating words, or as Mandolin emphatically puts it, “BEING THE CULTURAL GO-TO FOR THINGS THAT SUCK” (Mandolin). Mandolin bluntly points out that just because something is negative does not mean that it should be used to describe everything negative. It is important to acknowledge that not all negative things are synonymous and that interchanging them can, in the case of “lame,” associate people who have disabilities with all frustrating things in life.
The fact that "lame" should not be associated with all negative attributes has been recognized by many people. “Lame” is listed in the “List of Disability-Related Terms with Negative Connotations” on Wikipedia. Countless blog posts describe strong feelings toward the word “lame” and how use of the word “lame” is “an iudea that serves to marginalize disabled individuals” (Lesley, 2012).It is true that not every word and conversation can be censored to fit every individual’s idea of what language is acceptable and what is not. This would leave conversations opinion-less and boring, and learning and development between people would not progress. However, it is important to be aware of language and the power it can hold for particular communities of people, specifically those who have a diagnosable disability, have leg injuries, or those who have people close to them who have these conditions. The word “lame” is not one that comes to many people’s minds when offensive language is brought up, but, even with its widely used modern definition, it still has a strong influence on those who may identify with being "lame" in terms of its original definition or people within the disability community.
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