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44 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
44 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: colourblind
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slug: colourblind
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flag:
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text: 'Medical appropriation'
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level: avoid
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defined: true
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excerpt: someone with decreased ability to see colour or differences in colour; colloquially, the concept that someone "does not see race" and therefore, that race and racism no longer exist and no longer impact people's lives; a tool of white supremacy```
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speech: adjective
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reading:
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- text: 'What you erase when you say “I don’t see color”'
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href: https://medium.com/@tinu/what-you-erase-when-you-say-i-dont-see-color-73360346afa7
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- text: '7 Reasons Why "Colorblindness" Contributes to Racism Instead of Solves It'
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href: https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/02/colorblindness-adds-to-racism/
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---
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a condition where someone can only see a limited range of colors or is unable to clearly distinguish different colors; condition can be congenital (from birth) or acquired (due to chronic illness, disease, injury, old age, etc); colloquially, belief that "one does not see race," and, that racism is no longer is a systemic problem; also post-racial.
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(Also spelled color-blind.)
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## Appropriate Usage
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Referring the medical condition as described above
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## Inappropriate Usage
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As a literary metaphor for ignorance of racial injustice
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## Issues
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Connoting ignorance or racist microagression with a medical disorder implies that actions we can control (bad choices) are the same as actions that cannot necessarily be controlled (colorblindness). It reinforces the discriminatory idea that disability is bad.
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## Impact
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Using the word colorblind in a medically appropriative way can reinforce the idea that blind and/or vision-impaired people are somehow less than and that disability is bad (see [Ableism](/definitions/ableism)).
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By using ableist language, we are perpetuating violence against people who experience disabilities. Using this language perpetuates those systems and language of harm, regardless of our intent.
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Using the word colorblind in a racial context perpetuates the falsehood that we live in a post-racial society. "I'm colorblind" is a microaggression used to ignore the lived experiences of racially oppressed people, silence those seeking racial justice, and prevent discussions of race needed for racial equity.
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## Usage Tip
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Be mindful if you're referring to the medical condition or using it as a literary metaphor. If the latter, substitute by being more specific.
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