Change the Conversation...Stop Discrimination

Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination are three interrelated concepts that occur daily and have the potential to hurt and lower the self-worth of the people at which they are directed. Before I get into the specific topic of this blog, I will briefly define these three concepts and two theories introduced by Claude Steele.

Stereotyping is associating certain traits with a certain group of people. Prejudice is the negative feelings we have about people because of their 'membership' in a specific group, and discrimination is the negative actions we take against the people in those groups, regardless of whether their 'membership' was self-chosen or not.

Claude Steele developed the theories of stereotype threat, which states that the looming threat of a stereotype can negatively influence one's self-esteem and identity, and social identity threat, which states more generally that stereotypes can negatively influence one's identity (Steele, 1999; Steele, 1997; Steele et al., 2002).

This brings me to my topic: stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, and people with intellectual disabilities. What stereotypes do we have for people with intellectual disabilities? Common stereotypes would say that people with intellectual disabilities are 'slow', 'unintelligent', 'unable to have enriching relationships', 'unable to hold steady jobs', etc. These stereotypes segue into prejudice and discrimination towards people with intellectual disabilities. Our negative thoughts about people who have intellectual disabilities cause us to act negatively towards them. We mock them. We ridicule them. We belittle them. We demean them. We do not know each individual person, nor do we know their unique attributes and abilities, but we decide that we know everything about them, simply because they are 'members' of this group: the people with intellectual disabilities.

So how do we mock, ridicule, belittle, and demean people with intellectual disabilities on a daily basis? Stop and think about it for a second. How often a day do you hear or say the word 'retard' or 'retarded'? You may hear it used, or use it yourself, as a synonym for 'stupid', or you may hear it being used as a label for a person with intellectual disabilities. Going into my sixth year of involvement with Best Buddies, I know that our daily usage of this word negatively influences how people with intellectual disabilities view themselves. Although this word is not always used in reference to people with intellectual disabilities, when they hear it, they do not always understand its context. Its connotation is always negative, and the usage of this word gives way to the perpetuation of low expectations for people with intellectual disabilities. Thus, it is important to consider the possibility of stereotype threat and social identity threat when thinking about the usage of the R word. The presence of derogatory terms, such as the R word, has the potential to devalue one's self perception and decrease one's self-esteem.

Efforts to eliminate the usage of derogatory terms towards people with intellectual disabilities, such as the Campaign to Ban the R Word, are many in number, but will these efforts receive the attention and respect necessary to succeed?

This makes me think of Ward Churchill's article, "Crimes Against Humanity", about the lack of respect given to Native Americans, and the stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination they have faced and continue to face (Churchill, 1993). In fact, much of Churchill's article seemed to parallel the beliefs of the community that advocates and provides support for people with intellectual disabilities. For example, Churchill speaks of sports teams with names that are offensive to the Native American community, but that are defended by people who state that these team names are not at all demeaning or insulting--they're all in good fun. Churchill also speaks of novels and movies that demean Native Americans by portraying them as unidimensional and dehumanized. He states that the ways in which we present Native Americans, in sports teams, books, and movies, are crimes against humanity that must be stopped. His statements reminded me of the controversy and boycott of a film that was released this past summer, Tropic Thunder. In this film, Ben Stiller plays an actor who is playing the role of a man with an intellectual disability in a film called Simple Jack. The tagline for this movie within the movie is, "Once upon a time...there was a retard." People in defense of this movie have said that the movie is a Hollywood satire, meant to be making commentary on actors who think they know much more than they actually do. If we assume that this was Ben Stiller's intent, is it still worth it to draw negative attention to an already marginalized group by using this derogatory term?

Just as we have worked, and continue to work, to eliminate racism and sexism, there is an ever present need to eliminate discrimination against all groups. People with intellectual disabilities and their advocates may receive little attention, but the cause is still an important one. If we work to fight the way we perceive people with intellectual disabilities, and the stereotypes we form against them, then we will be well on our way to decreasing prejudice and discrimination. This in turn, will contribute to the elimination of stereotype threat and social identity threat, which can have a profound impact on the state of their self-esteem and identity. Just knowing that the way in which we perceive others can eventually work its way into influencing their self-esteem and sense of identity is pretty powerful. We should remember that if we can change our perceptions of others, we can change others' self perceptions. Also, just as a finishing point, words are very powerful. They can be used to build others up, or to tear them down. And the decision is up to us each and every day.

I'll leave you with a few video clips to watch and an article to read if you're interested. :)

R Word Campaign -- Special Olympics PSA

Soeren Palumbo Illinois Senate Address

Soeren Palumbo Fremd HS Speech

Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52, 613-629.

Steele, C. M. (1999). Thin ice: "Stereotype threat" and black college students. Atlantic Monthly, 284, 44-47, 50-54.

Steele, C. M., Spencer, S. J., & Aronson, J. (2002). Contending with group image: The psychology of stereotype and social identity threat. In M. P. Zannah (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 34, pp. 379-440). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Churchill, W. (1993). Crimes against humanity. Z Magazine, March 1993, 43-47.