This month’s “Walking the Talk” is my own reflection and action. As someone who is constantly creating space for folx to reflect on how they show up and how their actions, mindsets and behaviors reinforce internal narratives and affect others, I spend a lot of time thinking about language and the words I choose to express myself. Our language plays a role in shaping the perceptions we have of the world. Simply put, words matter.
A few weeks ago, I was going through some old resources and came across something I wrote years ago encouraging a shift from the language “step up, step back” to “take space, make space” when setting community agreements. At the time, I’d been engaged in a learning community around inclusion and ableism, and was more keenly aware of how omnipresent ableist language is. I had also recently had a chat with a colleague who shared some of her frustrations around how her brother, and his reality of living in a wheelchair, was constantly overlooked not just physically, but even in how she heard people speak.
At its core, ableism is a set of beliefs or practices that overlook, devalue or discriminate against those with disabilities. Ableist language is any word or phrase that devalues people who have a disability. “Walking the Talk” is ableism personified. That day, when I was looking at my written piece on “take space, make space,” it hit me that I have a whole section in this newsletter called “walking the talk.” Clearly, there are other ways and words for me to convey the sentiment of this section, which is really about how people live out and put their liberation into action.
We’re never going to do all of the things right all of the time, but what we should be doing is developing and being liberated enough to embrace the process of that. Moving forward, this section will be “...In Action.” And this name change is doing just that. Check out this super helpful resource below with tips on how to avoid ableist language.
