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In Australian English, for some time, terms such as "spastic" and "crippled" were considered the proper words to describe persons with various disabilities and even appeared on
In
survey in 2003, which found that "spastic" was the second most offensive term in the UK relating to anyone with a medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
, the adjective spastic refers to an alteration in muscle tone
In physiology, medicine, and anatomy, muscle tone (residual muscle tension or tonus) is the continuous and passive partial muscle contraction, contraction of the muscles, or the muscle's resistance to passive stretch during resting state.O’Sull ...
affected by the medical condition
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medica ...
spasticity
Spasticity () is a feature of altered skeletal muscle performance with a combination of paralysis, increased tendon reflex activity, and hypertonia. It is also colloquially referred to as an unusual "tightness", stiffness, or "pull" of muscles.
...
, which is a well-known symptomatic phenomenon seen in patients with a wide range of central neurological disorders, including spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...
(for example, spastic diplegia
Spastic diplegia is a form of cerebral palsy (CP) that is a chronic neuromuscular condition of hypertonia and spasticity—manifested as an especially high and constant "tightness" or "stiffness"—in the muscles of the lower extremities of the h ...
), stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as conditions such as " spastic colon." The word is derived via Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
from the Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
''spastikos'' ("drawing in", "tugging" or "shaking uncontrollably").
Colloquially, the noun ''spastic'', originally a medical term, is now pejorative
A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
; though severity of this differs between the United States and the United Kingdom. Disabled people in the United Kingdom often consider "spastic" to be one of the most offensive terms related to disability
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, dev ...
.
UK and Ireland
The medical term "spastic" came into use to describecerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...
. The Scottish Council for the Care of Spastics was founded in 1946, and the Spastics Society
Scope (previously known as the National Spastics Society) is a disability charity in England and Wales that campaigns to change negative attitudes about disability, provides direct services, and educates the public. The organisation was found ...
, an English charity for people with cerebral palsy, was founded in 1951. However, the word began to be used as an insult and became a term of abuse used to imply stupidity
Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word ''stupid'' comes from the Latin word ''stupere''. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictional stories. Walter B ...
or physical ineptness: a person who is uncoordinated or incompetent, or a fool. It was often colloquially abbreviated to shorter forms such as ‘spaz’.
Although the word has a much longer history, its derogatory
A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
use grew considerably in the 1980s and this is sometimes attributed to the BBC children's TV show ''Blue Peter
''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...
''; during the International Year of Disabled Persons
The year 1981 was proclaimed the International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP) by the United Nations. It called for a plan of action with an emphasis on equalization of opportunities, rehabilitation and prevention of disabilities. The slogan of I ...
(1981), several episodes of ''Blue Peter
''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...
'' featured a man named Joey Deacon
Joseph John Deacon (24 May 1920 – 3 December 1981) was a British author and television personality.
Biography
Deacon was born with severe cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that left him with neuromuscular spasticity that particul ...
with cerebral palsy, who was described as a "spastic". Phrases such as "joey", "deacon", and "spaz" became widely used insults amongst children at that time.
In 1994, the same year that Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
MP Terry Dicks
Terence Patrick "Phil" Dicks (17 March 1937 – 17 June 2020) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. He was MP for the constituency of Hayes and Harlington (UK Parliament constituency), Hayes and Harlington from ...
referred to himself in a House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
debate as "a spastic with cerebral palsy", the Spastics Society changed its name to Scope
Scope or scopes may refer to:
People with the surname
* Jamie Scope (born 1986), English footballer
* John T. Scopes (1900–1970), central figure in the Scopes Trial regarding the teaching of evolution
Arts, media, and entertainment
* Cinem ...
. The word "spastic" has been largely erased from popular English usage and is deemed unacceptable to use outside of specific medical contexts, thus reducing stigmatisation
Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet.
Stigm ...
of the condition. Some UK schoolchildren adopted a derogatory adaptation of the Spastic Society's new name, "scoper".
The current understanding of the word is well-illustrated by a BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...disability
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, dev ...
. (The word " retard" was deemed most offensive in the US and other countries). In 2007, Lynne Murphy
M. Lynne Murphy is a professor of linguistics at the University of Sussex. She runs the blog ''Separated by a Common Language'' under the username Lynneguist, and has written five books. She received a grant from the NEH Public Scholars Program ...
, a linguist at the University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
, described the term as being "one of the most taboo insults to a British ear".
The video game ''Mario Party 8
''Mario Party 8'' is a 2007 party video game developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The game is the eighth main installment in the ''Mario Party'' series, and the first title in the series released for the Wii. It wa ...
'' features a scene of the board ''Shy Guy Perplex Express'' where the character Kamek casts a spell to switch train cars, being "Magikoopa magic! Turn the train spastic! Make this ticket tragic!" Because of this, ''Mario Party 8'' was recalled in the UK but was later rereleased, replacing ''spastic'' with ''erratic''.
United States
In American slang, the term ‘spaz’ has evolved from a derogatory description of people with disabilities , and is generally understood as a casual word for clumsiness, otherness, sometimes associated withoverexcitability Overexcitability is a term introduced to current psychology by Kazimierz Dąbrowski as part of his theory of positive disintegration (TPD). Overexcitability is a rough translation of the Polish word 'nadpobudliwość', which is more accurately tra ...
, excessive startle response
In animals, including humans, the startle response is a largely unconscious defensive response to sudden or threatening stimuli, such as sudden noise or sharp movement, and is associated with negative Affect (psychology), affect.Rammirez-Moreno, D ...
("jumpiness"), excessive energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...
, involuntary or random movement, or hyperactivity. Some of these associations use the symptoms of cerebral palsy and other related disabilities as insults.
Its usage has been documented as far back as the mid-1950s.
In 1965, film critic Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...
, hypothesised that, "The term that American teenagers
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
now use as the opposite of 'tough' is 'spaz'."
Benjamin Zimmer
Benjamin Zimmer (born 1971) is an American linguist, lexicographer, and language commentator. He is a language columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal'' and contributing editor for ''The Atlantic''. He was formerly a language columnist for ''The ...
, editor for American dictionaries at Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
's Institute for Research in Cognitive Sciences, writes that by the mid-1960s the American usage of the term ‘spaz’ shifted from "its original sense of 'spastic or physically uncoordinated person' to something more like 'nerdy, weird, or uncool person'."
In a June 2005 newsletter for "American Dialect Society", Zimmer reports that the "earliest ritten
Ritten (; it, Renon ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy.
Territory
The community is named after the high plateau, elevation , the Ritten or the Renon, on which most of the villages are located. The plateau forms t ...
occurrence of uncoordinated ‘spaz’ he could find" is found in ''The Elastik Band''’s 1967 "undeniably tasteless, garage-rock single" – "Spazz".
Later in 1978, Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...
introduced a character Charles Knerlman, a.k.a. "Chaz the Spaz" on ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'', in a skit with Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...
called "Nerds". Bill Murray later starred in the movie '' Meatballs'' which had a character named "Spaz". Both shows portrayed a "spaz" as a nerd, or somebody uncool in a comic setting, reinforcing the more casual use of the term in the United States by using it in a popular comedy.
The term still occasionally appears in North American movies or TV series such as ''Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
'' as a mildly pejorative word. As such it receives a different reaction from British and American audiences. In one episode, Rachel refers to herself as a "laundry spaz" due to her inability to competently do the laundry which directly relates to the original meaning about physical ability. This comment was deemed offensive enough by the British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
to give the episode a 12 rating. Other episodes in the series are rated a step lower at PG. Similarly, Rugrats: ''Tales from the Crib'' Snow White got a PG rating based on Angelica calling Kimi "Spazzy".
The difference in appreciation of the term between British and American audiences was highlighted by an incident with the golfer Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
; after losing the US Masters Tournament in 2006, he said, "I was so in control from tee to green, the best I've played for years ... But as soon as I got on the green I was a spaz." His remarks were broadcast and drew no attention in America. But they were widely reported in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, where they caused offence and were condemned by a representative of Scope
Scope or scopes may refer to:
People with the surname
* Jamie Scope (born 1986), English footballer
* John T. Scopes (1900–1970), central figure in the Scopes Trial regarding the teaching of evolution
Arts, media, and entertainment
* Cinem ...
and Tanni Grey-Thompson
Carys Davina Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, (born 26 July 1969), known as Tanni Grey-Thompson, is a Welsh politician, television presenter and former wheelchair racer.
Athletic career
Grey-Thompson's Paralympic career started in the 1 ...
, a prominent paralympian
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
. On learning of the furore over his comments, Woods' representative promptly apologized.
Shortly after Weird Al Yankovic
Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to:
Places
* Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S.
People
*"Weird Al" Yankovic (b ...
's song "Word Crimes
"Word Crimes" is a song by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic from his fourteenth studio album, ''Mandatory Fun'' (2014). The song is a parody of the 2013 single " Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, featuring Pharrell Williams and T.I. The son ...
" was released, Yankovic stated that he had been unaware that the word "spastic" used in the song is "considered a highly offensive slur by some people", particularly in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and apologized for its presence in his lyrics.
Lizzo
Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Houston, Texas with her family when she was 10 years old. After col ...
's 2022 song " Grrrls" included the word "spaz". This was met with negative criticism and requests to remove the ableist content from the lyrics. After the backlash, Lizzo posted her stance against derogatory language and has since announced a new version of "Grrrls" with new lyrics. Similarly, Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
's 2022 song "Heated" from her seventh studio album ''Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
'' included the word, which was also met with criticism before the word was eventually removed from the song.
Australia
In Australian English, for some time, terms such as "spastic" and "crippled" were considered the proper words to describe persons with various disabilities and even appeared on traffic signs
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduce ...
warning drivers of such persons near the road. More recently, these terms have fallen out of use and replaced with the more socially acceptable and generic "disabled". The word "spastic" became so negatively loaded that The Spastic Society of Victoria had to change their name to Scope.
Products including the term "spaz"
Multiple products in America use the word 'spaz' as part of their name. Controversy arises if products are sold in the UK under the same name. In particular the manufacturers and importers of the ''Spazz'' wheelchair were criticised by the British charity Scope when they put the wheelchair on sale in the UK. Scope expressed a fear that the usage of the word as an insult would increase again, after a steady decline since the 1980s. A caffeinated lip balm created by a police officer is called " SpazzStick." TheTransformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...
Power Core Combiners line of robot toys was to include a character named "Spastic". Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...
, the makers of Transformers, said that it would not release "Spastic" in the UK. This did not stop vocal British fans from alerting various news outlets, eventually resulting in the name being changed for all markets to the less-offensive "Over-Run". The online biography for another Transformer, Strafe, originally described him as "spastic", but was changed to "twitchy" when the controversy erupted.
On 29 June 2007, Ubisoft of France pulled one of their games called '' Mind Quiz: Your Brain Coach'', for referring to players who did not perform well at the game as "Super Spastic". The company stated "As soon as we were made aware of the issue we stopped distribution of the product and are now working with retailers to pull the game off the market." One of the playable characters in the Jazz Jackrabbit
''Jazz Jackrabbit'' is a series of platform games featuring the eponymous character, Jazz Jackrabbit, a green anthropomorphic hare, who fights with his nemesis, Devan Shell, in a science fiction parody of the fable, ''The Tortoise and the Hare' ...
series of games, a brother of the eponymous main character, is named "Spaz" (introduced in Jazz Jackrabbit 2
''Jazz Jackrabbit 2'' is a 1998 platform game produced by Epic MegaGames. It was released for Windows, and later for Macintosh. Like the first game, ''Jazz Jackrabbit'', ''Jazz Jackrabbit 2'' is a side-scrolling platform game but features addit ...
). Similarly, Nintendo recalled ''Mario Party 8
''Mario Party 8'' is a 2007 party video game developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The game is the eighth main installment in the ''Mario Party'' series, and the first title in the series released for the Wii. It wa ...
'' in the UK after releasing a version containing the line "turn the train spastic" in its dialogue.
See also
*Ableism
Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against people with Disability, disabilities or who are perceived to be disabled. Ableis ...
*Disability abuse
Disability abuse is when a person with a disability is abused physically, financially, sexually and/or psychologically due to the person having a disability. This type of abuse has also been considered a hate crime.Quarmby, Katharine.Scapegoat ...
*Disability hate crime
Disability hate crime is a form of hate crime involving the use of violence against people with disabilities. This is not only violence in a physical sense, but also includes other hostile acts, such as the repeated blocking of disabled access a ...
*Euphemism
A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...
*Spasm
A spasm is a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ such as the bladder.
A spasmodic muscle contraction may be caused by many medical conditions, including dystonia. Most commonly, it is a muscle c ...
References
{{Reflist Pejorative terms for people with disabilities Stereotypes Disability in the United States Disability in the United Kingdom Disability in Australia American and British English differences Ableism