Posts Tagged ‘political correctness’

PROBLEM: Geric, a man wearing a breathing mask whose lungs have been damaged by Hutta’s pollution, refers to himself as “an invalid.” For those familiar with the disability rights and/or etiquette scene, this is often regarded as a highly offensive word. If you are unfamiliar with the word, it is easy to follow the logic of why calling a person “invalid” is offensive, particularly when applied to a historically marginalized group of people. Although often still controversial, it is one thing for a real person with a disability to refer to themselves as “invalid,” but it is different when the character in the game has been created by someone else; the character is a result of the creator’s own attitudes toward the subject, and without being able to access his or her reasons for word choice, many people will assume it is indicative of negative or ignorant perceptions of people with disabilities.

Opinions vary as with all issues of what is appropriate speech, but this phrasing is unnecessary and risks alienating players with disabilities and upsetting disability rights allies.

SOLUTION: As an alternative, unoffensive word choice and vocal inflection can be used to convey frustration by focusing on the condition, for example, “Before the effects of Hutta’s pollution destroyed my lungs….”