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In our ever-changing world of people first phrasing, you may
start to hear or read that people with diabetes would prefer to be
addressed as such and not as “diabetics.” You’ll find that most
people don’t want to be lumped in a group under a label; they prefer
to be thought of as individuals with issues specific to them. It is
no different than calling someone handicapped. More often than not,
that person doesn’t feel handicapped at all and the negative
connotation of the word “handicapped” is offensive.
This may be newsworthy in part due to the sheer numbers of people
diagnosed with diabetes. These numbers are reaching pandemic
proportions and they span the globe as well as the spectrum of age.
There are no typical “diabetics” just as there are no typical cancer
patients.
It also sounds funny to read or hear about items for people with
diabetes that are called diabetic. There are diabetic socks,
diabetic recipes and diabetic supplies. It just sounds better to
sell socks for people with diabetes rather than trying to sell
diabetic socks. It makes the socks sound as if they have diabetes.
While there are acceptable uses of the word “diabetic,” it just
seems easier to update the language to something that is inoffensive
to all.
Of course there will be people with diabetes who could care less
if you call them diabetic or not. The point is, however, that there
are those who do care and they deserve that respect. Whether you
agree with the premise or not is not important, as they do. People
first language for people with diabetes is a matter of affording
respect to others and granting them the right to be thought of as
individuals, not as part of a group of people with a disease.
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