Glossary

The terms we use at ParaPride to ensure we are being inclusive of our community.

Why a glossary?

We respect that each member of our community have their own preferred language and we encourage everyone to identify themselves with whichever terms they feel most comfortable.

However, for the sake of clarity and consistency, in our own communications we use the terms outlined in this Glossary. If in doubt about how to refer to someone, the best thing to do is always to ask that person. If you can’t ask them, then we encourage you make use of this guide.

Terms we use at ParaPride

We capitalise the word Deaf when referring to deaf people whose first language is BSL and/ or whose identity is strongly associated with Deaf culture and community.

We refer to a disabled person, to disabled people or to the disabled community. We use identity-first language in line with the social model and UK disability rights movement, rather than person-first, USA-preferred person/ people with disabilities.

When we want to give examples of different kinds of disability, we use the terms physical or sensory impairment, chronic illness, learning disability or mental health condition, as well as the identity-first terms Deaf, autistic or neurodivergent. We might describe a disability as visible or invisible.

We also recognise that some people who are disabled would never identify as such, so we might sometimes refer to people with a health condition or impairment.

When referring to a person/people we use gender identity, rather than sex.

These terms should not be used interchangeably: gender identity and sex mean something different and may or may not correlate. Gender identity is more inclusive of trans identities.

We use the acronym LGBTQ+ rather than longer (eg. LGBTQIA+) or shorter (eg. LGBT) acronyms.

When we want to break down those letters into their constituent parts, we use the terms lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and ace. We prefer bi, trans and ace to bisexual, transgender and asexual because these abbreviations are generally understood to be more inclusive umbrella terms.

We prefer not to use the term queer, because although it’s popular with younger people, for an older generation it still has painful associations. The term is potentially also confusing for allies who are still not sure if they are ‘allowed’ to use it.

We refer to an LGBTQ+ disabled person, to LGBTQ+ disabled people or to the LGBTQ+ disabled community. The word order does not usually change: we do not say disabled LGBTQ+ people, unless the situation especially calls for that nuance.

We refer to people as non-disabled, rather than able-bodied or abled.

In recent years, non-disabled has become the preferred term because it feels more neutral: able-bodied and abled imply that people are disabled only because of their body or impairment—when in reality, people are often disabled by external barriers (for eg. the built environment or people’s attitudes).

We refer to sexual orientation, rather than sexuality or sexual preference.

Sexuality is broad and non-specific, while sexual preference feels outdated and implies that it involves an element of an choice.

We use the term wheelchair-user(s) rather than wheelchair-bound, confined to a wheelchair or in a wheelchair.

Inspiring, brave, suffers from, mental illness, handicapped, the disabled, the blind, the deaf, differently abled, different abilities, able-bodied, and abled.

Got feedback?

We always do our best to write sensitively about the LGBTQ+ disabled community. But we also appreciate that language is always changing and that we might never please everyone. We see this as an evolving resource to be refreshed and updated over time and welcome any feedback you may have.