The word "blind," has been the definition of somebody who does not have the use of their eyesight for as long as there have been words. I believe in today's world of words, the definition of the word "blind," has changed to define one who is unknowing or unaware. Society often changes the definitions of words to fit our changing world. Think of the word "friend," most of us picture somebody who shares the same interests as us, somebody who has been through thick and thin or somebody who knows you well and understands your personality traits. Then Facebook was invented and the definition of "friend," changed significantly. We appear to currently define a "friend," as anybody we know. Some people however, have hundreds or even thousands of "friends," according to Facebook, but do they really have that many friends? Do they even know that many people? This is just one example of the constantly changing definitions of words.
So back to the word "blind," Why do I think it has a different definition?
Most of us have heard of, or been on a blind date. You are unaware of who this person is, and you know nothing about them, including if they are your type. haha Here the word "blind," is implied to mean unaware and unknowing. Now think about two different types of studies used for medical or psychological testing of products or techniques on a group of people: blind and double blind studies.
A blind study is when the participants do not know if they are receiving the actual treatment being tested (experimental group) or receiving no treatment/a placebo (the control group). However, the administrators know who receives which treatment.
A double blind study is when nobody, not even administrators of the test know who is receiving which treatment.
Both types of studies imply some degree of the unknown or unawareness. So, society has effectively changed or confused the definition of the word "blind."
Things change, people change and life never stops. I believe it is important to embrace change to some degree. I have decided to stop using the word "blind," when referring to somebody who has a lack of eyesight. Instead I prefer to use the words "visually impaired." I know, it's two whole words as opposed to one, but it's better than saying "blind or visually impaired." From a journalistic standpoint those three words are redundant.
There are a wide array of visual impairments, which span from the person who says "I can't see without my glasses or contacts," to the person who says "I can not see at all." All of these people have something in common: They all have impaired vision. The term visually impaired does not state to what degree of visual impairment a person has, but that's the beauty of using this term as opposed to the word "blind," which used to imply that somebody had no eyesight. The word "blind," has such a negative stigma attached to it; who wants to be known as the person who knows nothing about anything? Not I!
So what is my rationale?
I've been conducting my own personal social experiments on sighted people for the last 18 months or so,Many of which I had never met before. I would refer to myself as a person who is blind when talking about my eyesight, or lack of it. I would keep this up for a couple of conversations. Then I would switch the term and use the words "visually impaired." I would often talk to classmates in one college class and use the word "blind," and use the words "visually impaired in another class. I realized that people seemed to regard me as an individual first, who happens to have less eye sight when using the words "visually impaired." When I would use the word "blind," people tended to regard me as a person who is unaware or unknowing, and that anything I knew was simply amazing.
I'm sure many of you who may be visually impaired or who work with people who are visually impaired are shaking your heads at this post and saying "surely a simple word can't be responsible for shifting the misconceptions of people who are visually impaired." Yes, you are correct; one word is not the magic bullet. However, if society has inadvertently changed the definition of the word "blind," to mean unaware or unknowing, wouldn't it be necessary to accept the change and use two words that clearly state the definition of a person's lack of eyesight? I'm of course suggesting the words "visually impaired." Society understands that "impaired," means limited functionality. Think of what alcohol does to peoples judgments when they consume too much of the stuff. It Impairs specific parts of the brain, correct? So if somebody is "visually impaired," society should understand that to mean a person's eyesight is not functioning fully. The word "blind," means unaware and unknowing, and the last time I checked I was neither of those.
The moral of the story?
If you see a person who appears to have limited eyesight, and you must refer to their limited eyesight use the words "visually impaired." When you are seeing this person for the first time and your mind is looking for words to remember them by, try not to think "oh there's a blind girl or guy," instead replace the word "blind," with the words "visually impaired." You may find yourself able to see the concepts of limited eyesight much clearer.
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