Exile and Pride

In the first part of the essay, titled “Naming,” Clare interrogates the term “handicapped.” As European and American economies and cities began to industrialize, people with disabilities had to beg for money to survive, caps in hand for people to put money in. He describes a man in 1989 Seattle, suffering the negative effects of ableism and being unhoused, still begging with a cap in hand. He moves on to discuss the term “disabled” and its meaning of “unable.” Clare questions where his inability lies and what terms should be used for people without disabilities—e.g., whether they are “enabled” or “able-bodied” (the term Clare generally uses). He then meditates on “cripple,” a term he has reclaimed, though it has often been cruelly used against him and other people with disabilities. The disability rights movement also uses the term, as in “crip culture” (82). “Gimp” is a term that means “to limp” and comes from the 18th-century term “gammy,” which unhoused people used to refer dangerous places. Clare views “gimp” as a word of solidarity that can be used to greet others with disabilities. “Retard” is a word that Clare has yet to feel comfortable reclaiming, as it still stings when he hears it.