Around 15 years ago, a new campaign took off across the young social media ecosystem.
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The resurgence of the r-word
Disability advocates spent a decade campaigning against the slur. Now it’s coming back.
Constance Grady is a senior correspondent on the Culture team for Vox, where since 2016 she has covered books, publishing, gender, celebrity analysis, and theater.
People with learning disabilities and intellectual disorders were asking everyone else to stop using the r-word to describe them or even to make jokes. No more, “Bro, that movie’s so dumb, it’s [r-word],” no more, “Don’t be stupid, why are you acting like such a [r-word]?”
Across the internet, commentators had their doubts that the movement would succeed, or even that it was worthwhile.
Surely, detractors
