In the May 10 episode of FOX's "The Simpsons," Lisa Simpson has an exchange with the "cool girls" at her new elementary school when they taunt her for not knowing a Hannah Montana takeoff, Alaska Nebraska.The three cool girls, all named Caitlyn, (with different spellings), say: "Do you even know how lame you are?"
Lisa responds: " I should warn you by using the term 'lame,' you are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Caitlyns: "Eew, that makes you even lamer."
It's interesting that "The Simpsons" associate the word "lame" with disability when I have always wondered if the younger generation that uses it so frequently these days even knows that it was used in the past to mean someone with a disability. (Rachel Maddow, of the MSNBC political show, often uses the word "lame-itude," one of the newer iterations of the word "lame.")
But the Urban Dictionary definition, which designates the original term associated with disability as "archaic," says its current definition does relate to its disability meaning: "A person, thing, or group that is not cool, tending to be unoriginal. Often marked by the fact that it is out of touch with current trends. . . The modern use of the word lame is directly related to the definition of not being able to walk. It doesn't move, it needs to be carried; it has no game, etc."
An essay by Mary Johnson in The Ragged Edge in 2006 explains the problem when disability words always seem to have negative associations. As she says, disability metaphors for "bad" are continuing problem.
So is "The Simpsons" bit agreeing with this sentiment or just making fun of concerns about language? Let me know what you think.
