Ableism and a Walleyed Pegasus Mare, or, Why I like Derpy Better · 5:34pm Oct 6th, 2013
Discussion of Ableist slurs as they relate to the brony fandom to follow:
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Related to DITZ
Synonyms
birdbrain, cuckoo, flibbertigibbet, featherbrain, featherhead, nitwit, rattlebrain, scatterbrain, softhead
Yeah. Ditzy is a word that is synonymous with a bunch of slurs for people ridiculed for the type of brain and though patterns they have. Tell me how it's kinder than derpy, please? Derpy may have similar problems, but it is still a young word, and if we define it as clumsy and unlucky, then that is what it will mean. It is a much better name than Ditzy. Ditzy, to me, means stupid, and since that language is set in my head, it's a bad idea to call Derpy that.
Why is it a bad idea? Well, language shapes perceptions. If we call her Ditzy, we will be more likely to think of her as dumb, and associate that with all people with Strabismus. We will think of her as being a dumb character, and therefore good for humor and muffins references. Just that.
Well, what about the stupid/other negative connotations derpy (the word) has picked up? Well, our opinions of ditzy as a word are already wired in. Derpy (the word) is still pretty recent. This means it can be claimable.
The etymology of Autism, for instance, is related to an old Greek word for aloneness. It is the height of offensiveness to consider Autistic people as being alone and shut off from the world these days, even though, the world does tend to shut them out whenever they feel like it. Seriously. Just look up Just Stimming, Radical Neurodiversity Speaking, and Autistic Hoya. If you're the type to prefer parents, A Sweet Dose of Truth may be more your style. Yes. The Autistic rights movement have claimed the word, but... It's been attached to them forever. Ditzy/Derpy... Most of us have made our minds up already. But she's been around since 2010. Autism has been a word since the late 1800's, and a diagnosis since the 40's. Derp as a word, by comparison, has been around since '98. It's a lot more malleable, and Derpy deserves that respect we can give her.
This is actually something that's been brewing since before I became a brony. I know I'm late, but better late than never.
I have actually been devoting some thought to Derpy Hooves -- and I agree that changing her name to Ditzy is an astonishingly bad idea, both for the reason that it's not only just another word meaning "silly" or "stupid," and for the specific reason you just gave that it's a better-known word of that sort. In my case, it was only because of the controversy over Derpy Hooves that I even found out that "derpy" was slang for "stupid."
As to the exact nature of Derpy's condition ...
(1) It's obvious that she has strabismus, which is to say she's "wall-eyed." This seems to impair her vision and especially depth perception to some degree. Since this is a chronic condition and her life involves flight, she's also clearly adapted to it to some extent (the brain does that with any constant visual condition). This has absolutely nothing to do with her intellect.
(2) She has something wrong with her physical coordination, because she's constantly shown in canon to be clumsy. This often goes as part and parcel of some neurological conditions and specifically might be related to a learning disability. There are learning disabilities which have the effect of impairing coordination because they seem to interfere with how the brain orchestrates and plans out large-scale physical activities.
(3) Her actions in canon shows some degree of social retardation -- she does not seem to always understand what constitutes appropriate behavior. She seems to behave in a child-like and impulsive fashion.
(4) In widespread fanon, she has courier-type jobs: starting with a brief canon scene of her doing a delivery, she's been a courier/mailmare. The significance of this is that this sort of job requires at least some intelligence and specifically ability to navigate, which means that she cannot be severely retarded. At worst she is mildly retarded -- if she is mentally subnormal at all. Also, it places a limit on her vision and coordination problems: she couldn't do this job at all if she couldn't see and fly fairly well.
(5) In widespread fanon, she is a single mother. The reason most often given is that she was taken advantage of and left pregnant by a faithless lover. This is sadly all-too-plausible, as Derpy's abnormalities would render her less-than-desirable as a mate even in a culture as friendly and tolerant as that of Equestria. Since her child is a unicorn (and Derpy herself is a pegasus), it is likely that the father is as well.
(6) Also in widespread fanon, she is a really good mother, showing courage and determination in defense and support of Dinky. This places a limit on the degree of her cognitive/emotional problems: she must for example be able to form normal social relationships and manifest normal positive affect to be a good mother. Specifically it implies that she has a strong sense of responsibility. This sense or responsibility would also explain why, despite her handicaps, she can hold down a job.
(7) What all this put together seems to imply about Derpy's mental state is that she is not so much mentally retarded as she is mildly autistic, possibly with some sort of learning disorder(s) on top of that. Clearly, something is neurologically wrong with her, but there is no reason to think that she (for instance) doesn't know what's going on around her or (as in "Stuck") lacks a comprehension of her own sexuality.
(8) Furthermore, Derpy is an honorable Pony. She knows right from wrong and strives to be good, rather than being incapable of making moral choices. (She could neither be a good mother nor a good employee if she didn't). I further reason from this that she is fundamentally-honest and honorable, though her problems with comprehending complex social situations and specifically with accurately modeling the behavior of others cause her to be a very poor judge of character.
[If you're reading An Epistolary Legal Consultation Between Princesses, you will realize the combined implications of what I've just stated. And also, that I consider her to be both smarter and more decent than Charlie Yu].
1925073 Yes, I just have been reading that. No offence meant on my blog comment, I just really don't like the r word. I mostly agree with your analysis, and quite frankly, I love the idea you've just put in my head.
1925120
You do realize that "Stuck" becomes an even sadder story if one assumes that Derpy is of normal intellect with mild autism and a couple of learning disabilities? Because it means that she understood exactly what happened to her but was so lonely and desperate that she hoped Yu loved her anyway?
What is Ableism?
1925132 What's Stuck?
2746270 It's a story where Derpy is assaulted by a human.
2746268 Ableism is discrimination against disabled people.