Glossary

Ableism means: 
Someone is hostile to disabled people. 
Someone rejects people with disabilities. 
Someone is discriminating against people with disabilities. 
Someone is treating people with disabilities badly. 
Someone has no respect for people with disabilities. 
Someone insults people with disabilities. 
Or someone is always making jokes about people with disabilities. 

 It is pronounced like this: 
Ey·be·lis·m.

Ableism is forbidden. 
The law states: 
All people have the same rights. 
People with and without disabilities. 

Ableism can take many different forms

An assistance relationship can trigger many different feelings.  
Many of us people with disabilities can only be ourselves with assistance. 
This also means: 
We often hardly know the people providing assistance. 
And yet, we have to trust them. 
Or we have known them for a very long time. 
Can we still be independent? 

Mia Mingus calls this special connection between two people “access intimacy”. Das spricht man so aus: Äxes In·ti·mi·si. 
We can think of “access” in this way: 
It is an opportunity to overcome barriers. 
And intimacy is another word for closeness and familiarity. 
 
Mia Mingus is disabled and queer and an activist of colour. 
This means: 
She was born in Korea. 
Her skin is not white.

Chronic illness means: 
A person has had an illness for a long time. 
Perhaps forever. 
The illness is part of the person’s life.

Crip comes from “cripple”. 
In the past, the word “crip” or “cripple” was used as an insult for people with disabilities. 
But today, people with disabilities have reclaimed the word for themselves. 
They now proudly use it for themselves. 
You could also say: 
The word crip is a self-designation. 
Many people with disabilities are connected with each other through this. 

Crip art is art by artists with disabilities. 
Their art is often also about their disabilities. 
And about everyday life as a disabled person. 
It is also about making the topic of disability more visible in art.

The term crip-bodymind (from crip, an empowering reinterpretation of the word "cripple", and bodymind for the inseparable unity of body and mind) describes an inclusive perspective on disability. 

Diversity means: 
Variety or difference. 
It means this: 
All people are different. 

For example: 

• There are young people and old people. 
• There are people from different countries. 
• There are men and women. 
  And people who say: 
  I am not a man. 
  And not a woman. 
• There are people with different religions. 
• There are slim people and fat people. 
• There are people with and without disabilities. 
• There are rich and poor people. 
• There are people with light skin colour and people with dark skin colour. 

And people can differ in many other ways. 

Diversity is a good thing. 
People live their lives in different ways. 
They think in different ways. 
That is why they also find different answers to questions. 
And they find different solutions to problems.

Drag kings and drag queens perform on stage. 
Many of them sing or dance. 
Some tell jokes on stage. 
Most drag kings are women in men’s clothing. 
But: women, men and non-binary people can be drag kings. 

Some people are non-binary. 
This means: 
A person does not feel like a man or a woman. 

Many people believe: There are only men and women. 
That’s not true. 
There are more than 2 genders: 
some people are woman and man at the same time. 
Or they have a different gender. 
Or they have no gender. 
These people call themselves non-binary. 

Participation means: 
Everyone can take part in something. 
Everyone is part of society. 
People with and without disabilities. 
Young and old people. 
Men and women. 
People from different countries. 

All people can decide for themselves: 
How and where do I want to live? 
Or: 
Which cinema film do I want to see? 

Actually, the law says: 
All people have the right to participate in all areas of life. 
In culture, too. 

However: 
This often doesn’t work yet. 
Because offers are not barrier-free. 
For example: 
There are only a few plays in plain language. 
Or: 
There are only a few inclusive sports clubs. 

A performance is the art of doing. 
You could also say: 
It is a show. 
By individual artists or a group of artists. 
Something is shown. 
On a stage. 
In a museum. 
Outdoors. 
There are performances in many different places. 
A performance is about a relationship between space, time, the artist and the audience.

The word “queer” actually means strange or funny. 

In the past, gay men were often called queer. 
People wanted to say: 
Gay men are strange. 
It was not a good word. 

But that has changed. 
Today, many people use the word for themselves. 
People say of themselves: 
I am queer. 

You could also say: 
The word queer is a self-designation. 

What people use the word queer for themselves? 
For example: 

• Gay men 
• Lesbian women 
• Bi-sexual people 
• Trans* people 
• Inter* people 

With the word queer, they want to show: 
We are a community. 
We feel connected. 

Stand-up comedy means: 
Someone stands on stage and tells jokes and funny stories. 
The audience decides: 
Are the stories funny or not? 
They decide by applause or booing.