--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I hate the words 'handicapped' and…" description: "\"I hate the words 'handicapped' and 'disabled'. They imply that you are less than whole. I don't see myself that way at all.\" — Aimee Mullins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/aimee-mullins-9973_disabled_i-hate-the-words-handicapped-and-disable_2229472.png" --- # I hate the words 'handicapped' and 'disabled'. They imply… ![“I hate the words 'handicapped' and 'disabled'. They imply that you are less than whole. I don't see myself that way at all.” quote by Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/aimee-mullins-9973_disabled_i-hate-the-words-handicapped-and-disable_2229472.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/aimee-mullins-9973_disabled_i-hate-the-words-handicapped-and-disable_2229472.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/aimee-mullins-9973_disabled_i-hate-the-words-handicapped-and-disable_2229472.png) > “I hate the words 'handicapped' and 'disabled'. They imply that you are less than whole. I don't see myself that way at all.” [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Labels like “handicapped” or “disabled” suggest incompleteness, which I reject. **In simple terms:** Labels can imply inferiority. Key Takeaway Embrace whole identity beyond labels. Themes identity disability language Mood inspirational empowering Type social personal When to use this quote - education - advocacy - media representation - personal development Key Concepts social perception self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - How do language choices shape societal views? - What alternatives promote inclusive identity? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on labels can reinforce stigma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) ## Related quotes > [I've had journalists asking me, 'What do we call you - is it handicapped, are you disabled, physically challenged?' I said, 'Well hopefully you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/i-ve-had-journalists-asking-me-what-do-we-call-you-is-it-handicapped/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [“Some disabled people spend a significant amount of their energy on trying to come across as abled or as not that disabled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-disabled-people-spend-a-significant-amount-of-their-energy-on/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“I love full on, like 65 mph in a handicapped parking spot. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dark-jar-tin-zoo/i-love-full-on-like-65-mph-in-a-handicapped-parking-spot/) Dark Jar Tin Zoo > [It's an objective fact that I am a double amputee, but it's very subjective opinion as to whether that makes me disabled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/it-s-an-objective-fact-that-i-am-a-double-amputee-but-it-s-very/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [For me, I never ever felt the ownership or any identity with any community of disabilities. I didn't grow up being told that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/for-me-i-never-ever-felt-the-ownership-or-any-identity-with-any/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [Pamela Anderson has more prosthetic in her body than I do. Nobody calls her disabled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/pamela-anderson-has-more-prosthetic-in-her-body-than-i-do-nobody/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [There’s an important difference and distinction between the objective medical fact of my being an amputee and the subjective societal opinion of whether or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/there-s-an-important-difference-and-distinction-between-the-objective/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [Half of Hollywood has more prosthetic in their body than I do, but we don't think of them as disabled. You amputate part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/half-of-hollywood-has-more-prosthetic-in-their-body-than-i-do-but-we/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [I didn't want to be written about as a human-interest story. I didn't want to be a passing thing. You know, now we move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/i-didn-t-want-to-be-written-about-as-a-human-interest-story-i-didn-t/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [It's factual to say I am a bilateral-below-the-knee amputee. I think it's subjective opinion as to whether or not I am disabled because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/it-s-factual-to-say-i-am-a-bilateral-below-the-knee-amputee-i-think/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [“Folks like poor Misty Marie, they're limited, borderline dummies, but nothing enough to get a handicapped parking space. Or get any kind of Special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/folks-like-poor-misty-marie-they-re-limited-borderline-dummies-but/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I have discovered that most people who tell me that they cannot forgive a person who wronged them are handicapped by a mistaken understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/i-have-discovered-that-most-people-who-tell-me-that-they-cannot/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [From the time I went into baseball, I have always been handicapped by my hands, which are too small. I never saw the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pud-galvin/from-the-time-i-went-into-baseball-i-have-always-been-handicapped-by/) Pud Galvin > [Are soft-hearted people handicapped in business? You have heard a businessman say of someone else, He's all right, but he's too soft-hearted… To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/are-soft-hearted-people-handicapped-in-business-you-have-heard-a/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [I visited a new cultural center in Shanghai in 2005 that was pretty much perfect, except for the really badly translated Chinglish signs: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/i-visited-a-new-cultural-center-in-shanghai-in-2005-that-was-pretty/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) ## More by Aimee Mullins > [It's an objective fact that I am a double amputee, but it's very subjective opinion as to whether that makes me disabled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/it-s-an-objective-fact-that-i-am-a-double-amputee-but-it-s-very/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [Kids are naturally curious about what they don't know, or don't understand, or what is foreign to them. They only learn to be frightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/kids-are-naturally-curious-about-what-they-don-t-know-or-don-t/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [In sports, I refused to do any interviews that were just going to become human-interest stories. Don't turn me into a tragic heroine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/in-sports-i-refused-to-do-any-interviews-that-were-just-going-to/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [I haven't had an easy life, but at some point ,you have to take responsibility for yourself and shape who it is that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/i-haven-t-had-an-easy-life-but-at-some-point-you-have-to-take/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [I'm not running around as a continual ray of sunshine. It's just I don't believe in wasting time feeling sorry for myself. Get over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/i-m-not-running-around-as-a-continual-ray-of-sunshine-it-s-just-i-don/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [I didn't want to be written about as a human-interest story. I didn't want to be a passing thing. You know, now we move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/i-didn-t-want-to-be-written-about-as-a-human-interest-story-i-didn-t/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [Belief in oneself is incredibly infectious. It generates momentum, the collective force of which far outweighs any kernel of self-doubt that may creep in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/belief-in-oneself-is-incredibly-infectious-it-generates-momentum-the/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [I have learned not to overlook the advantages of being me. From when I was a softball player, and I held the stolen bases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/i-have-learned-not-to-overlook-the-advantages-of-being-me-from-when-i/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [We all bullet point our triumphs, but I am who I am because of everything you don't see on my CV. The stuff that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/we-all-bullet-point-our-triumphs-but-i-am-who-i-am-because-of/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [A lot of my life is about will - having the will to prove what my body can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/a-lot-of-my-life-is-about-will-having-the-will-to-prove-what-my-body/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [My varying pairs of legs can be quite practical or quite impractical, and I don't judge them either way. Some are for getting around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/my-varying-pairs-of-legs-can-be-quite-practical-or-quite-impractical/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [It's society that disables an individual by not investing in enough creativity to allow for someone to show us the quality that makes them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/it-s-society-that-disables-an-individual-by-not-investing-in-enough/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [If you watch any John Hughes film of the eighties, that was my childhood experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/if-you-watch-any-john-hughes-film-of-the-eighties-that-was-my/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [In athletics, the idea of possibility is presumed. It's not 'if;' it's 'how.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/in-athletics-the-idea-of-possibility-is-presumed-it-s-not-if-it-s-how/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [The legs that I have made are far more perfect than the ones nature would have given me - my mother's side of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/the-legs-that-i-have-made-are-far-more-perfect-than-the-ones-nature/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) [Explore all 69 Aimee Mullins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) ## More Disabled quotes > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. 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The police are still corrupt and incompetent, their ‘green’ energy policy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-have-been-watching-the-democrats-run-the-usa-for-four-years-the/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I have veterans in my family. But I didn't know anything about DAV, Disabled American Veterans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/i-have-veterans-in-my-family-but-i-didn-t-know-anything-about-dav/) [Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/) > [I would rather be physically disabled obviously than mentally. I would rather be paraplegic than nuts. And it is a terrifying prospect and actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-would-rather-be-physically-disabled-obviously-than-mentally-i-would/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Social Security is based on a principle. It's based on the principle that you care about other people. 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