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ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2024-10-26 02:13 pm

Vocabulary: Neuroprivilege vs. Neuroppression

Recently I posted about self-improvement, and [personal profile] arlie commented about how it is often forced on people.  In my reply, I used two words that just popped into my head as I was typing: neuroprivileged and neuroppressed.  It's not about what you can or can't do.  It's not about being "divergent" from the "typical."  It's about whether society likes  the kind of person you are and the brain you have, or disdains you because you're not what they wanted.  People with a popular kind of brain and personality are neuroprivileged -- tools and processes are designed with their needs or preferences in mind, they are welcomed into activities, and they are praised for being "good."  People with an unpopular kind of brain and personality are neuroppressed -- tools and processes are rarely if ever designed for them, and those designed for others often harm them (rather like left-handed people suffering more accidents in a right-biased world), they are shut out of activities by force or self-preservation, and they are constantly told how "bad" they are.

You're not good; you're privileged.  You're not bad; you're oppressed.

Feel free to use these terms if you find them helpful.

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