The Words We Use

We use the word equality when describing our ambition that everyone we meet and work with is treated with equal respect and given equal or equivalent opportunities. Some people use the word equity, which recognises that treating everyone the same is not fair if some people already have an advantage and others start from a disadvantage. There is also a trade union for creative practitioners called Equity.

We want The Watermill to be inclusive. For us this means being open and welcoming to anyone and including people from minority communities in decisions and discussions affecting those communities.

A group of people is diverse if the individuals represent different experiences. People may come from different backgrounds, use different languages, think differently, and so on. We value this diversity and celebrate the alternative perspectives that diversity of many kinds brings.

We make decisions using the social model of disability. The opposite, called the medical model of disability, looks first at a person's condition, seeking a solution to the person's impairment. The social model instead considers how society can adapt the environment to welcome and support the individual.

Generally we use the phrases disabled people or person living with a condition. Others may use the phrase person with a disability but in the social model of disability a person does not have a disability, they are disabled by the environment. We use the phrases person without a condition or non-disabled person.

We use the phrase access needs to describe what support someone needs to be able to enjoy their time at The Watermill. For example, an access need could be physical, like being a wheelchair user, or needing to use our accessible parking bays, or linked to communication, using a British Sign Language interpreter or a Visual Story, or supporting other needs like mental health, sensory sensitivities, dementia, and so on. 

Everyone has the right to self-identify, which means choosing the particular term or phrase that feels right to them.

We use the phrase people with autism. Others may refer to autism spectrum conditions or autism spectrum disorders. We know that some individuals choose to self-identify as an autistic person or as an autistic.

Autism is part of neurodiversity. The minds of neurodivergent people work differently to those of neurotypical people. Other examples of neurodiversity are ADHD, dyspraxia and Tourette's syndrome.

We use the phrase Deaf, deaf and hard of hearing people or deaf people. Whether someone self-identifies as Deaf or deaf is not down to how much hearing they have or what technology (cochlear implants, hearing aids) they use.

People who are Deaf have a cultural identity linked to being part of the Deaf community and often using British Sign Language as their preferred language. People who are deaf may feel more or equally connected to the hearing world. Hard of hearing people may not hear well and benefit from extra volume or clarity. Some people use the phrase hearing impairment.

Audiences who use BSL might like to watch our BSL sign integrated performances, which have a sign performer in costume and rehearsed into the show, on stage among the actors.

We use the phrase blind and visually impaired people. Sometimes we use the phrase partially sighted or vision impaired. Some people who identify as blind have some useful vision, for example perceiving shapes, colours or contrast between light and dark. Some people use the phrase sight loss, if they had vision previously.

Audiences who have low or no vision might like to attend our audio described performances, listening to a live narration of what is happening on stage, delivered in the pauses in the action, through a personal headset.

A carer is someone who looks after a family member or friend without being paid, supporting them with everyday tasks they are not able to do themselves. If the carer is 25 or under they are a young carer. Some people with a care or access need may be assisted by someone who is paid, who we would refer to as a support worker or personal assistant.

We offer free Essential Companion tickets to guests who would not be able to attend without someone to support them and their personal care or other access needs, which we cannot provide.

Others may use Sensory Adapted performances or Chilled Performances to describe a similar opportunity. 

The word intersectionality recognises that a person belongs to more than one group and has more than one identity, which overlap with each and change how society treats them. For example, a black woman and a white woman will experience different versions of sexism and a black woman and a black man will experience different versions of racism.

It is often impossible to untangle whether discrimination or poor treatment is due to racism or sexism or another prejudice. Remembering that we all have overlapping identities encourages us to see every person as an individual with many different experiences.

In discussions around ethnic background, we use the phrases global majority or people of colour. BAME(R) is a term that has been widely rejected and stands for Black (or black), Asian, minority ethnic (and refugee) people.

We use the term LGTBQIA+. This stands for lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual or agender or allies, plus other gender or sexual orientation identities. Others use the phrase queer community.

A person’s sex is connected to their biology; their gender describes which group in society they feel most similar to, men, women or another group. Transgender or trans people were labelled with a gender at birth that is different to their gender identity. Cisgender or cis people were labelled with a gender at birth that is the same as their gender identity.

Gender identity is expressed through the pronouns people choose for themselves: most often ‘she’, ‘he’ or ‘they’. Non-binary or genderqueer people don't recognise themselves fully in either gender, they are neither a woman nor a man. Some individuals may choose to self-identify as womxn or (less often) mxn. Some people may choose to use the title Mx rather than Mr, Mrs, Ms or Miss.

Please email our Community Associate Lixi on lixi@watermill.org.uk to let us know if there's any terminology we've missed or got wrong. We know there's always more to learn.