Spastic transformer toy

[DinahRod]

a tad unfortunate

Vixel I don't think its right that that comedian used the word to promote his tour as he is helping to normalise it.

I still don't understand why they are calling it spastic. I'm very

popelle, I agree. People will follow his lead.

I assume its called that because the american meaning of the word (which I'm unsure of) must be quite different to what it means here.

I think American term means clumsy or overactive

I'm pretty sure in America it means twitchy or clumsy. I think it's used to describe a sympthom of certain conditions rather than the condition itself iyswim.

tbh I get fed up with trying to explain why these words are offensive

of all the millions of unoffensive names to choose in the world, they pick this one that will upset many Hasbro gets 0/10, must try harder, from me.

btw think it's completely different when people try and reclaim words if they have been the ones subject to them being used in an insulting way - S, N** etc. a toy manufacturer should be more careful about names.

I think it's great I want to import one and have it on the shelf for all too see, the comedy value is epic.

I don't quite understand the excuse that it is not offensive in the USA, -surely its usage has the same origins as its usage as an insult in the UK. And therefore it is intrinsically offensive, I think some heads may roll at Hasbro - it wouldn't have taken much research or common sense to find out how offensive it is.

I come from a generation where this word was used in a medically descriptive way. My brother had CP, and was referred to as a spastic by doctors, and by my parents who cared for him (I'm talking 50's and 60's), because it was considered the appropriate term, and referred to the rigidity of his muscles, and his involuntary movements. But during my childhood it started to be used offensively as an insult, which was very unpleasant for families like ours, where a beloved family member had CP.

"I don't quite understand the excuse that it is not offensive in the USA"

Because language evolves differently in different cultures and so can carry more/less weight and connotations. In Ireland we have slight variations on certain words and it makes them less offensive despite being pretty much exactly the same word with the same literal meaning e.g. Shite and Feck are seen as kind of silly/light-hearted versions and wouldn't be out of place on day-time talk radio but you'd rarely here a presenter say shit and certainly never fuck.
Now I know those are slightly altered versions of the words but there are examples of exactly the same words differing in meaning and connotation between English and American Englsih although they may have the same origins. e.g. Fanny over there means bum.
As you say yourself you can see the evolution of the word spastic in our own language as it moved from being a medical term to one of abuse.
In America, while it may have evolved from the same origin (i.e. referencing involuntary muscle spasm/twitches), it's use has has meant that it's meaning and social signifigance has been shaped differently.

Whether it has the same meaning in the US or not, the origins are the same and it it that which makes the word offensive.

In fact, the US meaning is exactly the same as the UK one. When I was growing up, it was routinely used to mean stupid etc. However, we seem to have matured since then and grown more considerate whereas the US apparently has not.

I take your point MQ, but don't agree, yes words evolve differently, but we are talking about a word which has been taken from a particular medical condition with all the connotations of that condition, and used to mean 'stupid' 'clumsy' or whatever. It is a direct reference and link to people with CP. And therefore extremely insulting. It started out as a medical term and has been abducted purely for the purpose of insult.

The comparison with euphemisms like feck for fuck, or fanny/bum is a false one IMO.

I completely agree with SoupDragon.

spastic is the accepted term in the UK medical world in relation to muscle spasticity and is often used in relation to neurological conditions including CP and MS.

The US often has different terms medically to the UK - i think mental retardation' is still the accepted term over there for learning disability' here which seems vile and uncomprehenable to me.

oh and they spell pediatric wrong too!

surely if this company want to sell something world wide it sin't that hard to check the name first.
one google of the word and the offence would have been clear.

Is the term used as an insult in the US? Are people with CP referred to as spastics? It is so awfully wrong that it surely can't be used in the same context, can it??

I have never been to the usa,
so can't answer that, I just know how the use of that word has affected my family, strangely they can't even get that right as dd has athetoid cp and i would have though that was more "clumsy" than spastic cerable palsey.

Well, don't forget that 'Oriental' is considered offensive in the US in a way that it isn't in the UK. There was someone on here who had a US relative by marriage who was very offended when she suggested going to a restaurant called the Oriental Palace.

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