13 Things Michigan Boomers Say Without Realizing They’re Offensive Nowadays

The words you grew up with don’t always mean the same thing to younger people.

Michiganders who learned these terms decades ago may still use them without meaning any harm.

Here’s a look at some of the things Michigan baby boomers say without realizing they’re offensive nowadays, and why.

1. Gypsy Moth

Michigan’s invasive species program has dropped the name “gypsy moth.”

The state’s page on the insect says “spongy moth” replaced the old name in 2022.

The new name comes from the egg mass, which has the color and texture of a sea sponge.

Merriam-Webster’s usage note says “gypsy” is increasingly regarded as offensive because of negative stereotypes, and it counts compounds like “gypsy moth” among the uses seen that way.

If “gypsy moth” is your habit, “spongy moth” is an easy swap.

2. Crippled

In 2015, Michigan lawmakers replaced the term “crippled children” in state law.

A package of bills that year changed it to “children and youth with special health care needs.”

The dictionary labels the adjective “crippled” offensive, and it marks the noun dated and offensive too.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disability guide also lists the word among the terms not to use.

You may still hear “crippled” at a family table.

Lawmakers moved on.

3. Handicapped

Michigan renamed its Handicappers’ Civil Rights Act the Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act in 1998.

The dictionary’s entry labels “handicapped” sometimes offensive when it describes a person.

You have probably used “handicapped parking” many times, and the CDC guide recommends “accessible parking” instead.

4. The R-Word

The R-word is an old term for intellectual disability, and a 2014 law replaced it in the state Insurance Code.

That law swapped in “developmental disability” and was one of several bills making the same change across state statutes.

The entry marks the word dated and now offensive, and says “intellectually disabled” is preferred over it in medical, educational, and regulatory contexts, as well as in general use.

It may have been a schoolyard joke when you were a kid.

The joke wore out.

5. Deaf and Dumb

The National Association of the Deaf puts “deaf and dumb” at the top of the list of negative labels pinned on deaf and hard of hearing people.

“Dumb” can mean both silent and stupid, and deaf people are neither. Deaf and hard of hearing people overwhelmingly prefer “deaf” or “hard of hearing.”

The entry for the older “deaf-mute” is labeled dated and now offensive, too.

You may have heard “deaf and dumb” in an old movie without thinking twice.

6. Eskimo

“Eskimo” is a word the dictionary now labels often offensive.

The offense comes partly from the word being imposed on Indigenous peoples from outside.

A 2016 federal law struck “Eskimo” from parts of the U.S. Code and put “Alaska Native” in its place.

The obvious swap is “Inuit,” but it doesn’t cover every group the old word did.

7. Oriental

“Oriental” is a word the dictionary says is usually considered offensive when it refers to a person.

As an adjective, the word is usually considered offensive when non-Asian people use it for people of various Asian identities.

The adjective is also increasingly regarded as offensive when it describes Asian culture.

The same 2016 federal law dropped “Oriental” from lists of minority groups in two federal statutes and put “Asian American” in its place.

You can name the country someone’s family comes from, or simply say “Asian.”

8. Colored

“Colored” is a word the dictionary calls dated and offensive when it names a person.

You may have learned “colored” as the polite word, but attitudes shifted by the 1960s, and the noun is now considered unacceptable in many nonhistorical contexts.

“Black” is among the preferred terms.

9. Committed Suicide

“Committed suicide” is a phrase the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention steer writers away from.

The foundation’s guidelines say not to use the word “committed” and to keep the language from sounding moralistic.

You can say “died by suicide” instead.

The AP Stylebook avoids the phrase in its copy because “committed” can suggest an illegal act, as Poynter reported in 2015.

10. Insane Asylum

The dictionary entry for “insane” labels one sense now usually offensive.

That sense is the one meant for people with a severely disordered state of mind, and its example is “insane asylum.”

Traverse City’s Northern Michigan Asylum is a landmark with “asylum” in its name.

If you’ve called a psychiatric hospital an “asylum,” plain “psychiatric hospital” works.

11. Sexual Preference

“Sexual preference” is a phrase that GLAAD, a media advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people, tells writers to avoid.

Its media guide calls the term offensive because it suggests attraction is a choice, and it recommends “sexual orientation” instead.

You can use the same term Michigan’s civil rights law uses, which now names sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression after a bill the governor signed in 2023.

12. Gay Lifestyle

If you use “gay lifestyle” to describe how somebody lives, you’re using a phrase on that guide’s list of terms to avoid.

There’s no single LGBTQ lifestyle, and phrases like this denigrate LGBTQ people by suggesting their identity is a choice.

The replacement wording is “LGBTQ people and their lives.”

In everyday talk, you can name the person and skip the label.

13. Hillbilly

"Hillbilly" is a word the dictionary labels often disparaging and offensive.

A hillbilly is a person from a backwoods area.