Everything we create carries values, including our words.
The Problem
Have you ever considered how “inclusion” is achieved? Usually, it goes like this: someone defines what it means to be included, then identifies a person or a group, and includes them in “the included”.
I have been using a wheelchair for over 35 years. Often, I find myself at the mercy of others and their good will. Recently, Professor Stina Ericsson and I co-wrote a paper discussing the concepts of inclusion and universal design [1].
Our Findings
After a decade of research on language, design, and equity, we’ve noticed a recurring pattern present in texts, graphics, products, and built environments: There is a "normal" person, and then those who deviate from that norm.
"Inclusion” is part of this pattern, treated as a given good, where the ones positioned as deviating are portrayed as in need of being included. While there are many reasons to identify, acknowledge, and address exclusion, current thinking and practices based on norms and deviations seem to reinforce the very exclusionary patterns they aim to dismantle:
“Inclusion is something of a paradox, where genuine efforts to promote social equity and empowerment simultaneously become yet another reification of power structures and marginalisation.” [1]
The problem with inclusion is that it reinforces power. Thus, it is not innocent “to include” someone (Picture 1).
Three key takeaways from the paper are:
- Inclusion involves ambivalence — deciding what, when, and how to categorise.
- Inclusion sustains patterns of normalcy and deviation.
- Inclusion leads to power being redone rather than undone.
A New Concept
In the paper, we propose moving beyond “inclusion” to “nonclusion” and the related concept of “nonclusive design” as a foundation for Universal Design. More on this will follow in future posts.
Link to the paper (free to download):
[1] Hedvall, P.-O., & Ericsson, S. (2024). The Problem with “Inclusion”? It Is Done to Someone by Someone. In Universal Design 2024: Shaping a Sustainable, Equitable and Resilient Future for All (pp. 18–25). IOS Press. https://doi.org/10.3233/SHTI240978.
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