[Ads-l] unhoused---and "houseless"

Wed Sep 16 00:44:36 UTC 2020

A number of articles about the effects of the Western wildfires have favored the term “houseless” over “homeless”; a quick look at the web shows shows that the two privatives have been in competition for some time.  Various proposals are given for why the former term is seen as preferable or less stigmatized, including: that it refers to a physical lack rather than a social/cultural fact, that it’s preferred by those who experience the condition, that “houseless" refers to an acute situation (e.g. being burned out by massive wildfires) as opposed to a chronic condition, perhaps (going along with the idea that it’s a euphemism, although the OED shows “houseless” has been around for centuries) that if you’re houseless it’s not your fault while if you’re homeless it somehow is. 

LH 

> On Sep 1, 2020, at 9:49 PM, Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at MST.EDU> wrote:
> 
> Just this past Sunday W. Kamau Bell (on CNN; " United Shades of America")
> 
> interviewed a man who is a de facto head of a community living on the street in Los Angeles,
> 
> and he specifically explained that the people there are unhoused, not homeless; the
> 
> street is their home. At least one person had lived there for twenty years.
> 
> 
> Gerald Cohen
> 
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2020 8:33 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: WOTY candidate: unhoused
> 
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: WOTY candidate: unhoused
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Amy West wrote:
>> Probably recency illusion, but I've been noticing the use of "unhoused"
>> instead of "homeless": I heard Cori Bush, the new Missouri
>> representative use it in an interview:
>> 
>> " But, you know, I bring a different - you know, I bring something
>> different, you know? And that is coming from the heart of the ground,
>> out of the activist community, out of the Ferguson uprising, you know,
>> being unhoused, being, you know, just a whole different - just a
>> different outlook."
>> 
>> https://www.npr.org/2020/08/18/903616343/congressional-candidate-from-mis=
> souri-on-racial-justice-and-policing
>> 
>> And now I see it in an e-mail from ACLU:
>> 
>> "It was only because of a local moratorium that they were able to keep a
>> roof above their heads. Since that expired, both they and her son could
>> now be unhoused in a pandemic."
>> 
>> "Rent is Due Tomorrow," ACLU, 31 Aug 2020, e-mail.
>> 
>> Sorry if other folks have already commented on this.
> 
> Here is a 2016 article discussing "homeless" versus "unhoused"
> 
> Article: Is 'Homeless' The Right Word For Those Living On The Street?
> Author: Jessica Park
> Date: December 8, 2016
> https://hoodline.com/2016/12/is-homeless-the-right-word-for-those-living-on=
> -the-street
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> Given that a high-degree of homelessness has been visible in San
> Francisco for decades, it=E2=80=99s no surprise that locals have become
> desensitized to the sight of individuals and encampments sleeping on
> city sidewalks.
> 
> But what=E2=80=99s less apparent is growing push-back on the label =E2=80=
> =9Chomeless.=E2=80=9D
> . . .
> Thomas Wasow, a professor and chair of the linguistics department at
> Stanford University, saw disdain for the label 'homeless' first hand
> several years ago when he was working with unhoused residents in Palo
> Alto.
> 
> "There was a homeless guy that used to come to some of our meetings,
> and he objected to the term homeless, and he said the reason is, 'I
> have a home, it's Palo Alto. I'm unhoused,'" said Wasow.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> Merriam-Webster gives 1616 as the date of first use for "unhoused"
> adjective. I cannot reach the OED right now, so I do not know what it
> says.
> https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unhoused
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> un=C2=B7housed | \ =CB=8C=C9=99n-=CB=88hau=CC=87zd  \
> Definition of unhoused
> : not housed: such as
> a: not having a dwelling place or shelter : HOMELESS
> unhoused people
> =E2=80=A6 it re-creates the grammar, point of view and domestic economy of =
> the
> unhoused life =E2=80=A6
> =E2=80=94 Jonathan Raban
> b: not covered by a protective housing
> an unhoused electrical component
> First Known Use of unhoused
> circa 1616, in the meaning defined above
> [End excerpt]
> 
> Switching from "vagrant" to "homeless" to "unhoused" reminds me of the
> term "euphemism treadmill".
> 
> Year: Friday, June 17, 2011
> Article: The Euphemism Treadmill - replacing the "R-Word"
> http://englishcowpath.blogspot.com/2011/06/euphemism-treadmill-replacing-r-=
> word.html
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> Stephen Pinker in his 2003 book =E2=80=9CThe Blank Slate=E2=80=9D coined th=
> e name
> euphemism treadmill for the process whereby words introduced to
> replace an offensive word, over time become offensive themselves. A
> current example of this is mental retardation.
> [End excerpt]
> 
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