The R-Word is a Slur. And It’s Back.

What the Resurgence of the R-Word Reveals About the Fragility of Progress

Note: In our commitment to eradicate this harmful word again, we intentionally refer to it as “the r-word.” While many of the articles hyperlinked in this piece choose to spell out the word, we feel it is important to avoid repeating the entire word in our discussions about this topic to not cause further harm. 

Society is experiencing a resurgence of the r-word, something Joe Rogan described in an April 2025 podcast as “one of the great cultural victories.” Elon Musk, one of the Top 100 Most Influential People of 2025 according to Time Magazine, regularly uses the word in his social media content. He is not the only person with power and influence using the word—even President Donald Trump has publicly used the word without apology. The r-word is undoubtedly a slur, largely due to its unique intersections of where the word lives in our cultural vocabulary.

The r-word has roots in medical diagnosis. Coming from the latin term for slow, the DSM and the ICD both had it classified as a mental disorder with specific diagnostic coding; a label based almost entirely on IQ testing thresholds. There was similar labeling from administrative bodies, including the Social Security Administration (SSA). These labels created a stigma for whom they were given and culture latched on. 

In 2010, the Obama administration signed Rosa’s Law, which replaced the r-word with intellectual disability in federal health, education, and labor policy documents. The legislation was named after an 8 year old girl with Down Syndrome whose mother noticed the stigma she and her family were forced to carry when Rosa was labeled the r-word in her school records. In a hearing about the implications of changing the terminology, Rosa’s 11 year old brother commented, “What you call my sister is how you will treat her. If you believe she’s ‘[the r-word],’ it invites taunting, stigma. It invites bullying and it also invites the slammed doors of being treated with respect and dignity.” 

Some formerly derogatory terms, such as the word lame, have become so far removed from their original meaning that, in modern-day, they are not strongly associated with the disability community. However, the r-word has not undergone such a reinvention. Those who continue to use the r-word in 2026 do so with the intention of causing harm and have a clear vision of the type of person who represents its definition. 

Those who are most impacted by the slur’s use, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), have spoken out time and again about how the word makes them feel. Nicole LeBlanc, an advocate who has autism and an intellectual disability, told the New York Times, “it makes me want to run, hide, and curl up into a ball.” 

In 2009, two youth leaders founded the campaign Spread the Word to End the Word with the hopes of ending the r-word’s use and advancing to a more inclusive world. The campaign appealed to those using it who were well-meaning, but uninformed about the real damage the r-word can cause to people with I/DD.
This time is different. The people responsible for the resurgence of the r-word today are not the same people who Spread the Word to End the Word targeted almost two decades ago. Today, the word is used again for a clear purpose—to feel powerful by punching down and spreading hate.

“In high school, I was called the r-word all the time. It made me shrink away—it felt terrible. I can’t believe it’s coming back. I feel very hurt, especially after we fought to get rid of that word. No one should be called it, even if they ‘don’t mean it.’”

Barbara Coppens, a self-advocate from New Jersey reflected on how the resurgence of the r-word makes her feel in an article from The Arc. She explains, “in high school, I was called the r-word all the time. It made me shrink away—it felt terrible. I can’t believe it’s coming back. I feel very hurt, especially after we fought to get rid of that word. No one should be called it, even if they ‘don’t mean it.’”

It’s troublesome to witness the resurgence of the r-word. The campaign to prune it out was so successful that it ended (transforming into End the Word, with a goal of striving towards more general inclusion of people with I/DD, in 2019). The campaign’s success showed that people could intentionally change their language to avoid causing harm. This makes the resurgence of the r-word even more frustrating—people understand the impact of the word and choose to use it anyway. The r-word’s resurgence is indicative of a trend we’re seeing on a larger scale: the accomplishments we make towards removing hate can quickly unravel.