Is the word see offensive to people with visual impairments? Short answer: no.
When I was in college, I had a confusing interaction with another student when I asked if they had seen a bottle of shampoo that had gone missing from a shared space. They responded by telling me that the word “see” was offensive because people who are blind or visually impaired cannot see things, and that I should consider how my word choices could have an impact on people living with disabilities.
The reason this interaction was confusing is because this student was sighted, while I have low vision and use a white cane/blindness cane when navigating unfamiliar environments. I had never considered that the word “see” could be an offensive term, especially since it was something my friends and I would say to each other often. I wondered if someone with vision loss had previously told this student the term was offensive, or if this was something they had learned on their own. However, that question remains unanswered to this day, as does my original question about where the bottle of shampoo went.
I do not speak for every blind person, person with low vision, or for the entire visual impairment community when it comes to sharing what words or terms are okay to use and which ones are not. With that in mind, it can still be helpful to learn from individuals who have lived experience with visual impairment and to read about their approaches to vision-related terms and the use of vision-centric language. Here are my own views on the word “see” and other disability language as someone with low vision stemming from both an eye condition and a brain condition.
Is the word “see” offensive to blind people or people with low vision?
Words like see, look, watch, view, or other terms that refer to accessing visual information are generally not considered offensive to blind people or people with low vision. In fact, many people with vision loss use these terms, even if they are not accessing visual information through sight alone. I’ve invited blind friends over to watch a movie, a friend with low vision has asked me to take a look at an article, and if someone asks me if I have seen something, I can give them an idea of where the last known location might be. When leaving a space, it’s also common to say “see you later!”
That said, people who experience vision loss later in life or that have CVI (neurological visual impairment) may take offense to words like see or look, because they enforce the idea that information can only be accessed visually or that visual access is superior to non-visual access. To reframe the examples I shared above, I could invite friends over to enjoy a movie, a friend could ask me to read an article, or someone could ask me if I know where an item is. These examples are better than just replacing vision-based words with hearing-based words— if someone invited me to hear a movie, listen to an article, asked me if I have heard an item lately, or told me that they look forward to hearing from me again because they didn’t want to say see, I would assume we were either listening to audio plays/podcasts, they are asking me if I am familiar with an item, or that I was talking to someone on the phone.
As I mentioned in the story at the beginning of this post, I would never tell someone that terms like “see” are offensive to blind or visually impaired communities in general, because they are not considered offensive to the vast majority of people. However, if I knew a particular person was uncomfortable with these terms, I would avoid using them when interacting with that particular person.
Related links
- Learning To Explain Usable Vision
- Two of Everything: Living With Double Vision
- Addressing The Trauma Of Sight Loss
- Supporting Patients With Low Vision In Medical Environments
- Audio and Nonvisual Entertainment Ideas For Blind and Low Vision
Is the word blind offensive? What about visually impaired?
In the context of visual impairment, terms such as blind, partially sighted, visually impaired, vision impaired, low vision, and legally blind are also not generally considered offensive, as these terms are often used in a medical context as well as a social context. Some people may prefer to use the word blind, either with a lowercase or uppercase B, to describe their vision loss, even if they have some usable vision, or will use multiple terms interchangeably.
Personally, I prefer to use the term “low vision” to describe my own eyesight, though I will also use other terms in various contexts. I use the term visual impairment on my website as an all-inclusive way of referring to vision loss not corrected by glasses. I do not generally refer to myself as blind/Blind because I primarily access information visually (e.g. in large print), but I acknowledge that many people use the term to describe their own visual impairment experiences.
I’ve met several people with vision loss who are uncomfortable with the term visually impaired, as they believe it implies someone is ugly. I have no problem with this term, but have met a few people over the years who dislike it and prefer to use terms like low vision, blind, or vision impaired.
Related links
- Using PicsArt To Simulate Low Vision
- Learning To Explain Usable Vision
- Blind Barbie and Assistive Technology For Visual Impairment
- How I Talk About Disability With New Friends
Discussing disability: Person-first vs identity-first
Like many people, I do not find the terms disabled or disability to be offensive when used to describe me or my visual impairment. I prefer the word disability over terms like “differently abled” because that can sound a bit confusing or imply that disability is something to be ashamed of. For similar reasons, I dislike the term “special needs” and prefer to frame things like my classroom accommodations as “access needs” or “accessibility needs” (or “access preferences” for things that are less essential, like my preferred font styles).
I use a mix of person first and identity first language when talking about my disability— I am fine with being a person with a visual impairment or a person with low vision (person-first) or a visually impaired person (identity-first). I have no preference for what term people use when talking about disability. There is a growing movement to use identity-first language within the blind and low vision community, and many people have started using identity-first language exclusively, though many academic spaces continue to use person-first language. That said, I prefer person-first language when discussing a diagnosis or medical condition— I am a person with strabismus or someone with Chiari malformation.
One language request I do make is to avoid making disability sound miserable or tragic, so I avoid phrases like “suffers from low vision” or “plagued by blindness” and recommend that others do the same. Additionally, my progressive low vision condition is not something that causes me to “tragically” lose my sight.
Related links
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- A to Z of Assistive Technology For Low Vision
- How I Respond To Questions/Comments About My Eyes
- Disability and Classroom Accommodations For Chiari Malformation
- How I Explain My Brain With Chiari Malformation
What do you think of blind jokes?
Blind jokes can be funny, especially when told by other blind/low vision people, but I am cautious against making jokes about my own vision loss that are self-deprecating or that promote the idea that living with vision loss is miserable. Phrases like “that person must be blind” or “are you blind?” are awkward, especially when blind is used as a synonym for lower intelligence.
Jokes about pretending to be blind to grope people or otherwise invade people’s personal space make me incredibly uncomfortable, and I will often distance myself from conversations where this is mentioned. I have never met a single blind person who feels people’s faces to figure out who they are— most people I know recognize others from their voices or other visual characteristics like their hair or clothes (if they still have some usable vision).
Related links
- Incorporating Blindness Canes into Halloween Costumes
- Dealing With Anxiety About Disability Accommodations
- Tips For Improving Confidence About Using Assistive Technology
- School Cafeterias and Low Vision
Overcoming low vision— or not?
I do not do things “in spite of” or “despite” low vision, nor do I “overcome” my low vision through the use of assistive technology or other accessibility strategies— in many cases, I do things because of low vision. While my low vision can create barriers for how I access information or complete certain tasks, it is unlikely that I will be able to do something unless this barrier is addressed or the task is modified so that I can complete it— staring at something is not necessarily going to eventually make it accessible for me.
I would never tell someone that chooses to say they have overcome low vision that they should choose a different word because it’s great to celebrate people’s accomplishments and I don’t want them to feel bad. However, I challenge people who are writing about visual impairment or assistive technology to reconsider framing vision loss as a deficit or perpetuating the idea that people with visual impairments just need to try harder to see things.
Related links
- I Don’t Need An IEP!: Overcoming Internalized Ableism
- Learning to Self-Advocate With Low Vision
- Tips And Advice For New Accessibility Advocates
More thoughts on word choice when discussing visual impairment from someone with low vision
- The term “four eyes” is generally considered a teasing or negative remark for people who wear glasses, but I decided to reclaim the term by adding three I’s to my name when creating my low vision and assistive technology website, Veronica With Four Eyes. Learn more about my experiences with visual impairment at About Veronica Lewis and Veroniiiica
- Curious to learn more about how I answer questions about my glasses? Read How I Respond To Questions/Comments About My Glasses and Veronica’s Four Eyes: All About My Glasses For Low Vision
- Wondering how to describe visual impairment? Read Learning To Explain Usable Vision
Published July 28, 2017. Updated November 2025