Post by ndrthl on Feb 5, 2006 8:32:31 GMT -5
John Langdon Down and the use of the word 'mongoloid':
"In 1866 he wrote a paper entitled "Observations on the Ethnic Classification of Idiots in which he put forward the theory that it was possible to classify different types of conditions by ethnic characteristics. He listed several types including the Ethiopian type. He is most famous for his classification of what we now know as Trisomy 21 and have named Down’s Syndrome after him but which he classified as the Mongolian type of Idiot. Modern readers will find it insulting and unflattering and politically very incorrect. The hair is not black, as in the real Mongol but of a brownish colour, straight and scanty The face is flat and broad and destitute of prominence.The cheeks are rounded and extended laterally. They eyes are obliquely placed and the internal canth more than normally distant from one another. The parpebral fissure is very narrow…..The lips are large and thick with transverse fissures. The tongue is long thick and much roughened .The nose is small. The skin has a slight dirty yellowish tinge and is deficient in elasticity, giving the appearance of being too large for the body….The boy’s aspect is such that it is difficult to realise that he is the child of Europeans, but so frequently are these characters presented that there can be no doubt that these ethnic features are the result of degeneration. …They are usually able to speak ;the speech is thick and indistinct but may be improved very greatly by a well directed scheme of tongue gymnastics.The co-ordinating facility is abnormal, but not so defective that it cannot be greatly strengthened .By systematic training considerable manipulation power may be obtained".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Langdon_Down
"Mongoloid properly applies to physical traits and not to contemporary or historic definitions of racial or social groups. Some current terms for the latter are Asian, East Asian, Southeast Asian, and Oriental; however the range of Mongoloid does not correspond exactly to any one of these. While East and most Southeast Asians are physically Mongoloid, most South Asians are not.
Since people with the disability Down syndrome have some superficial Mongoloid facial features, the term "Mongoloid" was once also used as a synonym for "retarded." This usage, once neutral, is now considered offensive".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoloid
"In 1866 he wrote a paper entitled "Observations on the Ethnic Classification of Idiots in which he put forward the theory that it was possible to classify different types of conditions by ethnic characteristics. He listed several types including the Ethiopian type. He is most famous for his classification of what we now know as Trisomy 21 and have named Down’s Syndrome after him but which he classified as the Mongolian type of Idiot. Modern readers will find it insulting and unflattering and politically very incorrect. The hair is not black, as in the real Mongol but of a brownish colour, straight and scanty The face is flat and broad and destitute of prominence.The cheeks are rounded and extended laterally. They eyes are obliquely placed and the internal canth more than normally distant from one another. The parpebral fissure is very narrow…..The lips are large and thick with transverse fissures. The tongue is long thick and much roughened .The nose is small. The skin has a slight dirty yellowish tinge and is deficient in elasticity, giving the appearance of being too large for the body….The boy’s aspect is such that it is difficult to realise that he is the child of Europeans, but so frequently are these characters presented that there can be no doubt that these ethnic features are the result of degeneration. …They are usually able to speak ;the speech is thick and indistinct but may be improved very greatly by a well directed scheme of tongue gymnastics.The co-ordinating facility is abnormal, but not so defective that it cannot be greatly strengthened .By systematic training considerable manipulation power may be obtained".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Langdon_Down
"Mongoloid properly applies to physical traits and not to contemporary or historic definitions of racial or social groups. Some current terms for the latter are Asian, East Asian, Southeast Asian, and Oriental; however the range of Mongoloid does not correspond exactly to any one of these. While East and most Southeast Asians are physically Mongoloid, most South Asians are not.
Since people with the disability Down syndrome have some superficial Mongoloid facial features, the term "Mongoloid" was once also used as a synonym for "retarded." This usage, once neutral, is now considered offensive".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoloid
