10 backhanded compliments that aren't compliments at all

• Commenting on someone's body size is generally not appropriate, and pregnancy isn't an invitation to comment on a woman's body.
• Telling a person of color that they're articulate or pretty for a [insert minority here] makes insulting assumptions.
• Don't tell a person with disabilities that they're "inspiring" just for living their life.

Some "compliments" are best left unsaid.

Even if someone intends for a remark to make someone feel good, the underlying assumptions driving it can do the opposite.

Here are 10 backhanded compliments that are actually offensive.

"The way you've overcome your disability is so inspiring!"

It shouldn't be shocking when someone with a disability is able to accomplish just as much as their able-bodied peers, and the fact that they perform mundane tasks such as grocery shopping or going to the gym shouldn't be held up as brave or inspiring. Doing so reduces people with disabilities to their disabilities.

"I want to live in a world where we don't have such low expectations of disabled people that we are congratulated for getting out of bed and remembering our own names in the morning," comedian and activist Stella Young said at TEDxSydney.

"You're so articulate!"

"When a white colleague tells a colleague of color 'You're so articulate' or 'You speak so well,' the remark suggests that they assumed the person in question would be less articulate— and are surprised to find out they aren't,"Christine Mallinson, professor of language, literacy, and culture at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, previously told Business Insider.

"You don't even look pregnant!"

Everybody experiences carrying a baby (or babies) differently, and pregnancy is not an invitation to comment on or scrutinize women's bodies.