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Ableism (from able and ism) is a neologism
Neologism

A neologism is a newly coined word that may be in the process of entering common use, but has not yet been accepted into mainstream language . Neologisms are often directly attributable to a specific person, publication, period, or event....
 of American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 coinage, since about 1981. It is used to describe discrimination
Discrimination

Discrimination toward or against a person or group is the treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit. It is usually associated with prejudice....
 against people with disabilities in favor of people who are not disabled.

An ableist society is said to be one that treats non-disabled individuals as the standard of ‘normal living’, which results in public and private places and services, education, and social work that are built to serve 'standard' people, thereby inherently excluding those with various disabilities.

presumption that everyone is non-disabled is said to be effectively discriminatory in itself, creating environments that are inaccessible to disabled people.






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Ableism (from able and ism) is a neologism
Neologism

A neologism is a newly coined word that may be in the process of entering common use, but has not yet been accepted into mainstream language . Neologisms are often directly attributable to a specific person, publication, period, or event....
 of American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 coinage, since about 1981. It is used to describe discrimination
Discrimination

Discrimination toward or against a person or group is the treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit. It is usually associated with prejudice....
 against people with disabilities in favor of people who are not disabled.

An ableist society is said to be one that treats non-disabled individuals as the standard of ‘normal living’, which results in public and private places and services, education, and social work that are built to serve 'standard' people, thereby inherently excluding those with various disabilities.

Discrimination

The presumption that everyone is non-disabled is said to be effectively discriminatory in itself, creating environments that are inaccessible to disabled people. Advocates of the term argue that ableism is analogous to racism
Racism

Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that Race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race....
 and sexism
Sexism

Sexism, a term coined in the late 20th century, refers to the belief or attitude that one gender or sex is inferior to or less valuable than the other....
 in that it is a system by which mainstream society denigrates, devalues, and thus oppresses those with disabilities, while privileging those without disabilities.

In extreme cases, morality, worth and intelligence may even be equated to being able-bodied or able-minded, while disability is conflated with immorality, stupidity, and worthlessness, and disabled lives may be devalued to the point that many in the society believe that one is better off dead than living with disability. The eugenics
Eugenics

Eugenics is a scientific field involving the controlled breeding of humans in order to achieve desirable traits in future generations. Eugenics was at its height in first half of the 20th century and was largely abandoned with the end of World War II....
 movement of the 19th and 20th centuries, which took its most extreme form in Nazi Germany with Action T4
Action T4

Action T4 was a program, also called Euthanasia Program, in Nazi Germany spanning October 1939 until August 1941, during which physicians killed 70,273 people specified in Adolf Hitler secret memo of September 1, 1939 as suffering patients "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination," but described in a denunciation of th...
, was a product of this belief, and some believe the ‘right to die
Right to die

The term "right to die" refers to various issues related to the decision of whether an individual who could continue to life with the aid of life support, or in a diminished or enfeebled capacity, should be allowed to die....
’ movement is also an outgrowth of ableist beliefs.

Laws against discrimination

In the U.S., Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) enacted into law certain civil
Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, refers to that branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals and/or organizations, in which damages may be awarded to the victim....
 penalties for failing to make a public places comply with access codes known as the ADA Access Guidelines (ADAAG); this law also helped expand the use of certain adaptive devices, such as TTYs (phone systems for the deaf/speech impaired), some computer
Computer

A computer is a machine that manipulates Data according to a list of Code .The first devices that resemble modern computers date to the mid-20th century , although the computer concept and various machines similar to computers existed earlier....
-related hardware and software, and ramps or lifts on public transportation bus
Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus can generally seat a maximum of anywhere from 8 to 200 passengers; many more passengers than a minivan....
es and private automobiles.

In the UK, meanwhile, the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act
Disability Discrimination Act 1995

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which makes it unlawful to discriminate against people in respect of their disabilities in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education and transport....
 and Disability Discrimination Act 2005 attempts the same.

These laws often concentrate mainly on the civil
Civil

Civil may refer to:*Civic virtue, or civility*Civilian, someone not a member of armed forces*Civil war*Civil disobedience*Civil law, multiple meanings...
 or legal aspect of disability discrimination and neglect the cultural dimensions that are integral to the social model of disability
Social model of disability

The social model of disability proposes that systemic barriers, negative attitudes and exclusion by society are the ultimate factors defining who is disabled and who is not in a particular society....
.

Inclusion

Inclusion
Inclusion (disability rights)

Inclusion is a term used by people with disabilities and other disability rights advocates for the idea that all people should freely, openly and without pity accommodate any person with a disability without restrictions or limitations of any kind....
, comparatively, means that all products, services, and societal opportunities and resources are fully accessible, welcoming, functional and usable for as many different types of abilities as reasonably possible. An ableist society tends towards isolation
Isolation

The term Isolation may refer to:isolation: the act of being alone; separation.* Solitude, a social state* Solitary confinement* Isolation , measures taken to prevent the spread of communicable disease in a patient....
, pity
Pity

File:Pity.jpgPity evokes a tender or sometimes slightly contemptuous sorrow or empathy for a people, person, or animal in misery, pain, or distress....
, paternalism and low self-esteem
Self-esteem

In psychology, self-esteem reflects a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth.Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions ....
 among people with disabilities, whereas an inclusive society tends toward sociability and interdependency between the able-bodied and disabled.

See also

  • Autism rights movement
    Autism rights movement

    The autism rights movement is a social movement that encourages Autism people, their caregivers and society to adopt a position of neurodiversity, accepting autism as a variation in functioning rather than a mental disorder to be cured....
  • Disability etiquette
    Disability etiquette

    The term ?etiquette? refers to a set of rules ? written and unwritten ? governing what constitutes socially acceptable behavior under a variety of circumstances....
  • Intersectionality
    Intersectionality

    ntersectionality is a theory which seeks to examine the ways in which various socially and culturally constructed categories interact on multiple levels to manifest themselves as inequality in society....
  • List of disability rights activists
    List of disability rights activists

    A disability rights activist or disability rights advocate is someone who works towards the equality of people with disabilities. Such a person is generally considered a member of the disability rights movement and/or the Independent Living....
  • Audism
    Audism

    Audism is a term used to describe discrimination or stereotypes against deaf or hard of hearing people, for example by assuming that the cultural ways of hearing people are preferable or superior to those of Deaf culture or sign language culture, or that deaf people are somehow less capable than hearing people....
  • Social criticism
    Social criticism

    Social criticism analyzes social structures which are seen as flawed and aims at practical solutions by specific measures, radical reform or even revolutionary change....
  • Psychophobia
  • Custom employment


External links

  • - Z Magazine article by Marta Russell