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  • What are your thoughts on Ableism?

    Posted by deann-r on July 29, 2020 at 11:00 am

    Frankly I’ve heard the term ableism before but never gave it much thought until recently.  A situation occurred that made me question if the action would constitute ableism.  From my understanding it means  discrimination against those with disabilities.  Although I don’t think the intent of the action is necessarily abelist I believe the result discriminates against the disabled community.  If the intent isn’t discriminatory would it still be considered ableism?  What are your thoughts on the term in general?

     

    alyssa-silva replied 3 years, 8 months ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
  • 1 Reply
  • alyssa-silva

    Member
    July 29, 2020 at 1:50 pm

    There’s a lot to unpack with ableism. I am still learning myself as I only heard about it a couple of years ago. Like you said, it is discrimination against the disabled AND based on the assumption that the person with a disability is inferior to their able-bodied counterparts.

    There’s also internalized ableism— something I struggle with a lot. A quick google search states it as: “A practice where disabled people internalize the ideas and prejudices of society that see disability as ‘other’, as something undesirable, as tragic and as something to be shunned if not pitied.”

    Here’s a great blog written by disability activist, Imani Barbarin, on some common examples of internalized ableism. I resonate with many of them.

    Hopefully, others weigh in here. Great topic!

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