Words that end in ‘ism’ aren’t always negative, but the suffix does tend to remind us that we still have a long way to go at repairing society’s prejudice and injustice.
Words like racism, sexism, chauvinism and nepotism have saturated the combined consciousness allowing us to edit our language, social structures and learnt prejudices. But there’s a word that tends to be left out when we discuss diversity and inclusion (or lack thereof). That word is: ableism.
These words require us to work hard, which is why sometimes it’s easier to hear it, pull our collars away from our necks and move onto a different topic swiftly. This can’t happen anymore. As a society – a society that is inherently ableist – we need to make active and large changes to how we support, see and speak of people with a disability.
To overcome ableism as a society, we need to know more about it.
What is ableism?
Ableism is the discrimination and social prejudice against people with a disability or people who are perceived to have a disability.
It comes from an assumption that those with a disability are ‘less than’ and therefore should be segregated and discriminated against. Ableist perspectives see a disability as something that’s broken that needs fixing or concealing. Ableism seeks to remove humanity from people with a disability, treating them with generalisations, stereotypes and misconceptions. That’s why to remove ableist viewpoints, we need to look at the root of the issue: how disabled people have been depicted in society in the past, and work to remove this incorrect notion and image.
The perception of people with a disability is what brings forth these ableist ideas and perspectives. Believing that just because someone is disabled makes them inferior to someone who does not have a diagnosed disability is where the fault lies.
Unfortunately, as society has consistently viewed people with a disability as inferior to those without a disability for so long, it is going to take a mass approach to abolish ableism for good. The same goes for racism and sexism. But, this doesn’t mean we need to be disheartened, steps such as opening up the conversation, looking within at our own prejudices and altering existing language and concepts of disability will slowly break down incorrect perceptions in the media, in day-to-day life and in the workplace.
Types of ableism
This form of prejudice in ableism can be split into two forms: mental ableism and physical ableism. Although, generally, ableism is discussed as a whole rather than divided into the type of disability that someone is discriminating against.
Whether it’s intentional or unintentional (depicted through an inherently ableist form of language, social discourse and cultural hegemony), we need to be aware of how ableism can present itself in life.
Mental ableism
Mental ableism discriminates against those who are neurodivergent, mental disorders or with developmental disabilities. It can appear in day-to-day life and especially in everyday language.
Some examples include:
- Using certain words such as ‘spaz’, ‘crazy’, ‘lame’ or ‘psycho’.
- Segregating neurodivergent people (without it being their choice) at work or at school into separate spaces.
Physical ableism
Physical ableism is the discrimination of people with physical disabilities. Unfortunately, people without disabilities can struggle to think how others function and exist in the world, with this ableism can be present in things such as:
- Physical structures like buildings or parks. If they’re not accessible with ramps or lifts, this means some people are excluded from using them to their full capacity.
- Technology or products that come on the market could be considered ableist if options are not created to best support physical disabilities.
- Signage that isn’t available in braille is also considered as a form of physical ableism.
Where can ableism occur?
Around 1 in 6 people in Australia have been estimated to have a disability. That’s 18% of the population. This means that many people we meet or connect with each day have a 1 in 6 chance of having a disability, yet ableism is something that we have to constantly fight against.
Prejudice, marginalisation and discrimination can – unfortunately – occur in many daily settings. There are examples such as:
- In the media through representation and language (for example, not having someone signing the language or subtitles available)
- At the workplace
- At school
- On your daily commute
- In your home
- Language
Ableist language
As David Crystal said: “A language changes to reflect society.” And, as an ever-evolving thing, language can sometimes be seen as ‘behind the times’ in terms of inclusive speech or writing.
There are words that should be completely eradicated from our vocabulary in our contribution to remove ableism from society. See the below image for words not to use, and words to use in their place:
Taken from: https://www.verywellmind.com/types-of-ableist-language-and-what-to-say-instead-5201561
Even public figures continue to make mistakes with their language. For example, Lizzo and Beyoncé both released songs with ableist language. Both artists used a variation of the word: spastic. They claimed not to realise it was an ableist slur, apologised, and changed the lyrics of their song immediately.
Though it’s upsetting that these slurs were used in mainstream media, it is a step in the right direction that they were changed as soon as the fault was acknowledged.
We want to get to a point where ableism isn’t so omnipresent in our society, and it all boils down to seeing those with a disability as totally distinct from those without a disability. This is not the case. Our wrongful assumptions seem to align with the idea that having a disability is a flaw, rather than a fact of their existence that doesn’t define them as a human. As a person.
You might not even know you are being ableist; here are some common examples of how it might appear:
- Telling someone with a disability that they are an inspiration, just because they go about living their life as everyone else does.
- Assuming someone is unhappy, or struggles with their life.
- Touching someone’s assistive technology or equipment without asking.
- Refusing to acknowledge someone’s disability, for example, if someone explains they need to work in a quieter office space due to their disability.
- Asking invasive questions about someone’s disability.
- Staring at someone with a disability.
Microaggressions like the examples above as well as systemic ableism (ableist practices and social structures that continue to decorate our social standing) are what we need to dissolve to say goodbye to ableism for good.
Key takeaways
It’s important that we continue to change the way we live and interact with one another, striving for ableism to be a thing of the past. Through self-awareness and a social consciousness of the flaws in our culture and society, we can work to not only remove ableism, but to put racism, sexism and all other forms of discrimination to bed.
We’ve relied on our assumptions for too long. Our way of thinking needs to be challenged in order to make the necessary changes.
At Kimberley Care Group, it’s important that we are aware of how those we support experience the world without assuming how that must feel. By providing person-centred supports with a human-centric approach, we endeavour to be inclusive at all times.
If you’d like to learn more about the team here and what we do, please reach out today at: contact@kimberleycaregroup.com.au.
References:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/ableism
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-ableism-5200530
https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-ableism
https://www.verywellmind.com/types-of-ableist-language-and-what-to-say-instead-5201561