02/04/2025
Types of Ableism
Internalized Ableism:
A practice where disabled people internalize the discriminatory ideas and prejudices from our ableist culture and society. This is typically a result of a disabled individual experiencing ableism, discrimination, or bigotry. It can cause feelings of inferiority, imposter syndrome, "being lesser," and feeling like you aren't entitled to certain things due to your disability.
Examples:
1. Not using your mobility aid because you believe you are not disabled enough.
2. Not asking for accomodations because you do not want to be a burden.
Lateral Ableism:
This is when disabled individuals hold and express ableist attitudes or beliefs towards other disabled people. This frequently, but not always, happens between people with different types of disabilities. It is a form of discrimination that occurs within the disability community.
Examples:
1. A physically disabled individual treating somebody with an intellectual disability like a child, believing people with a low IQ cannot be functional adults.
2. Somebody with a learning disability mistreating a mentally ill person, believing they are crazy and dangerous.
Interpersonal Ableism:
When an individual holds ableist beliefs and attitudes resulting in mistreatment, discrimination, hate speech, or hate crimes towards a disabled individual. This can have harmful consequences, leading to social isolation, exclusion, low self-esteem, anxiety, or depression.
Examples:
1. A person verbally abusing a disabled individual with slurs.
2. Somebody speaking to a disabled person's caregiver, companion, or partner instead of directly speaking to the person with a disability.
3. A stranger completely ignoring a disabled person's personal space, boundaries, or body autonomy- like moving somebody in a wheelchair out of the way without asking.
Cultural Ableism:
A form of prejudice and discrimination against disabled people that is influenced and perpetuated by tradition, cultural norms, trends & practices or pop culture [culture transmitted via mass media such as TV, movies, and music]
Examples:
1. TV/movie tropes of a disabled main character faking for attention, sympathy, or personal gain.
2. Certain trends such as "hustle culture" that indirectly [or directly] encourage disabled people to ignore their personal limits in order to not be seen as lazy, unmotivated, or umproductive.
Systemic Ableism/Structural Ableism:
Includes the physical barriers, policies, laws, regulations and practices that exclude people with disabilities from equal opportunity and participation in society. These widespread issues typically have ableist stereotypes as a justification. Systemic ableism can be perpetuated by organizations, companies, state governments, or national governments.
Examples:
1. The law that makes it legal to pay disabled people sub-minimum wages with the justification that disabled people are less productive [therefore they deserve a lower salary]
2. The widespread issue that cities evacuation plans in the case of a natural disaster do not include disabled people. Search and rescue often are not trained on how to evacuate disabled people either. This results in disabled people dying at disproportionately high rates during natural disasters.
3. Many countries have policies to deny immigration applications of disabled people who are likely to need lifelong medical care or rely on social services such as disability benefits. The justification is that disabled people are a financial burden on society & do not financially contribute to society.
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