Is “Ableism” The Right Word?
Can The Power Of Language Help Shift Perspectives?
By Andrew Pulrang
Pulrang is a former contributor to Forbes
Ableism — gettyEditor’s Note: This article, originally published in 2023, tackles a long-debated controversy and asks the question: just because I am unable to do some things, does that make me capital-d Disabled?
Think about the word "ableism" itself — the term most often used these days to group together the broad category of disability prejudice.
There are scores of ways to define the word, “ableism.” Here are just a few that provide a taste of what the term includes:
Disability & Philanthropy Forum — noting that ableist assumptions rely on a notion of "normal" that is the "default" type of body or mind.
Scope — a disability organization in the United Kingdom, which draws a distinction, less often made in disability dialog in the U.S., between "ableism ... discrimination in favour of non-disabled people," and "disablism ... discrimination or prejudice against disabled people."
Access Living — a Center for Independent Living in Chicago, which is one of several hundred similar advocacy and assistance organizations run by and for disabled people. It’s definition of “ableism” emphasizes that because of how our societies are typically designed, "the world we live in is inherently 'ableist.'"
These definitions of "ableism" all include:
Various versions of the idea that disabled people are by definition inferior to or less capable than non-disabled, "normal," or "healthy" people.
Deliberately offensive and carelessly insensitive comments, bullying, and other kinds of negative personal treatment of disabled people.
Organizational practices that exclude, segregate, or seek to control and confine people with disabilities..
Physical structures and designs that make buildings, public facilities, and neighborhoods practically inaccessible and inhospitable to disabled people.
The word “ableism” is partly descriptive. It’s meant to give a convenient and accurate name to this wide range of ideas, practices, and experiences disabled people face, but often find it hard to explain.
But "ableism" also has a more powerful, but notably tricky rhetorical function. It suggests an equivalence, or a similar level of significance, to other "-isms," such as racism, sexism, and anti-semitism. And in doing so, the word “ableism” serves as a strong moral condemnation of the things the word “ableism” represents. Some accept it as a serious but optimistic call to change, to do better. Others see “ableism” as more of an...
