Verywell / Laura Porter
Ableism is discrimination against people with disabilities.
Ableism centers around the notion that people with disabilities are imperfect and need fixing.
Despite the term not being created until this past century, the history of ableism extends much further back.
Verywell / Laura Porter
Connection to Eugenics
In the 1800s, the Eugenics movement was founded.
Eugenics sought to further humanity by only breeding “desirable” characteristics into people.
However, the current world we live in is one that is still deeply ableist.
However, for people who are not disabled, these forms of discrimination may not be noticeable.
These are some ways that people experience mental ableism.
Often, we have no idea we are doing it!
Here are some ableist behaviors that are common in our society, from the most obvious to the least.
Outright Discrimination
This form of ableism is the most overt.
It is based on actions that specifically exclude disabled people.
However, there are some ways that we can be particularly complicit.
Generally, individuals don’t create institutional ableism.
The Impact of Ableism
It should come as no surprise that ableism harms disabled people.
Learning about how ableism presents itself in our society is the biggest tool tobehave more inclusively.
Here are some ideas:
Ableism.
National Conference for Community and Justice.Ableism.
Those with disabilities earn 37% less on average; gap is even wider in some states.
American Institutes for Research.
