ABLISM or more often spelled ABLEISM appears in most modern dictionaries.(
think that's the American way of spelling it?) I've always spell it:-
'Abilism'. Is that the correct English langugage usage?
It means “discrimination, prejudice against or disregard for people with
disabilities, especially physical disabilities.” (American Heritage
Dictionary). Or from the ABLE + ISM, discrimination in favor of able-bodied
people. It came on the scene in 1981 along with ABLED, which was formed in
contradistinction to ‘disabled’ and which often appeared euphemistically as
the second element in compounds, especially in ‘differently abled,’ seeking
to avoid the negative association of ‘disabled.’
These terms were originally used by U.S. feminists. The alternatives
‘able-bodism’ and ‘able-bodieism’ were briefly tried in British English
later in the 1980s, but surprise, surprise they never caught on.
This ISM is one in a long list of ‘isms’ that followed in the mold of
‘racism’ (1936) and which began to proliferate starting in the 1960s with
‘sexism,’ (1968), ‘ageism’ (1969), and then onward and upward to
‘speciesism’ (1975), ‘lookism’ (1978) [discrimination based on appearance],
. . . And these nouns were accompanied (and often preceded) by their
adjectives: ‘‘racist’ (1932), sexist’ (1965), ‘ageist’ (1970), ‘speciesist’
(1975)
Yours
Colin Revell
>From: Colin Revell <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Colin Revell <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: ableism or disablism?
>Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 15:26:12 +0000
>
>Would you call 'rascism':- 'disracism'?, so why call 'abilism' then:
>'disabilism'? Disabilism is not a linguistically correct term, as my good
>friend Larry Arnold has pointed out to us all within this forum in the past
>on this subject matter.
>
>Yours
>
>Colin Revell
>
>
>>From: Maria <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: Maria <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: ableism or disablism?
>>Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 12:45:18 -0400
>>
>>Harriett
>>
>>If you read J. Morris 's work don't recall where, she makes a distinction.
>>I use the terms distinctly it helps to clarify for those who did not do
>>critical analysis in what is different about discriminatory attitude
>>toward persons with disabilities and other for of discriminatory
>>attitude toward other group
>>I use the terms of ableism to refer to attitude
>>whereas disableism to refer to indirect discrimination emerging from
>>a social architectural political structure that is inappropriately built
>>for different groups of people (primarily it disables those of us with
>>apparent physical /visual, etc., differences.
>>Maria
>>
>>
>>
>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Harriet Radermacher"
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>Sent: Monday, August 22, 2005 8:46 AM
>>Subject: ableism or disablism?
>>
>>
>>>Hi all
>>>
>>>just wanting a bit of clarification about the use of the term 'ableism'
>>>and/or 'disablism'.
>>>
>>>My understanding of the term is that it describes how people with
>>>disabilities/disabled people are discriminated against - in the same way
>>>that people of different race, gender, and age can also be discriminated
>>>against (racism, sexism, and ageism respectively).
>>>
>>>I have read some literature, mainly out of the US, re 'ableism', but
>>>having had discussions with a friend, I realise that 'disablism' may be a
>>>more appropriate term.
>>>
>>>Or is it just another debate about terminology, which is mostly
>>>determined
>>>by where you find yourself living?
>>>
>>>Many thanks in advance for your insights.
>>>
>>>Harriet
>>>
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