Ableism

I thought I'd made up the word Albeism.  I was watching something a while back, where disabled people were, again, fighting for equal rights & I wondered why there wasn't a word to describe discrimination on the grounds of ability, like there is for discrimination on the grounds of sex, race & age, for example.  I wondered why the word Ableism didn't exist & wasn't in everyday use.  Sexism, racism, ageism are ~ sadly ~ in everyday use.  Yet, as far as I was aware, there was no equivalent reference for discrimination against disability. 

I wondered if this was because society was generally more accepting of the notion that discrimination on grounds of sex, race or age is unjust; that society was, somehow, more accepting of discrimination on the grounds of a disability being justifiable because, after all, being disabled means 'you can't'. 

I was all set to challenge this hypothesis & demand the introduction of the word, a word, to put the fight against discrimination on the grounds of ability on a level with other forms of prejudice when I thought I should just check to see if the word already exists.  And it does. 

Ableism ~ unsurprisingly ~ is discrimination in favour of able-bodied people.

So, good news, it does exist.  But, still, despite the increasing profile of disability issues, the word is not commonly used.  In response to anyone who might dare to suggest that this means it's not such a serious or pressing issue as other "~isms", I'd venture the opposite is more likely to be true and it's lack of use supports even more my belief that Ableism is too often accepted as being warranted or justified.

And isn't the wording of the definition interesting: discrimination in favour of able-bodied which contrasts to the definitions of other prejudices which reference discrimination on the grounds of age, sex or race.  To be comparable, shouldn't the definition of Ableism be "discrimination on the grounds of ability".  Surely this is more meaningful & more inclusive?

I think the under use of the word, together with it's atypical definition, almost serves to justify this type of discrimination because of a belief that having a disability means 'you can't'.  Whereas if you talk about different abilities, then this means 'you can', just differently, & with that thinking society is forced then to accommodate those different abilities.  That's how autism is often referred to ~ as a different ability.  And I don't see why any disability (or ability) shouldn't be described as such ~ in the pursuit of ability equality.

Well, 'disabled' people can, as was powerfully communicated by the Rio Paralympics 2016 advertising campaign.  This belief & ambition should exist for all people of all abilities in all areas of life & society should aim to recognise & accommodate.