Exploring internalized ableism using critical race theory

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to theorise about the way disabled people live with ableism, in particular internalised ableism. Typically literature within disability studies has concentrated on the practices and production of disablism, examining attitudes and barriers that contribute to the subordination of people with disabilities in society. My exploration occurs through examining the insights of critical race theory (CRT) and the contribution that CRT can further make to thinking through the processes, formation and consequences of ableism. A focal concern is the possible ways that the concept of internalised racism, its deployment in CRT can be applied to critical disability studies. The paper is interested in working through points of difference between the way internalised racism/ableism are mediated in the processes of subjectification and identifying points of convergence that can benefit dialogue across varied sites of scholarship. The author concludes that the study of ableism instead of disability/disablement may produce different research questions and sites of study.

Not forgetting happiness: the tripartite model of disability and its application in literary criticism

“…The concept of ableism, however, has been societally entrenched, deeply and subliminally embedded in culture, and rampant throughout history; it has been widely used by various social groups to justify their elevated rights and status in relation to other groups (Campbell, 2008;Wolbring, 2008). That is to say, however we term it, ableism is an age-old concept.…”

“…Many bodies and minds are constructed and positioned as Other, meaning that many people fall outside the dominant norms of bodily appearance and/or performance and thus face social and material exclusion (Ashby, 2010;Hodge and Runswick-Cole, 2013). From this perspective, impairments are necessarily negative: they must be improved, cured, or else eliminated altogether; they certainly cannot contribute to an affirmative subjectivity (Campbell, 2008). In effect, ableism becomes a combination of discrimination, power, and prejudice that is related to the cultural privileging of nondisabled people; it oppresses those of us who have so-called mental health problems, learning difficulties, physical impairments, sensory impairments, and so on (Rauscher and McClintock, 1997;Eisenhauer, 2007).…”

“…In essence, both terms denote the same thing (Harpur, 2012), discriminatory or abusive conduct toward people based on physical or cognitive abilities (Harpur, 2009). Here, however, I follow work that has sought to appreciate the respective merits of the terms (Campbell, 2008(Campbell, , 2009Harpur, 2012;Bolt, 2014a;Goodley, 2014). From such a perspective, ableism and disablism render radically different understandings of disability: the former is associated with the idea of ableness, the perfect or perfectible body, and the latter relates to the production of disability, in accordance with a social constructionist understanding (Campbell, 2008).…”

“…Here, however, I follow work that has sought to appreciate the respective merits of the terms (Campbell, 2008(Campbell, , 2009Harpur, 2012;Bolt, 2014a;Goodley, 2014). From such a perspective, ableism and disablism render radically different understandings of disability: the former is associated with the idea of ableness, the perfect or perfectible body, and the latter relates to the production of disability, in accordance with a social constructionist understanding (Campbell, 2008). Put differently, ableism renders nondisabled people supreme and disablism is a combination of attitudes and actions against those of us who identify as disabled.…”

Divergent Encounters with Normal: Are They Really So Different After All?

“…Ableism is, as my experience has taught me, so insidiously entrenched in our everyday existence that we are largely unaware of its force in our lives. We breathe its logic, are shaped by its politics, and are unknowingly complicit in nurturing its power (Campbell, 2008(Campbell, , 2009. Ableism refers to, "A network of beliefs, processes and practices that produces a particular kind of self and body (the corporeal standard) that is projected as the perfect, speciestypical and therefore essential and fully human.…”