Ableism In Disability Study

Ableism can be described as the discrimination of those with disabilities for those in favor of able-bodied individuals, putting these people at a large advantage. In the United States, ableism is a huge problem, where many people do not consider or think about the daily struggles that those with disabilities have. Furthermore, those with disabilities are used as inspiration for these same ableist individuals, in what is called “inspiration porn.” There are two types of disabilities, physical and mental, and both have their own unique narratives. An important aspect of disability studies is to examine narratives directly from disabled individuals in order to properly advocate for those who cannot. This is where privilege comes in, where some …show more content…
The medical model has the goal of curing the disability, since the problem is the disability in this case, and usually they deem themselves as the experts. The charity model states that those who are nondisabled are only supposed to give to those who are disabled, once again presenting the stereotypes that those with disabilities should be pitied and are weak and dependent. Finally, the social model is one which most disabled individuals adopt, which states that society is the problem, making disabled people lose access and opportunities despite being a normal member of society. All of these models are important to disability studies because they can be seen in multiple cultures. Understanding that some of these models have an adverse effect on those with disabilities is vital eroding ableism. Among these models comes one dominant narrative, inspirational porn. Inspirational porn is a common trend where an image of a disabled person is posted with a caption such as, “Your excuse is invalid” or “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” There are multiple issues with using disabled people this way, first being that it objectifies them, sets low expectations for disabled individuals, frames disability as negative and something to overcome, motivation for abled-bodied people, and overall promoted prejudicial views towards the disability community. …show more content…
For those with disabilities, advantages come with being white, rich, and male, comparatively to other intersections. However, across the board, those with disabilities are at a massive disadvantage because of society. Some examples include, high rates of unemployment, where those with disabilities do not get jobs or get paid trivial amounts for their work. Another is lack of transportation, and even though there are services from Port Authority in Pittsburgh these are unreliable and unpredictable compared to normal bus schedules. Additionally, less educational opportunities is a problem, where some universities do not expect disabled individuals to attend their schools, thus they make most areas inaccessible. Duquesne University is not free from this, as the campus to a physically disabled person may be difficult to navigate because of the multiple hills, and even some buildings such as College Hall only recently got a platform lift installed as of 2017. However, when visiting the disabilities center on campus, it was pleasant to know that they provided as much as they could for students with disabilities. It would not surprise me if Duquesne is unique in this aspect, and of course the campus itself can still be improved to allow further accessibility. Furthermore, Duquesne also provides its students with therapy sessions in its Wellbeing Center, and I spent some time there earlier in the