Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
7 results found in ableism.
- Aesthetic Blindness
- Aesthetic blindness is a myth and misconception rooted in ableism that assumes blind people cannot perceive, appreciate, or create beauty because beauty is rendered solely through visual means. This a…
- Compulsory Able-Bodiedness (Compulsory Ableness)
- A concept from disability studies scholar Robert McRuer describing the pervasive social assumption that all people should aspire to and perform able-bodiedness as the default, desirable state. Like co…
- Desexualization (Asexualization)
- The social phenomenon in which disabled people are assumed to be uninterested in, incapable of, or undeserving of sexual relationships and intimacy. This manifests as invasive questioning about sexual…
- Disability Porn
- A critical term used within disability studies and disability communities to describe media content that frames disabled people as objects of pity, tragedy, or spectacle for a non-disabled audience's …
- Gatekeeping (Access Gatekeeping)
- Gatekeeping in accessibility contexts refers to practices, policies, or attitudes that create unnecessary barriers to disabled people receiving the accommodations or access they need. This can include…
- Internalized Ableism (Internal Ableism, Self-Ableism)
- The process by which disabled individuals absorb and internalize society's negative attitudes, stereotypes, and devaluation of disability, leading to feelings of shame, self-doubt, or a desire to hide…
- Microaggression
- A subtle, often automatic remark, question, or action that communicates prejudice or negative stereotypes toward a member of a marginalized group. Originally coined by psychiatrist Chester Pierce in t…