"Ableism" sounds like a word a someone on Tumblr might've made up because their feelings got hurt. Ableism, however, is very real and very much alive and well in this day and age. The definition of ableism according to Merriam-Webster is "discrimination or prejudice against individuals with disabilities."
Most of the time people blow us off by saying "Look, we gave you parking spots, ramps and even an aisle at check out." Yes, you do give us those things, but what about that little girl who wants to be on Broadway, but she is in a wheelchair? It wasn't until this season that someone in a wheelchair was cast in a musical. Yet, I can name multiple musicals, including Wicked, whose main character is in a wheelchair. It shouldn't have had to have taken this long for a person in a wheelchair to make it on Broadway.
We are forced to declare ourselves as disabled on every application we fill out for a job. We often have to sit down and wonder what will happen if we tell the truth. Will that prevent us from getting a job? Then, even on the off chance that we do get hired, employers are still legally allowed to pay us as little as 22 cents an hour, far below the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
If you are a disabled woman there is a 50 percent chance that you will experience sexual violence in your lifetime. It is already hard enough to admit to sexual assault if you are able-bodied, but disabled women are especially vulnerable and hesitant to make their voices heard when it comes to sexual assault, for fear that their words will fall on deaf ears.
According to NBC News, forced sterilization was still legal in California's correctional facilities until 2014 and was mostly performed on women with disabilities. As a woman in a wheelchair, this horrifies me. Just two years ago, had I been arrested and sent to one of these correctional facilities, I might've been forced to endure such an emotionally and mentally scarring procedure.
NBC News also states that disabled people account for a disproportionate amount of the victims of police brutality and shootings. Police officers are people we should be able to trust, people we should call in our time of need. Yet, they are becoming who the disabled and POC communities fear most.
So while yes, we do get that parking spot or the seat in the theater, we are still discriminated against on a daily basis. From not being hired to receiving sub-par wages to being more likely to become victims of police violence, disabled citizens like myself have to constantly live in fear of not enjoying the rights that we deserve. Being in a wheelchair hasn't just stopped me from walking. It has stopped me from truly enjoying the life I was meant to live.
