Exploring internalised ableism using critical race theory

Exploring internalised ableism using critical race theory

This paper is an attempt to theorize about the way disabled people live with ableism, in particular internalized ableism. Typically literature within disability studies has concentrated on the practices and production of disablism, examining attitudes and barriers that contributeto the subordination of people with disabilities in society. My exploration occurs throughexamining 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 focalconcern is the possible ways that the concept of internalized racism, its deployment in CRTand application to critical disability studies. The paper is interested in working through pointsof difference between the way internalized 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.

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