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Disabled People as Tools
It was very common for disabled people to be used as 'props' and 'showpieces.' Disabled people were stripped off of their humanity, and therefore, their sexuality never really came to question. Their sexuality just did not exist in the eyes of those that were able-bodied (and automatically had higher social standings). They were kept as entertainment against their will. More than this, they were also often experimented on, used as tools. -
"Asylum for the Insane"
The word 'disabled' was synonymous with 'insane,' so much so that the first "Asylum for the Insane" was introduced into the world. This shows that disabled people were seen as inhuman, unequal to, and inferior to those that were able-bodied. Because they were different, they were stripped off of their humanity and were marginalized so much so that there was a separate place for them. www.nps.gov/articles/disabilityhistoryrightsmovement.htm -
Almshouses: Houses of Hell
Along with being put in insane asylums, disabled people would often be put in almshouses, where they'd get tortured and abused. They were often deemed useless because they were dependent on the able-bodied and thus, were seen as unable to contribute to the benefit of society.
https://www.americanbar.org/publications/gp_solo/2014/november_december/equality_people_disabilities_then_and_now.html -
Sterilization
This period is when the forced sterilization began for those that were considered asexuals - or were merely deemed asexuals - including people with disabilities. The temporarily able-bodied would look at disabled people as those that had no interest in sex. This action conveyed the idea that disabled people are not like everyone else who is considered normal, as wanting, craving, and being able to have sex was (and still is to some extent) the norm. -
Belittling the Disabled Through Name-Calling
Derogatory words would often be used when calling out people who are disabled. 'Crip' was/is one of the greatest insults, especially since only the able-bodied use it to show power over the non-abled. This term along with other offensive terms such as 'retarded' or 'deformed' were often used as insults towards able-bodied members as well, without regard of the implication behind the words in regards to the disabled. This would prove how disability would have a negative connotation around it. -
In Need of Change
More disabilities' rights activism begin to emerge in this period. Typically what these activists would fight for are the human rights that they believed the disabled deserved - mainly self-will. They also want to bring to light the topic of disabled people just being 'people' and equal to the able-bodied. -
Eugenics
Eugenics: Also known as 'the science of improving the human race." Around the 1930s, the head of the eugenics society would say, "Every defective is an extra body for the nation to feed and clothe, but produces little or nothing in return." Anyone that was disabled was seen as a 'threat' to the 'perfection of humanity.'
https://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/disability-history/1914-1945/ -
No Job for the Disabled
When activism began to take its course and ways slowly began to change, there would still be subtler ways of discrimination. The disabled were still kept from working because of their disabilities. The fact that they would have less than what the able-bodied possessed in physicality created the assumption that they had less than what the able-bodied had in intellectuality. -
Discrimination Against People That Associate With The Disabled
Discrimination against those that are disabled goes beyond just those that are disabled. Earlier on, people that would interact with others that are disabled would be judged for interacting with them. They, too, would get shunned and insulted. -
2000s
The 2000s (2000 to present) is definitely a revolutionary time period in the sense that more awareness towards the discrimination and the marginalization against disabled people is increasing, especially through the likes of social media. However, the world isn't perfect just yet. Discrimination still exists. For example, earlier in the 2000s, disabled people were still not allowed to have jobs. Once they eventually were, discrimination in the work place existed. -
Discrimination in the Workplace
As mentioned previously, more disabled people are being hired to work. Although this is a big step taken, disabled people still tend to get marginalized in the workplace. Normally, this would mean that disabled employees would get paid less than those that are not disabled. This could also mean that unemployed people would not get accepted into jobs by employers, merely because of their disability. -
Discrimination in Everyday Life
Disabled people and families involving a member with disabilities tend not to get the same type of benefits that people normally would. For example, a family with a disabled child walks into a restaurant. They get placed outside the restaurant, while a family of four of all whom seem able-bodied get their own family room. -
If You're Disabled, You're Asexual
The 2000s is when the topic of sexuality has begun to emerge, due to many different sexual identities are on the rise out of the heteronormativity. However, there is a stigma that because disabled people are disabled, they are asexual. In other words, they are supposedly incapable of having sex, or having sexual feelings. -
Stairs in Public Places
Although this is not as severe, the fact that there are no stairs in most public places shows that there is some form of disregard for disabled people. Or that they are somehow forgotten. It is also possible that this is done on purpose, just to keep disabled people from entering into whatever building there is to enter into. -
Harrassment (Applies to 1900s as well)
Today, this would typically encompass verbal harassment, throwing offensive slurs at disabled people because they are disabled. This is quite evident today.
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/disability-discrimination
