Glossary

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Ableist Language(also: Disability Slurs, Derogatory Disability Language)

Ableist language refers to words, phrases, and framings that demean, stereotype, or pathologize people with disabilities — from explicit slurs such as 'cripple,' 'handicap,' 'retard,' or 'lame' used pejoratively, to subtler framings like 'suffers from,' 'wheelchair-bound,' or…

Ableist Microaggressions Scale(also: AMS)

A validated measurement instrument developed by Conover, Israel, and Nylund-Gibson (2017) to systematically assess the frequency and impact of subtle, everyday expressions of ableism. The AMS organises disability microaggressions into four empirically supported domains —…

Academic Ableism

Systemic discrimination against disabled people within academic institutions and research practices. In higher education, academic ableism manifests through inaccessible learning environments, expectations of productivity that do not account for disability, and research…

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 assumption has historically led to the exclusion of blind and low vision people…

Aversive Disablism(also: Aversive Ableism, Subtle Disablism)

Aversive disablism is a concept from disability studies, developed by Mark Deal, describing a form of subtle, often unconscious prejudice toward disabled people. Aversive disablists recognize that discrimination is wrong and do not see themselves as prejudiced, yet they hold…

Biomedicalization of Aging(also: Medicalization of Aging)

The tendency, identified by critical gerontologists, to reduce the complexity of later life to problems of physical and cognitive decline requiring medical or technological intervention. Biomedicalization frames older adults as patients rather than citizens, and positions…

Compulsory Able-Bodiedness(also: 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 compulsory heterosexuality, compulsory able-bodiedness operates as an invisible…

Desexualization(also: 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 function, disbelief when disabled people form romantic relationships, and the…

Disability Microaggression(also: Ableist Microaggression)

A subtle, often unintentional verbal, non-verbal, or environmental slight, snub, or insult that communicates hostility, marginalization, or prejudice toward a person with a disability. Conover et al. (2017) validated the Ableist Microaggressions Scale (AMS), which organises…

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 emotional consumption. Often paired with or related to 'inspiration porn,' the…

Disablism(also: Disability Discrimination)

Discriminatory, oppressive, or abusive behaviour directed at people because of their disability, encompassing both individual acts of prejudice and systemic societal barriers. Coined by the Union of Physically Impaired Against Segregation in 1975, the term draws a parallel with…

Embodied Harassment

Harassment in virtual reality environments that targets a user's avatar body or physical representation, such as invading personal space, mimicking movements, or physically interacting with avatar features without consent. In the context of disability, embodied harassment…

Gatekeeping(also: 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 requiring excessive documentation to prove disability, questioning whether…

Internalized Ableism(also: 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 or overcome their disability. Internalized ableism can cause disabled people…

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 the 1970s to describe subtle discrimination against African Americans, the…

Phonocentrism

The ideological privileging of spoken language as the default and superior mode of communication, with corresponding devaluation of signed, typed, symbolic, or augmentative forms. In accessibility, phonocentrism surfaces when technologies (voice assistants, automatic speech…

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