Invisible Ableism

Greetings,

There are going to be some people who have looked at the title of this article and gone, "What? How can ableism be invisible?" I could simply respond and say the same way that disability can be invisible and that would almost be as accurate as I could get. It becomes invisible when it becomes normalised, as you will see below...

How invisible is ableism? When a person with disabilities does not notice an aspect of ableism in an activity they have been participating in for years. It qualifies as invisible.

For many the attaining of a driver's licence is a simple rite of passage. Lessons often begin toward the end of high/secondary school and continue onward until the tests are completed and the licence is attained. This is not the same for all of us. Possessing a driver's licence is a privilege, a privilege that some of us do not have, sometimes by choice, other times because disabilities disallow us.

Anything that can be taken away is a privilege. Re-read that again (no not bad grammar, do it twice) and have a good think about it. There are some of us who do not realise just how privileged we really are. However, that is a subject for another discussion. For now, we will recognise that a driver's licence is a privilege denied to some due to their disabilities. So, it means every adult in the world does not possess one, even in modern societies where such things are prevalent, and relatively common.

I never thought much of this particular issue until recently. My 18+ Card served as photographic identification (ID), usually sufficing for most things. I have since found somethings where a driver's licence is required as primary ID, where the 18+ Card is not enough. Here, we can see aspects of discrimination and ableism.

However, it was not until very recently that I realised just how prevalent this ableism, based on assumption or ignorance, was present in our lives. I have participated in fencing in a social group since the mid-1990s, am very well-known for it, and have had no reports of safety issues or other issues, at least that have been brought to my attention.

The most recent draft of the rules of this social group in one section states, "If you are not fit to drive, you are not fit to fight!" But I have never been fit to drive in my entire fencing career, and never will be. Taking this rule literally, my fencing career is over at the publication of this set of rules; or some pedantic rules lawyer could read it like that at some tournament in the future.

The statement in the rules is supposed to be a guideline for people, however it exposes a level of expectation certain people with disabilities, such as myself, cannot, and will not, ever meet. I know it is not the intention of the rule to be read like this. The purpose is to set a "known standard" for people to follow, however, this standard is ableist, and is possibly discriminatory due to its potential implications, i.e., is there a hidden requirement that a fencer also possesses a driver's licence?

I have identified this statement not to demand an apology or some sort of recognition. No, I have identified it merely to show the invisible ableism that even well-known (at least within my community) disability advocates such as myself have missed until recently. We all need to stop and examine such things in our lives to see if there are hidden aspects of ableism or discrimination present.

The purpose here is not to vilify, but to educate. To recognise these aspects are present, that we all need to improve, even the people who are most affected by the discrimination based on such concepts. If we, as people with disabilities, can't work together to remove such aspects from our lives, what hope do other people have if they don't have our perspective? 

The issue reveal one of the reasons that such issues need to be discussed with people with disabilities involved in the conversation, as has been said "Not about us, without us." Further, that we all need to look in the mirror and examine what issues may be invisible to us, because they have become normalised, just as a process of our lives.

Cheers,

Henry.