Erving Goffman was a sociologist who wrote the book, Stigma. In this work, he analyzed social interactions with other individuals. He believed that due to individuals with disabilities differing from the social norm, they were stigmatized by others, making them lose prestige.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Important Figures of Race/Ethnicity in Disability History

Mambrol, N. (2021, May 8). Disability Studies. Literary Theory and Criticism. Retrieved January 21, 2022, from https://literariness.org/2018/12/15/disability-studies-2/ 

Disability Studies (Literary Theory and Criticism)

Baynton believed that disabilities has been used to justify discrimination to other non-white groups, through attributing the idea of disability to them. This was especially seen during the 1904 world fair, where there were displays of individuals with disabilities and non-white individuals in "America freak shows".

Because of this history, Baynton argues that non-white groups distanced themselves from disability as a means of accessing certain rights and freedoms, but in doing this these groups left unquestioned ableism and ableism as a system of oppression.

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