Synchronous Oppression: How Ableism and Mysoginior Combine to Put Black Disabled Women at Risk

By Priscah Norwood

Abstract:

The paper explores the intersection of racism and ableism, by focusing on the experiences of Black women with disabilities. It argues that Black disabled women are more at risks of sexual violence due to their intersecting identities. The idea of intersectionality highlights how multiple identities (race, gender, disability) combine to create unique experiences of discrimination.

Both ableism and racism are rooted in white supremacist ideals that undervalue those who do not conform to white, able-bodied norms. Black women with disabilities are especially vulnerable to sexual violence due to a combination of misogynoir and the societal minimizing of disabled bodies. While disabled individuals are often desexualized and infantilized, Black women are hypersexualized, creating conflicting and harmful stereotypes that combine to put Black disabled women at risk for sexual violence.

According to the Center for Disability Rights, ableism is “a set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities and often rests on the assumption that disabled people need to be ‘fixed’ in one form or the other” (Smith, n.d.). Racism is defined as believing that one is superior or inferior due to their perceived race (Racist Definition & Meaning, 2024). The intersection of race and disability creates a reality where black women who are disabled are often victims of sexual violence and are not given adequate justice due to their identity. It is becoming more and more accepted in society that the concept of a personal or perceived identity allows for a unique experience for individuals. Intersectionality is a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw which acknowledges the fact that people hold multiple identities that intersect to create a unique perspective that creates a unique experience for everyone (Intersectionality – FYS 101 – Research Guides at Syracuse University Libraries, 2024).

Everyone holds multiple identities and it is the combination of the perceived identities that society bestows on some people more power than others. This power not only affects how one can climb the social ladder, but also the risk factors for sexual violence. This creates a situation where their intersection of identities puts Black women who identify as disabled at the risk for sexual violence. It is widely acknowledged that women make up most of the sexual violence survivors (Sexual Assault Statistics, n.d.) but many of those women are Black (Thompson et al., 2012,). This sexism and racism are a combination better known as misogynoir, a term coined by Moya Bailey, meaning the aversion or prejudice against Black women (Misogynoir Definition & Meaning, n.d.). Bailey explains that misogynoir encompasses the oppression that Black women face because of their gender and race (Bailey, 2021, pg. 1). Despite the newness of the term, misogynoir has roots that trace back to slavery. These roots can be seen all throughout digital media and affect the way that Black women are viewed and treated (Bailey, 2021). Examples of this can be seen all throughout the media, especially today in women’s sports. Oftentimes Black women are demonized and harrassed for showing similar emotions as their white counterparts. In both fiction and nonfiction media, Black women are often painted in a hypersexual light and seen to fit the “Jezabel” persona.

Historically, Black people have had lack of access to opportunity, justice, healthcare, and bodily autonomy and people living with disabilities have had a similar history. Black people being seen as lesser simply due to their skin color created a space where it was disabling to be Black.

The idea that a Black person should be “fixed” of their blackness by associating themselves closer to whiteness is not only racist, but also ableist. The idea of ableism comes from white supremacist ideals which include that anyone who is not the ideal (white or able bodied), should be looked down on and feared/pitied (Hayden et al., 2020). Hayden et al. writes about the idea of the “sick role” and how it relates to the way people with chronic illnesses are seen (Hayden et al., 2020). Talcot Parsons states that the worst symptom of chronic illness is the lack of economic productivity (Hayden et al., 2020). Meaning that when a person’s disability reduces their ability to contribute economically, they are less valuable. A similar belief has been pushed on Black people since slavery, where Black people were considered more or less valuable depending on their ability to work. These ideals show that historically both Black people and people with disabilities are only seen as valuable when they contribute to the white ableist agenda.

Due to ableism, people living with a disability are often desexualized and are denied their bodily and sexual autonomy(Santos, 2017). The phenomenon of this is defined as infantilization, meaning to reduce to an infantile state (INFANTILIZE Definition & Meaning, n.d.). The association with the word infant is significant because society does not see infants as sexual. It is understood that children and adolescents should be given the proper tools to live as an adult for people living with disabilities, the experience is not the same. Due to the lack of personhood given to those living with disabilities, they are often not given the tools needed for adulthood. For example, teens living with disabilities aren’t given adequate sex education like their able-bodied peers(Santos, 2017). On the other hand, black women have been historically seen as hypersexualized creatures and are often victims of adultification no matter the age.

Adultification is defined as treating a child like an adult, often in a way that is problematic (ADULTIFICATION Definition | Cambridge English Dictionary, n.d.). This comes up constantly in the justice system when Black girls are disproportionately punished in educational settings and in the juvenile justice systems (Murray, n.d.). A survey showed that Black girls were seen as more knowledgeable about sex than White girls of the same age (Murray, n.d.). Black women are unable to outgrow this ideology and are seen as hypersexual into adulthood. Gyampo writes, “A white woman’s dignity has always been seen as something that needed to be protected, while Black women aren’t protected…the mistreatment of their bodies is warranted” (Gyampo, 2021). When hypersexualization and infantilization combine, it creates a space for someone who has been given very little sexual education due to their disability status and someone who has been hypersexualized since childhood due to the color of their skin and their gender. It is not coincidental that there are high rates of sexual violence among those living with a disability and black women (Sexual Assault Statistics, n.d.). This is even more concerning due to the lack of justice that these identities get when violence is enacted on them. Despite this, there is a lack of research done on this specific group of people.

One can hypothesize that the struggles of this group have to do with issues of the way that both identities are viewed. Because sexualization has such strong ties to a body meeting a sexual ideal, it is a clear reasoning for the lack of sexualization of people who are disabled. There is a clear idea of the type of body/mind that can be sexual (which ties to white supremacy) which doesn’t line up with the way people living with disabilities are viewed. Additionally, because reproduction is such a big part of being sexual, society is uncomfortable with people who are disabled having children who may disabled as well. In a similar sense, black people have historically been seen as having an almost animalistic sense of sexuality that has made people more comfortable with using them as sexual objects especially when compared to their white counterparts. During slavery, sexual violence was used as a way for white slave owners to take advantage of black women and strip them of their bodily autonomy. Even though there is such a strong history of hypersexualizing black women, there are clear objections to reproduction through sterilizing. Meaning, people are comfortable with the lack of sexuality among people living with disabilities because it ensures that they will not reproduce. Racism and ableism go hand in hand, and it is impossible to solve one issue without addressing the other. Both issues share a common root, white supremacy, and common consequences that affect people’s bodily autonomy and access to justice when harm is enacted towards them. It is important to enact comprehensive sexual education in schools for everyone, regardless of their level of ability. In these lessons it is imperative that lessons revolve around consent and how identities play a part in consent. The CDC article,Mobilizing Men and Boys as Alliesto, is written in hopes to increase favorable attitudes towards women and girls (Basile et al., 2016). This would potentially reduce the number of sexual violence victims; however, this solution fails to consider the statistics that show marginalized communities i.e. Black women and disabled people are disproportionately victims of sexual violence. It would be beneficial for the CDC to create a new list of recommendations to prevent sexual violence that includes the nuances of race and disability. I would recommend that the CDC consider the cultural nuances that add to the culture of violence against Black disabled women. Additionally, it is important to challenge the stereotypes about Black women and people living with disabilities that are pushed in the media to allow for marginalized identities to be awarded the same complex characteristics in media that White people have been given for so long (Bailey, 2021, pg. 2).

References

ADULTIFICATION definition | Cambridge English Dictionary. (n.d.). Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved May 23, 2024, from

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/adultification

Bailey, M. (2021). Misogynoir Transformed: Black Women’s Digital Resistance. New York

University Press.

Basile, K. C., DeGue, S., Jones, K., Freire, K., Dills, J., Smith, S. G., & Raiford, J. L. (2016). Sexual Violence Prevention Resource for Action. CDC. Retrieved May 23, 2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/sexual-violence/communication-resources/SV-Prevention-Resource

_508.pdf

Gyampo, A. (2021, October 22). The Hypersexualization of Black People. RISD Museum. Retrieved May 23, 2024, from

https://risdmuseum.org/art-design/projects-publications/articles/hypersexualization-blackpeople

Hayden, A., Klabusich, K., Montague, P., Cohn, M., Conley, J., Bader, E. J., Zhang, S.,

Goodman, A., & Moushabeck, M. (2020, September 15). Ableism and White Supremacy Are Intertwined — We Must Confront Them Together. Truthout. Retrieved May 22, 2024, from https://truthout.org/articles/ableism-and-white-supremacy-are-intertwined-we-must-confr ont-them-together/

https://researchguides.library.syr.edu/fys101/intersectionality

INFANTILIZE Definition & Meaning. (n.d.). Dictionary.com. Retrieved May 23, 2024, from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/infantilize

Intersectionality – FYS 101 – Research Guides at Syracuse University Libraries. (2024, February

13). Research Guides. Retrieved May 23, 2024, from

Misogynoir Definition & Meaning. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved May 22, 2024, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misogynoir

Murray, P. (n.d.). Girlhoood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood. The Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law. Retrieved May 23, 2024, from https://genderjusticeandopportunity.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/girlhoo d-interrupted.pdf

Oliver, K., & Abdullahi, O. (2019, September 17). What it means to be black, disabled women navigating sex – gal-dem. Gal-Dem. Retrieved May 23, 2024, from https://gal-dem.com/what-it-means-to-be-black-disabled-women-navigating-sex/

Racist Definition & Meaning. (2024, May 11). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved May 22, 2024, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racist

Santos, A. L. (2017, April 19). Yes, we fuck! Challenging the misfit sexual body through disabled women’s narratives. Disability and sexuality: Desires and pleasures, 21(3). Sage

Journals. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460716688680

Sexual Assault Statistics. (n.d.). National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). Retrieved

May 22, 2024, from https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics

Smith, L. (n.d.). #Ableism – Center for Disability Rights. Center for Disability Rights. Retrieved

May 22, 2024, from https://cdrnys.org/blog/uncategorized/ableism/

Thompson, N. J., McGee, R. E., & Mays, D. (2012, August). Race, Ethnicity, Substance Use, and Unwanted Sexual Intercourse among Adolescent Females in the United States.

Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. 10.5811/westjem.2012.3.11774.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Priscah Norwood

Priscah Norwood was born and raised in Fort Wayne and now resides in Indianapolis. She attends Indiana University Indianapolis and will graduate in May 2025. She enjoys learning, music, and a good movie.

Priscah is wearing a black and white sweater with red braids standing against a white backdrop.

Image Description: Priscah is wearing a black and white sweater with red braids standing against a white backdrop.

The Importance of Transportation for Disabled Peopl.

Ryan Robinson

Meanwhile, on the east side of town, an elderly man named Sam whispers, “I understand,” into the phone as a paratransit dispatcher explains why he’ll be late to dialysis due to issues with driver staffing. Sam doesn’t understand though and he can’t understand why people would play with his life.

       It’s 7:30 a.m. on November 1st in Indianapolis. The driveway outside Henry’s apartment complex where he waits with his guide dog Stanley is full of discarded candy wrappers that are wet from last night’s rain. Henry and Stanley have been waiting outside for an hour. Henry’s screen reader announces, “Your ride share has been cancelled, for the third time that morning as Stanley pulls hard at his harness, agitated from the wait. The  visually impaired executive at the place where Henry has just been hired advised prospective workers to avoid public buses when possible to “project an aura of dependability.” If Henry hadn’t heeded the executive’s advice, Stanley could be with him inside the warm office building right now.

On the westside,  a woman in a motorized wheelchair screams,“I don’t have $30,000 for a van,” at her boss who has just fired her for habitual lateness and indicated she might be able to keep her job if she could just get a lift-equipped vehicle and driver.

 

These scenarios are fictional, but these scenarios happen all the time. The nation’s car-centric mentality and infrastructure, coupled with anti-transit policies at the state and federal levels, have led to public transit agencies that are drastically underfunded, under-staffed, and unsupported. Many cities were drastically expanded in an outward direction after World War II and haven’t been updated since. This has largely meant very wide streets and few, if any sidewalks for pedestrians to get where they need to go. All across America, people with physical disabilities are dismissed from their jobs and late to critical medical appointments every day due to lack of adequate transportation options. The ADA is, in theory, is supposed to protect disabled people from this type of systemic discrimination, but it is clearly still there.

Even though public buses are now required to be accessible for people in wheelchairs, there are often equipment malfunctions, ill-trained drivers, and the afore-mentioned public infrastructure issues that make getting to and from bus stops impossible in some cases. This is where the paratransit system, which is door to door service, is supposed to come in and fill in those gaps. However, most paratransit systems receive their funding the same way as the public bus system, so they face the same short-comings of staffing, as well as route structures that either cause disabled people to ride around on the paratransit buses for hours or not get picked up at all. For example, IndyGo Access, the paratransit system in Indianapolis, reported an on-time performance rating of 74% in July, 2023, according to the August 2023 board report. To the uninitiated, that percentage doesn’t sound too bad, but keep in mind that that’s 26% of people who didn’t make it to their jobs, appointments, and leisure activities. This service is imperative because Uber and Lyft are not possible for everyone. Most cities do not have wheelchair accessible vehicles in their ride-share fleets, and many drivers are hostile towards service animals, often canceling rides without explanation.  This type of discrimination is expressly forbidden in the driver code of conduct, but it still often happens. This is what happened to Henry in our example above.

 

So, the question is, what can we do about this problem? The answer is simple. Public transit needs more funding and more backing on both the state and federal levels. Public transit needs to be seen as a vital part of our cities, not just a service to the poor and disadvantaged. As long as it is seen as a service to the poor and not an important part of our infrastructure, funding for these vital services will continue to fall through the cracks and we will continue to observe the status quo. Our cities need to allocate money and resources to upgrading infrastructure such as sidewalks, curb ramps, and accessible public bus stops, so that more people can use the regular buses and take some of the load off of the over-burdened paratransit systems. There need to be more micro-transit projects started in larger cities, such as accessible shuttles that will take people from outlying areas and drop them off at public bus stops, again making it so that more people can make use of the regular transit system instead of specialized vehicles coming directly to their homes. These are just a few starting points, as there is such a very long way to go to get transportation for disabled people right in this country. The most important thing to do, I believe, is try to get people in office who see these issues as important and worth their attention.

Many people think that it just doesn’t affect them, but it could someday be your mother in that wheelchair waiting in the cold for a bus that will never come, or your daughter who can no longer get a ride in a Lyft because she decided to partner with a dog guide. And even if we were to never interact with a disabled person in our day-to-day lives, we are all going to get old someday, and need a little more help than we do now. Let’s try to build a world where everyone has ready access to enjoy the fullness of their communities.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ryne Robinson

 

My name is Ryne Robinson, and I currently reside in Indianapolis, Indiana. I was born blind due to a genetic eye condition called Leber Congenital Amaurosis. My younger sister shares this condition and is also blind. I attended the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired from preschool through 12th grade. During this time, I participated in many extracurricular activities including track and field, swimming, and the forensics (speech) team, as well as playing the saxophone in the high school band. During my time at Ball State University, where I attended college, I met my wife, Stacye, who uses a power wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. Life took us in different directions at the time and we reconnected on social media years later, marrying in 2014 and subsequently moving to Indianapolis later that year. We use the city’s public busing system to get around, and for the most part it serves us well. However, there are gaps in coverage as well as service infrequencies that make it challenging to use at times, so I am an advocate for better regional transit for disabled people. We all deserve to get to our jobs, appointments, and recreational activities in a timely and dignified way.

Ryne Robinson
My name is Ryne Robinson, and I currently reside in Indianapolis, Indiana. I was born blind due to a genetic eye condition called Leber Congenital Amaurosis.

Luna: My Emotional Support Dog by Anya Thomas-Rigdon

By Anya Thomas-Rigdon

Luna helps me because she is happy all the time! When I am sad or stressed, I just play with Luna and it allows my brain to relax. When Luna feels lonely, she comes and eats her bone on my lap. Luna is my emotional support animal because she is always worried about me 24/7 and always wants to see me.

Luna is a grey dog with blue eyes. She is laying on her tan dog bed and smiling at the camera.
Anya and Luna. Anya has wavy dark hair. They are both smiling.
Anya and Luna. Anya has wavy dark hair. They are both smiling.

Sadness vs Numbness

Give me sadness
With its grey skies
My heart ripped into two


Let me sob
Let listen to gut wrenching songs
Let me write dark and dreary poetry
Let me share my woes to all
About the unfairness and hurt
That my senses perceive whenever I breathe


Yes, give me this sadness, that has a clear cause
This sadness that I hate: Give me that: For my own sake


Sadness is natural; a part of human life
Barely on the spectrum
When I compare it to Numbness.


Grey skies vs blackness nothing
Heart in two vs non-feeling beats


An inorganic place called the Abyss
Where Numbness holds myself
Not song, word, or voice allowed
Not even the grace of sadness can present itself


Just me and Numbness
And empty thoughts of blankness
No one in; no one out
Unbearable Disconnection


The world’s simple notion of depression as sad sadness
Gives no justice to the Numbness of the Abyss
So, please, may I have sadness?

Jody has short black hair with her left side shaven. Her glasses are reddish, her sweather is dark purple, her earrings are black, and her grin is huge.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jody Michele Powers

Jody Powers is an independent consultant for the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, where she serves on the leadership. committee of Indiana Disability Justice and is the Hub Coordinator of the IDJ website. Jody is also a licensed Christian minister, whose faith motivates her to promote the human dignity of all people. Jody has cerebral palsy with visual and speech impairments. She uses a power chair for mobility. She deals with clinical depression and PTSD, unseen disabilities that affect her life as much as her seen disabilities.

Email:  jodymichele@outlook.com