page_title: Ableism
section_title: Sports
hierarchical_section_title: Ableism / Sports
caption_attribution_description: English: A runner in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games
context_page_description: Ableism or ablecentrism is prejudice towards disabled people. The first known use of the word was in 1981, which makes it relatively new. However, the concept of ableism existed before this. 'Disablism' can be used to mean the same thing.
  Ableism can be intentional or unintentional. People can be ableist unintentionally because ableism is so common that people may not notice that it exists. A person who holds such a prejudice is called an ablecentrist. Some people say that ableism is a form of oppression. Not everyone who talks about ableism agrees about what things are ableist. Disabled people can be ableist, to other disabled people or to themselves, which is called internalized ableism. Some people deny that ableism exists.
  In some countries, there are laws that are made to protect disabled people from ableist discrimination and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities also prohibits such discriminations.
context_section_description: Sports are often an area of society in which ableism is evident. In sports media, athletes with disabilities are often portrayed to be inferior. When athletes with disabilities are discussed in the media, there is often an emphasis on rehabilitation and the road to recovery, which is inherently a negative view on the disability. Oscar Pistorius is a South African runner who competed in the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Paralympics and the 2012 Olympic games. Pistorius was the first double amputee athlete to compete in the Olympic games. While media coverage focused on inspiration and competition during his time in the Paralympic games, it shifted to questioning whether his prosthetic legs gave him an advantage while competing in the Olympic games.
caption: A runner in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games
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