ABSTRACT
U.S. society, similar to other nations with a history of colonization by Europeans, in the guise of a meritocracy, is actually a hierarchy with social status determined by gender, ability, status, age, sexual orientation and identity, geography, immigration status, religion, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The greatest privilege has been accorded by able-bodied, middle-age, heterosexual, suburban, U.S.-born, Protestant, European American men of high socioeconomic status to themselves, including the privilege to define “acceptable” traits of those different from them (Banks, 2012). Their status, and that of European-American women, accords them “Whiteness,” a level of humanity (Robinson, 2012) and ethnic invisibility (Sue, 2004) not accorded to other people. Historically, in the United States, Whiteness was equated
with freedom, with Black people being considered as property and then as members of a species to be held separate from White people (Brown, 2014). Although Whiteness has generally been considered along ethnic lines and ascribed to European Americans, it is critical to recognize that Whiteness involves skin color with both interethnic and intraethnic implications in media portrayal, education, employment, incarceration, and health care (Banks, 2014; Brown, 2014; Norwood & Foreman, 2014). This article/chapter focuses on how Whiteness impacts the specific challenges of health, femininity, social status and barriers to social participation, and abuse experienced by women with disabilities. Having a disability places a person in a marginalized group with a history of oppression. Attention is also given to the role of disability identity as a personal resource.
