They do have a lot in common and overlap pretty frequently! They’re all their own axes, but they intersect to create very complex forms and a wide range of experiences within the lens of systemic oppression.
I do want to say — if you have OSDD/DID and that is what the source of your Plurality is (I usually use plural to mean outside of complex dissociative disorders, usually endogenic or nondisordered, sometimes I forget people with OSDDID identify as plural occasionally), the ableism is certainly not misdirected! I think it’s just very complex. When you have this disorder, the ableism and aggression isn’t because of being plural — it’s because you’re traumatized and show signs, it’s because you have undesirable symptoms, it’s most of all because you have a reasonably rare mental illness that many laymen aren’t educated about and that they certainly, much of the time, aren’t interested in humanizing or learning about beyond morbid ‘fascination’ that plays into stereotypes and that uses our experiences for horror or entertainment.
See what I mean when I talk about it being complex? Lol. It’s a lot to try and parse in just a few Tumblr reblogs, for sure. (A quick aside: I really appreciate you asking the questions you have and being receptive — I am always happy to explain a statement I make/have made. I’m here to help people understand things!)
If you’re not disabled (in this case disordered), ableism is misdirected, yes. If you are… It’s not really ‘misdirected’ (in this case) as much as it has another layer added onto it. They think DID is the same thing is schizophrenia — they’re exhibiting ableism towards both, regardless. Schizophrenia is a popular mental illness to make fun of or stigmatize for shitty people, and they see you as “crazy”, so they lump you in with it. This is when it turns onto you: It’s not about how you identify in cases like this as much as how you objectively experience what you are already experiencing vs. this being directed at you.
Are you disabled, can you experience ableism? Yes. Are you being discriminated against or mistreated for something related to your disability/disorder? Yes.
Let’s go back to our trans vs. mistaken for trans hypothetical. But let’s add in another person. Let’s add in a third trans person, who has hypothetically been on hormones for a long while. He is a trans man, who passes very well. He is wearing a gender nonconforming outfit and makeup, however, and in this scenario is mistaken for being a trans woman, and is subsequently mistreated.
- Trans person facing transphobia
- Cis person facing misdirected transphobia
- Transmasc facing transphobia, but because of being mistaken as transfem for being gnc.
Both trans people are facing transphobia, this goes without a second thought. But the second one has a situation that is a bit more complex. First off, he’s facing a slightly different flavor of aggression than he’d normally experience. The transphobia that gets directed at transfems, NB people, and transmascs can differ in “style” in some ways. Secondly, it’s because of being mistaken for something he’s not.
Sure, it wasn’t meant for “him”, but he is still trans, and is still having to face this on top of the trauma of already facing transphobia in his life, as trans people do. He still experiences the impacts of these things in a way very similarly to, if not the same as (give or take some complex gender feelings related to passing in this scenario, really) how they are intended to by the aggressor.
In shorter words: Ableism is “You’re disabled, we’re going to make things in life much harder for you in a host of ways, while all the while mistreating you for it.”
Misdirected ableism is “You’re not disabled, but I think you are so I am going to be mean to you like you are.”
Only one of these is experiencing the full ramifications and societal effects, the life-changing and even further disabling effects, of systemic ableism and the subjugation of disabled people by society.
I want to thank you for this discussion as well!! It was a great opportunity for me to work on explaining these things in detail and in a digestible way, and I always am thankful to be able to help clear up any confusion that I can.