What is Rankism?

Rankism is a direct attack on a person’s autonomy. Using another person as a means to an end and destroying their dignity is my definition of rankism. Identifying people who practice rankism , and being made aware of what they are doing is a priority. The cognitive, physical, and psychosocial damage caused by rankism is no less severe than sexism, ageism, able-bodyism, heterosexism, classism, anti-Semitism, and racism. To end rankism we must end all isms.

“The relationship between rankism and the specific isms targeted by identity politics can be compared to that between cancer and its subspecies. For centuries the group of diseases that are now seen as varieties of cancer were regarded as distinct illnesses. No one realized that lung, breast, and other organ-specific cancers all had their origins in cellular malfunction.

In this metaphor, racism, sexism, and homophobia are analogous to organ-specific cancers and rankism is the blanket malignancy analogous to cancer itself. Rankism is the mother of all the ignoble isms.” (Fuller)

While at work no one should have to worry about rankism. My experience has been to the contrary unfortunately. I have witnessed acts of rankism while working at Walmart overnight. The store manager was a female, and I believe she was extremely sexist. The assistant manager who was a male would be forced to work until noon or later. His shift began at eight P.M. and ended at eight A.M. This never happened to the female assistant managers that worked during the day shift. The department managers, associates, and even customers noticed he was working unnecessarily long shifts. He began to look worn down. He lived at the same apartment that I did, so I know his relationship suffered. He also was not as frien...

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...h answer for me, so I kept asking my mom what was wrong. She eventually told me their mom thought I wasn’t good enough to play with her kids, because I lived in the city. She considered me uncivilized and vulgar without even knowing me. I was too young at the time to comprehend what was really happening. I was upset for a while, but I made new friends and moved on.

Nobody deserves to have their self-respect assaulted, denied, or taken away. When subjected to rankism a person’s mental, bodily, and social well-being is at risk. When labeled as a “rankist” it lets the somebody and everyone around know what they are doing. This is the best way to begin the end of rankism.

Works Cited

Fuller, Robert W. "Somebodies and Nobodies: Understanding Rankism." Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. Robert W. Fuller, Ph.D, 20 Aug. 2009. Web. 04 May 2014.