Both ciscentrism and ableism are rooted in the foundation upon which structures are built. Biological facts are just collective beliefs that are “proven” valid based on an epistemology (or epistemologies in heterogeneous societies). The dominant epistemology in the modern World System is science (it is a World System, not “Western,” as all of the globe has been subsumed under global capitalism, although in very different positions). Science does not prove facts; rather, science provides interpretations of data, which are affected by the often unquestioned beliefs of a culture. What data is gathered is determined by the questions asked and the design of research that are–you guessed it–affected by the often unquestioned beliefs of a culture.

Because all structures in a society are rooted on this foundation of reified beliefs (hegemony), they reflect the biases of that society from the core outward. These structures determines where one can live, socialize and work (if at all), among other things. Inside these structures–giant mega-cities of them–exists the interactions that make up our lived experience. As such all interactions are not only shaped by the biases of society, the type of interactions that *can* take place are delimited by the biases of society. So the experiences people (can) have and how they are valued and treated by others while experiencing it are rooted in a foundation of collective beliefs.

[For an excellent explanation of the World System see the work of Immanuel Wallerstein and Giovanni Arrighi]

Now I just need to add enough verbiage that I can fluff this up into something long enough to be taken seriously~

“If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.” –Carl Sagan