My entire life, I've always been really intrigued by "freaks." I hate to use that word because I do find it offensive, but it's sort of the easiest word to use. I've always felt kind of bad about my weird fascination with freaks, freak shows, and circus performers. After reading the articles by Bogdan and Garland-Thomson, I realize that my fascination, along with many other people's, comes out a natural curiosity for the unfamiliar. I'm really glad that I decided to take this class because it's allowed me to be around other people that have the same weird curiosities as I do and I don't feel as bad about it. I also feel that learning about these freak shows and their place in society is really important for us. It helps us to understand where the modern-day ideas about freaks or those who are perceived to be abnormal have come from, and how to change the negative perspectives into positive ones.
Sarah Bradley
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteYou raise many excellent points in this post, namely, is it wrong to be fascinated by freaks? Does our fascination further oppress individuals classified as such? When Robert Bogdan was researching his book Freak Show, from which the excerpt we read in class is taken, he was accused of exploiting his subjects (the freaks) by a sideshow manager whom he was interviewing. The manager thought that Bogdan writing about these people was no different than his exhibition of them. Of course, this point is up for debate. As Bogdan, he is less concerned with the individuals and more concerned with how those with physical, mental, or cultural differences were transformed into freaks through the use of theatrical presentation. As you say, curiosity is "natural" and perhaps our curiosity can result in an expanded understanding of those who are "different" as opposed to a confirmation of their "abnormality." Also, there are many individuals today who have reclaimed the term "freak" as a source of pride and positive identification, much as how some members of the LGBT community have reclaimed the term "queer."