Dear Bros,
Who says that those who stray away from normal are deviant? What if those who were different were actually praised and had more authority over those normal? As kids, aren't we told to become our own individuals? That if we stay true to who we are, you will always be happy. In reality, if we dare be different we are looked down upon and mistreated for trying to find that happiness.
As Davis said "the problem is not the person with the disability, the problem is the way normalcy is constructed to create the "problem" of the disabled person." There is a shift of what is viewed as undesirable to now unacceptable and rejected. Instead of having an "ideal person," wouldn't the world be better off having an "ideal perspective" - despite the differences people are equally treated and respected.
For my own example of being deviant, I have always been a runner on the cross country and track team from High School to here as a Blue Devil. One thing that stood out was how short our shorts were as distance runners. To us we didn't mind because it was a pain to wear long shorts going on a 10 mile run. But of course, I got harassed and called "gay" just because "only girls should wear that short of shorts." We clearly went against the social norm of what guys wore compared to girls.
It is very interesting to think about how this attitude and perspective of what is normal came about. Before this class it's something you didn't think about. My attitude was - well, thats just the way it is. It's enjoyable to think a little deeper on how this came about.
"You should read my blog, I heard its getting better"
Brian Gallagher
Brian,
ReplyDeleteIn response to your post, another "what if" might be: would it be possible to have a modern society in which there existed no concept of normalcy versus deviance? What might such a society look like? Also, what would Foucault say in response to this idea?