Disability Representation in Visual Culture
Disability in Art
Zara Carpenter
Disability in American History
Ugly Laws: from 1867 to the 1970s, some American cities had "ugly laws" in order to get rid of unsightly beggars from public view
“Any person who is diseases, maimed, mutilated, or in any way deformed so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object, or an improper person to be allowed in or on the streets […] shall not […] expose himself or herself to public view”
San Fransisco, CA, 1867
"[These laws] distinguish[ed] which forms of bodily difference were and which were not moral transgressions." Susan Schweik, The Ugly Laws: Disability in Public
Side Shows and "Freak" Shows
Exhibitions of people with certain "rarities" were a popular form of entertainment in the late 19th to early 20th century in America. The shows often exploited people with disabilities.
Disability in Film
Mary Ann Bevan became known as "the ugliest woman in the world" after developing acromegaly and joining a side show
Joseph Merrick became known as the "Elephant Man" after joining a side show in the 1880s
CinemAbility is a documentary that interviews actors to explore the portrayal of disability in entertainment
People with disabilities are vastly underrepresented in media
Only 1.8% of regular characters on television are portrayed as having a disability
Only 2.7% of speaking characters in films are depicted as having a disability
Sick! is an arts project founded by Zara Carpenter that explores what it means to live with invisible illness
Zara's Suit of Armor was created with a pattern made out of invisible ink only visible under UV light. It has the names of invisible illnesses and was worn during the SICK! exhibition as a performance piece.
"Burdened" was made to represent the burden of being ill while looking well, that hose with invisible illnesses experience
Ableism: discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities
Common Touch: The Art of the Senses in the History of the Blind
Although side shows are often condemned, it is a complicated topic among some historians. The benefit to side shows was that it allowed people with disabilities to be employed, in a time when they had no rights and faces challenges in discriminatory laws such as the "Ugly Laws"
However, even though side shows allowed some people with disabilities to be employed, they were often mistreated and under-payed. This practice also gave the public the impression that a disability makes someone "other" or in some cases "not human."
To the right is a picture of Frederick Jacobson with his wife in 1890. He was a blind preacher who defied Victorian stereotypes of the visually impaired by being educated, employed, and married.
The Ugly Laws perpetuated the idea that people with disabilities should be banished from society, or are unfit to be seen in polite company. This affects widespread attitudes and contributes to representation issues. If people with disabilities are not even allowed on the street, where can they be seen?
Below is a photo of a man lying on a mechanical invalid bed in 1870. The purpose and origin of this image are unknown. This is a rare photo that looks at the everyday reality of a person living with a disability. This is not seen often because of attitudes that the public would rather keep unpleasant things out of sight [see Ugly Laws]. Disability representation is not often honest and straightforward even today.
Johanna Hedva
An Invisible Disability or Illness is one that cannot easily be seen by other people. Someone may have a disability that shows no apparent outward signs. This can have unique issues that differ from Visible Disabilities.
Memories of this attitude can still somewhat be seen today. Even though nearly 20% of Americans have a disability, the number people with disabilities we are seeing in media is much lower than that.
Social Media and Visual Representation
Social Media gives a voice to those with disabilities that was not available before. This allows people with disabilities to share their thoughts, creations, and everyday lives with the world. It provides a platform for those with disabilities to contribute to visual culture and represent themselves.
Molly Burke: She is a motivational public speaker and YouTuber who lost her vision from Retinitis Pigmentosa. She uses her online platform to educate her audience about being blind.
Holly Warland: She runs a social media account called "hollywiththemd" where she documents herself living with muscular dystrophy. She says "it's about showing as many people I can that disability and dying is a rough, ugly process and that maybe we need to all start talking about it a bit more honestly.
"I was gaunt, pale, and sweaty and I realized I had never seen a disability advocate show that side of themselves."
Reflection:
Molly was in a Dove ad campaign which shows the progress created in representation through social media.
There is a an overall lack of meaningful representation for people with disabilities. There is a long history which has only allowed them to be represented in a very narrow perspective, which alienated them severely. It is important to allow those with disabilities to represent themselves often and in all different aspects of visual culture.
As an art teacher I would want to make sure that every student in my class has a voice or feels represented in some way. I would also want to make sure that issues with representation are brought up and discussed in class.
Research for this project has definitely helped me better understand how identity is socially constructed over time. The ideas of what it means to live with a disability and how you interact with the world are certainly impacted by many outside factors, dating back many years. Everything that happens has an impact on others, which is why accurate and fair representation is important.
I have an invisible illness so this topic interested me, and had me questioning my role. "Disability" is an incredibly broad term and it can be challenging to discuss the vague shared experiences of a hugely diverse group. This may be another issue with lack of adequate representation, which can hopefully be fixed some day.
Some artists today are trying to bring attention to disability issues and create much needed representation. This makes disability more normalized and allows people to talk about the topic. Some artists try to focus on the everyday life of living with disability, while others are more conceptual.