Freak shows: Exploitation or income?

I thought it was a relic of the past. The return of the human "freak show" to any carnival, let alone the North Idaho Fair, surprised many and disappointed at least some. I'm not talking about formaldehyde jars or the fake stuff (e.g., the snake lady, an obvious trick), but pay-to-see booths hosting live human beings with physical abnormalities.

Is this demeaning exploitation a feast for unhealthy voyeurism, or simply a job - a way to make money from natural curiosity?

"It's the only way they can make a living" is a common argument. "It's wrong to objectify someone like that; it reduces them" is the gist of the other viewpoint.

They... them.

There isn't much out there, but I tried to find "their" perspectives. What I found fell on both sides, almost.

First, a little history. People have always been curious about the unusual. Social perceptions of disability as a curious "monstrosity" evolved from metaphysical interpretations as something demonic. Learning about differences from a scientific perspective is one thing; display as entertainment is another realm. It wasn't always paid; slaves were both sold and created for this purpose, and not treated well. In Nazi Germany, the disabled of any kind were the first to be exterminated.

"Freak shows" flourished in America from around 1840 to 1940, after which they began to be considered cruel. A few states enacted laws limiting or prohibiting them; some remain and others (described in a 2007 UCLA Entertainment Law Review) were held to violate the First Amendment. A few (freaks, monstrosities, or oddities - take your pick of billing) were famous, such as conjoined slave children Millie and Christina and young Blind Tom, who was also autistic. In England, Elephant Man Joseph Merrick said he was willingly employed as a freak, but hated it and quit when given the opportunity by a compassionate doctor.

A disability rights activist quoted by The Disability Social History Project - whose mission is to allow the disabled to define their own history - called these shows "the pornography of the disabled." A research article in Disability Studies Quarterly Journal (2005; Vol. 25. No. 3) delves deeply into the perspective of a former freak show subject who interviewed others like him. One interviewee described the experience as "pure objectification of his disability; he is out of control of his own presentation and subject to the dehumanizing commentaries of those around him." The article concluded, "(F)reak show performers tended to find themselves narrated by the terms of their diminished capacities." Shows emphasizing menial tasks as great accomplishments leave an impression of limitation, by viewer and eventually by performer.

There is the practical to consider. Years ago my husband asked one showman, who in essence responded that he needed the money. Research by Fulbright Scholar Michelle Favis revealed that those in freak shows had mixed reactions to changing laws. While they may not have liked the work, many said their options were limited and complained that they had no other skills. A federal training incentive program didn't help much; even with new skills, employers were not hiring, preferring "normal" employees so customers wouldn't feel uncomfortable (even if they shouldn't).

What is "freaky" is sociological and attitudes evolve, faster if actively examined.

Walgreens has an interesting corporate policy, setting a global example: stores hire the disabled as much as possible, with a target workforce percentage. Americans are big on choice; choice empowers freedom. Laws aren't always the answer and not all in these shows may want to leave. Another and perhaps more effective focus lies in the power of employers to create opportunities and encourage applications from a wider variety of people - create choices and make the abnormal more normal.

Meanwhile if society continually, actively examines what "different" means, and what it doesn't, the market for paying to stare at others just might dry up.

Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email sholehjo@hotmail.com