From Wonder to Error- A Genealogy of Freak Discourse in Modernity
The reading for this week was the introduction to a book about freak discourse. This reading looked at the changes in the way so called freaks have been viewed throughout history and how modernity has changed this view. It views this discourse as being an indicator of the changes in culture through time. It talks about how in the past how freaks were seen as objects of awe and wonder that were used to look at the boundaries of the world as it was known. This view was mixed in with a more religious view of the world. As the outlook became more secular a medical viewpoint begins to become more popular. It also talks about the idea of teratology as a method of taking the wonder out of freaks. Also freaks began to be put on display but with this the differentness was greatly exaggerated in a process of enfreakment which ends with much of the otherness being a cultural construction. It looks at how as time and our growing mobility people began to be judged more on appearance instead of past connection and family. With this freak began to be a much more detrimental asset. Also with the invention of surgery and treatments anomalies were more often changed to what is seen as “normal” causing more of a rarity and discomfort with ambiguous bodies.

Terms
Enfreakment- The act of making a person seem like a freak through scenery or other social contexts.
Freak – In modern day a human corporal anomaly. (text)
Teratology- a science of monstrousity that ultimately rationalizes the monstrous. (Text)

Questions
Why do we have such a fascination with people who break binaries?
What are differences so controversial and looked at?
Why are we willing to go to such extremes to see other people as abnormal?
Why has it become less acceptable to be physically different as history goes forward?
What impact has technology and the media played on freak discourse?