1. 1
of
3
Holly
E.
Ferrin
01/10/2011
ASL
490R
Will
Garrow
Thought
Paper
My
Brief
Thought
on
the
Societal
Perspective
of
Abnormality
Among
Normality
There
are
so
many
different
ways
that
I
could
have
approached
the
topics
of
what
it
is
to
be
normal,
and
what
it
is
to
be
disabled.
I
decided
to
reflect
upon
society
since
it
is
society
who
responds
to
media
in
regards
of
normality
and
disability.
It
is
also
society
who
influences
community,
and
culture,
which
then
leads
to
the
environmental
influences
upon
a
person’s
schema
of
various
topics
and
ideas.
I
chose
to
do
my
media
collage
before
starting
this
thought
paper.
I
believed
it
would
expand
the
probably-­‐small
schema
I
had
about
normality
and
disability,
and,
in
a
way,
it
has.
As
I
did
various
searches
I
began
to
understand
the
way
society
perceives
both
normalcy
and
disability.
While
Internet
searches
are
not
scholarly,
I
justified
it
because
the
majority
of
Americans
have
access
to
the
Internet
as
well
as
access
to
sites
where
they
can
contribute
their
opinions
and
ideas.
While
my
searches
gave
me
a
different
sort
of
understanding,
I
became
frustrated
with
the
top
items
that
would
come
up
in
the
search
–
especially
when
I
used
the
search
term,
“disability.”
It
seems
like
the
most
common
idea
of
disability
seems
to
be
someone
who
is
wheelchair-­‐bound.
I
was
frustrated
with
this
because,
while
my
understanding
of
disability
is
not
a
full
one,
I
know
that
there
are
other
types
of
disabilities
–
whether
they
be
mental
or
physical
–
and
obviously
there
is
a
lack
of
media
representation
of
those
various
disabilities.

2. 2
of
3
I
was
even
frustrated
with
my
search
results
for,
“normal.”
I
had
to
add
words
for
more
specificity
since
it
was
too
broad
of
a
term.
So
when
I
added,
“man,”
or
“woman,”
to
the
search,
I
found
that
the
majority
of
top
hits
were
semi-­‐famous
people
who
were
described
as
being
“just
a
normal
man,”
or
“just
a
normal
woman,”
for
whatever
purpose
it
served.
These
results
for
“normal”
people
were
frustrating
because
it
showed
photos
of
people
that
are
retouched
(in
more
than
one
way)
and
photoshopped
–
they
are
probably
further
away
from
the
societal
norm
as
someone
who
is
labeled
as
being
disabled.
Definitions
and
labels
aside,
I
must
recognize
that
as
“politically
correct”
as
terms
can
be,
there
is
nothing
“politically
correct”
about
the
way
people
with
recognizable
disabilities
are
treated
by
others.
From
my
experience
with
the
word,
“disability,”
doesn’t
seem
to
be
a
word
that
a
person
would
voluntarily
use
when
describing
him
self.
I
think
it’s
more
of
a
word
used
as
a
label
by
others
usually
in
a
negative
connotation.
Typically
disability
is
the
“politically
correct,”
way
to
describe
a
person
who
has
“a
physical
or
mental
condition
that
limits
a
person's
movements,
senses,
or
activities.”
(Oxford
American
Dictionaries)
I
suppose
that
when
a
person
does
use
the
term,
especially
when
parents
use
it
when
describing
their
child,
that
it
is
a
form
of
acceptance
of
oneself,
for
one’s
child,
and
it
is
a
way
to
acknowledge
a
person’s
problems
while
marking
one’s
individuality
of
being
different,
even
if
characterized
by
an
abnormality.
Opposite
of
abnormal
is
normal,
but
what
does
normal
mean?
Normal
is
defined
as
a
way
of
“conforming
to
a
standard,”
or
in
the
way
of
describing
a
person,
it
is
someone
who
is,
“free
from
physical
or
mental
disorders.”

3. 3
of
3
(Oxford
American
Dictionaries)
When
someone
says
they
are
normal,
when
someone
says
their
child
is
normal,
I
believe
it
is
a
label
–
a
way
to
safeguard
themselves,
and
their
offspring
against
societal
criticism
and
disparagement.
While
socially
safeguarding
themselves,
I
believe
it
also
allows
the
normal
speaker
the
opportunity
to
believe
it
for
themselves,
as
illogical
as
it
may
be.