Tag Archive: disability

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Disability on Stage: The Legacy of the Sideshow

Sideshows, dime museums, and freakshows. All those exhibitions of bodily differences for profit, a staple of middle-class entertainment which had its golden age during the 19th century, are some of the most controversial aspects of entertainment history. In this absorbing article, submitted to the Disability History competition of 24/25, Kate Pointer considers how such sideshows, which were at first born out of exploitation and dehumanization, could today be potentially understood also as a celebration of diversity and are exemplary in how humanity can overcome prejudices.
AUTHOR: KATE POINTER

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Between the Asylum and the Workhouse: Mental Illness and the Victorian Poor Law

Before the 19th century, it was customary for people suffering from mental health conditions and for the intellectually disabled to be accommodated in private licensed houses. This situation started to shift with the 1808 Asylum Act, when the public asylum began to develop. The 1845 Lunacy Act and County Asylums Act extended this development, making pauper asylums compulsory for each county. This important article, written for the Disability History competition 24/25, sheds light on the interesting fact that, despite public asylums were already in place, paupers still found themselves institutionalised, in the majority of the cases, in workhouses.
AUTHOR: OLIVIA BOYLE

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Should we retrospectively diagnose historical figures as autistic? 

“Eccentric,” “aloof,” “obsessive,” “shy” – these are all labels used to describe numerous notable historical figures, both by their contemporaries and by modern historians. The challenges to not reinforce stereotypes but also possible advantages of retrospective diagnose of historical figures long time dead as autistic are explored in this fundamental article, winner of the Disability History competition for 2024/2025 and which makes a starting contribution for this area of Disability History. Unmissable!
AUTHOR: OSCAR HILDER