Bias against people with atypical bodies and minds is central to a culture of normalization.” “Literature and film are filled with characters with atypical minds and bodies who, when not used as tropes

PU Normal Sucks Cultural Normalization & the Drive to Be Normal Discussion

Think carefully about the two following quotes from Mooney’s book:

• “Bias against people with atypical bodies and minds is central to a culture of normalization.”
• “Literature and film are filled with characters with atypical minds and bodies who, when not used as tropes for pity, overcome their personal limitations through heroic effort.”

Clearly, these are linked with the word “atypical”, but they take us in two different directions.

The first quote indicates that we’re fixated on building a “cultural of normalization”, but what does that phrase mean? What are the consequences and pitfalls to focusing so much on normalization? How does the notion of normalization work with the concept of the tossed salad metaphor for our culture?

The second quote shows that we all seem to have some drive to be normal. The characters that he nods to have to overcome themselves through “heroic effort” to conquer their limitations. He explains that this kind of story-line makes it this person’s responsibility to change, rather than the environment around them. We’ve all seen those stories, but where have you seen the environment change? If you haven’t seen it really change, where should it?