Paper short abstract:

The aim of this paper is to revisit the Thalidomide crisis of the 1960s, assessing the impact of this crisis on Japanese society, as well as analyzing images of "Thalidomide babies".

Paper long abstract:

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Thalidomide – a medication hailed as “an ideal sleep drug” – caused a mass panic when children with various deformities were born as a consequence of its use. The problem first became apparent in Europe, and then also in Japan, where the drug was being sold under brand names Isomin and Proban M. Children born with various birth defects became known as “Thalidomide babies” or “Seal babies” (azarashikko) due to short hands, and their existence became subject of discussion in newspapers, medical and legal journals, as well as women’s magazines, not least because this was not a “natural” but a “man-made” disability, caused by pharmaceutical industry.

The aim of this paper is to analyze images of “Thalidomide babies” in various publications and newspapers, as well as to assess the impact that this crisis had on policies aimed at people with disabilities. It suggests that while these babies, as other disabled children, were most often perceived as “unhappy” and “miserable”, they were also considered to be “elite” among the disabled and were often used by media to motivate able-bodied people (“inspiration porn”). It also suggests that this crisis led to both positive and negative disability policies, prompted transnational parent movements, as well as created new discourses about disabilities.