Paper short abstract:

Those marked as different often become the object of stories about their differences. Using affect and embodiment from folkloristics and disability studies we will hopefully get a fuller understanding of how individuals with different bodies were perceived and responded to.

Paper long abstract:

People who are considered physically and/or mentally different often become the object of gossip, and the stories about their differences affect both the individuals in question as well as the society, no matter whether they are the teller, the listener or the talked about.

In this paper I am working with stories about individuals from the 17th to 19th centuries, and according to the source material, they all had physical, cognitive or mental differences which lead to the creation and spread of legends and gossip and thus created a complex context of factual and fictionalized elements. In the intersection of various elements, we can see how stories and bodies mutually affect each other. The material in question - both historical documents as well as legends, gossip and newspapers - was collected, recorded and printed in the 19th and 20th century. Dealing with archived material also means contrasting versions of affect and its intensity in different times and communities.

I approach the individuals and their stories form their bodies working towards social and cultural understanding of difference and normality, using affect and embodiment from the perspectives of folkloristics and disability studies. With this approach we will hopefully get a fuller understanding of how individuals with different bodies were perceived and responded to. If we are lucky we might even be able to imagine the personal experience and embodiment of those who were different at different times.