Posted by Editormum on 28 October 2008 in
News Commentary |
∞
And no, I don’t mean the stout. If I have to drink beer, please make it a Guinness. Perferably an extra stout, but I’ll settle for the regular if extra isn’t available.
No, it’s the world record people. Not that I mind making note of who is the fastest mile-runner or the longest word in English … no, those records don’t bother me. What bothers me is stuff like “World’s Heaviest Man” or “World’s Shortest Man/Woman, World’s Tallest Man/Woman” and the like.
From the 1600s to about 1940, the “freakshow” or “sideshow” was a common sight at circuses and carnivals in England and America. But over the years, especially after the publication of Darwins’ Origin of the Species (which identified the “freaks” as genetic anomalies, and thus, more objects of pity than fear or disgust), such shows fell into disrepute as they began to be seen as exploitive and demeaning to persons with deformities, handicaps, or other unusual characteristics.
It’s only in recent years that freakshows have begun showing up again. And much of the stuff in Guinness is just printed freak-show material. And I don’t like it.
It is degrading to market someone as “The World’s Heaviest Man” or “The World’s Tallest Woman.” It removes their individuality in the same way as a doctor referring to “the sarcoma in 318” does. People are individuals with personalities and identities — they are not just “Lobster Boy” or “Girl with a Tail.”
Take the recent example of “The World’s Heaviest Man.” He got married, and it’s world news. But can one-tenth of the people who know about his marriage tell you his name and where he lives? How old he is? Probably not. (For the record, his name is Manuel Uribe, and he lives in Monterrey, Mexico. He is 43; his bride, Claudia Solis, is 38.)
Just because someone isn’t “normal” (whatever that is) does not mean they should be held up for public curiousity and be made objects of morbid fascination. It’s immoral.
Tags: Philosophy, world records
Guinness Bothers Me
And no, I don’t mean the stout. If I have to drink beer, please make it a Guinness. Perferably an extra stout, but I’ll settle for the regular if extra isn’t available.
No, it’s the world record people. Not that I mind making note of who is the fastest mile-runner or the longest word in English … no, those records don’t bother me. What bothers me is stuff like “World’s Heaviest Man” or “World’s Shortest Man/Woman, World’s Tallest Man/Woman” and the like.
From the 1600s to about 1940, the “freakshow” or “sideshow” was a common sight at circuses and carnivals in England and America. But over the years, especially after the publication of Darwins’ Origin of the Species (which identified the “freaks” as genetic anomalies, and thus, more objects of pity than fear or disgust), such shows fell into disrepute as they began to be seen as exploitive and demeaning to persons with deformities, handicaps, or other unusual characteristics.
It’s only in recent years that freakshows have begun showing up again. And much of the stuff in Guinness is just printed freak-show material. And I don’t like it.
It is degrading to market someone as “The World’s Heaviest Man” or “The World’s Tallest Woman.” It removes their individuality in the same way as a doctor referring to “the sarcoma in 318” does. People are individuals with personalities and identities — they are not just “Lobster Boy” or “Girl with a Tail.”
Take the recent example of “The World’s Heaviest Man.” He got married, and it’s world news. But can one-tenth of the people who know about his marriage tell you his name and where he lives? How old he is? Probably not. (For the record, his name is Manuel Uribe, and he lives in Monterrey, Mexico. He is 43; his bride, Claudia Solis, is 38.)
Just because someone isn’t “normal” (whatever that is) does not mean they should be held up for public curiousity and be made objects of morbid fascination. It’s immoral.
Tags: Philosophy, world records