October 3, 2014 - 18:33
Selena Martinez
Paper #5 (Revision on paper #4)
October 3, 2014
What is Normal?
In Eli Clare’s memoir Exile and Pride, he writes, “But whatever the differences, all four groups held one thing in common: nature did not make them into freaks. The freak show did, carefully constructing an exaggerated divide between “normal” and Other…” The freak show that Eli describes in this context serves as a similar representation of the society that stripped him of the ability to fit in by deeming his sexuality and disability as abnormal. Throughout “Exile and Pride”, Eli faces multiple failed attempts to find where he belongs on this spectrum of normalcy that society has created. The modern definition of normal according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is, conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern. With this definition in mind, normal can only exist when someone is not conforming allowing for a comparison to be made which in this case would be Eli Clare, but without this comparison available nothing can be normal because there is nothing to compare against the set standard. So how did this standard come to be?
The word normal is of Latin descent originally termed normalis or norma. According to the Merriam- Webster Dictionary it is defined as, “perpendicular; especially: perpendicular to a tangent at a point of tangency”. This term becomes commonly used in 1696 in reference to a carpenters square and the idea of right angles. In order to construct a solid foundation, it would make sense to have all angles meet a certain standard for more efficient building. Once the notion of stability becomes ideal the definition begins to alter from simply right angles to, “in conformity with rule” (Etymology Dictionary). Here is where the first sight of the modern definition is first applied. Although this has yet to expand in a more social aspect, the idea of a standard is present in construction for an entire century. In 1828 the definition begins to change once again now used as an adjective for societies’ views redefined as, “common standards, usual” (Etymology Dictionary). So although the original purpose was to provide a guideline towards how an item should be constructed this also added the idea that all objects not measuring up to this standard would be considered abnormal. As progression in different sciences advanced measuring began to apply to a plethora of items, characteristics, and much more which allowed for the door to open to the idea of statistics. One could then identify things such as mode, median, and mean or in this case what could be identified as normal.
Eli Clare uses the word normal in a variety of ways throughout his memoir. He utilizes normal through words that derive from the root or simply the language of what normality is or is not. On the first page of chapter one he writes, “We speak the wrong languages with the wrong accents, wear the wrong clothes, carry our bodies the wrong ways, ask the wrong questions, love the wrong people.” Based off the modern definition of normal, what Eli identifies as wrong implies that there is a right way to go about the situation. This correct way would be what is considered normal anything else would be abnormal. On page 89 he uses a word stemming from the word normal, “… the desire to create an Other against whom one could gauge her/ his normality…” Here he applies the idea of normal being able to range from a minimum to its full capacity. Yet how can there be the idea of a spectrum of normal when according to definition, it either is or isn’t?
Let’s first dissect the definition of normal, “conforming to a type, standard or regular pattern”, a bit more. To conform means that change is required to meet the standard but the fact that one must change or alter anything means that they must’ve not been normal to begin with. So if everyone or at least a certain population changes to fit the standard, who sets it? Similar to the original definition of normalis or norma, the carpenter is the one who sets the standard of what deems a right angle to be accurate. But this standard is based off of the carpenter’s expertise in this particular subject. Now that normal can be applied in various manners to various items, the standard becomes flexible acquiring new factors depending on which context it is now being used. In Eli Clare’s case it is used more in a social context. This standard then would be based off values held in a silent majority agreement. The silence of this agreement would be the lack of complaint. The freak show mentioned in the introduction resembles everyday situations similar to the ones mentioned in his memoir on page 104, “Today’s freakdom happens in hospitals and doctor’s offices… during telethons as people fork over money out of pity, the tragic stories milked until they’re dry… in nursing homes where severely disable people are often forced to live against their wills… on street corners and at bus stops, on playgrounds and restaurants …when nondisabled people stare, trying to be covert, smacking their children to teach them how to pretend not to stare…” The ability of Eli’s society to identify qualities that are not only different, but not always seen allow for the abnormal to exist. When the majority creates that division between what is considered below standard and of standard normality can then be applied.
It still however leaves multiple questions unanswered as to how normal can truly be applied if too many factors go into defining what a standard may or may not be? Who can ultimately make the moral judgment that something is normal on a physical, emotional, mental, cultural aspect? In reality normal can only alter depending on the circumstances. By Eli Clare allowing himself to feel this abnormality that others may or may not be applying to him allows for normal to continue to exist.
Works Cited
Clare, Eli. Exile & Pride. Cambridge, MA: South End, 2009. Print.
"Normal." OED. Oxford University, 2014. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. <http://oed.com>.