Victimology and Victimization

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The victims
Understanding Why Society Treated Carnival Freaks as Less than Human
Why Nothing Can Be Done to the Perpetrators
What can/has been done to the victims
References

Introduction

The concept of the sideshow freak is a term inextricably linked to the various circuses and carnivals in the U.S. during the mid 19th to mid 20th century. Such attractions usually consisted of people, specimens or even objects considered to be abnormal by the standards of society at the time. The reason why freak shows became so popular was due to the fact that at the time when they were prevalent American society was not as, for lack of a better term, “jaded” as it is today.

Back then, American culture and society revolved mainly around the concept of communities, towns and close knit families unlike today where the conveniences of modern living have created a far more educated society yet possessing a distinctly individualistic societal norm.

As such, most individuals back then chose to remain within the communities that they were born and raised in resulting in a large of percentage of the population living within certain spheres of influence that for all intents and purposes rarely experienced any dramatic change whatsoever. At this particular point in time the global media network that is an ubiquitous existence today did not even exist yet, television was not yet invented and most people tended to derive their entertainment from radio broadcasts or from watching black and white movies at the local nickelodeon aptly named because tickets to watch a movie cost only a nickel back then.

In this environment where people rarely experienced anything new, sideshow freaks provided society with a glimpse into other aspects of the world that they are not normally privy to as a result of their closed off and insular lives within their various communities. In a way carnival freak shows provided a valued service to communities by acting as means of entertainment that they otherwise would not have seen. Despite the entertainment value such shows provided one must wonder over the ethicality of taking advantage of individuals already suffering from genetic maladies/ deformities just for the sake of their apparent entertainment value. It is based on this that this paper will seek to explore the effects such shows have on their victims, who allowed the practice to continue and whether society is at fault for the practice continuing and reaching the heights of popularity that it did.

The victims

When it came to carnival freak shows the more shocking and unusual the person up for display the more likely people would come to pay to view it. Conjoined twins, overly obese individuals, bearded ladies, people with more than one arm, deformed limbs and a variety of similar deformities dominated the carnival freak show scene well into the mid 20th century. These individuals were not merely put up for display but they were meant to portray roles that took away their humanity. Names such as elephant man, the two ton blob, freak of nature, demon from hell or ape woman were normally attached to the various freak show performers that were up for display (Royall, 1993).

In a way, being part of a freak show robbed people suffering from genetic deformities of their unique individual personas relegating them to mere attractions. An unfortunate consequence of de-personifying an individual to such an extent is their inevitable incapability to see beyond the roles they are meant to play while in the freak show (Memoirs of a Midget, 1998). Often times such individuals start to believe that their roles are all they are meant to be and stop considering a life outside of the circus (Memoirs of a Midget, 1998). It must be noted that one of the reasons freak shows existed was due to the fact that back then and even now society is rarely accepting of people with deformities.

They are constantly observed, constantly watched with people pointing at them from every street corner or sidewalk, the circus itself acts as a sanctuary of sorts for once the show ends they are able to retreat into their own personal sanctuaries far from the public eye. In a way the circus is the only place where they are treated as being “normal”. Since they are an important source of income for circuses and carnivals alike they are treated better than most employees and are given higher wages, better living quarters and even better food.

Unfortunately the life of the genetically deformed within circuses is comparable to being trapped within a fancy prison; as the fame of carnival freak shows grew the less people thought of freak show attractions as people and thought of them as less than human, as aberrations to the human species, something to look at, gaze at but never consider human. As a result, the genetically deformed rarely ventured out beyond the circus, preferring their insular isolated lives to being pointed and laughed at in regular society.

Understanding Why Society Treated Carnival Freaks as Less than Human

The reason people possessing genetic deformities were classified as less than human by society at the time was due to the concept of humanocentrism. Humanocentrism is described as a tendency for human beings to view the natural environment and other species from the standpoint of a distinctly human majority. Its premise is that anything that is outside the concept of being human is immediately classified as non-human or in extreme cases “alien”. In fact the humanocentric view of humanity has evolved over the years into present day racism wherein anyone not part of a particular group’s race was considered a “non-entity” or someone from “outside” the defined norms of the group (Brennan 274).

People possessing various genetic deformities such as claw like hands and toes, an unusually shaped head or being incredibly short were immediately classified as being non-human due to humanocentrism. Once something is placed under such a category the normal standards of human ethics and morality are no longer attributed to them by society. For example during the early 16th to mid 17th century capturing and owning slaves from Africa was not considered to be morally ambiguous due to Africans being relegated to the concept of being sub-human, namely being beneath the normal standards of what it was to be human.

This made their questionable moral and ethical treatment perfectly fine in the eyes of the predominantly white British, European and Colonial populations that utilized the African slave triangle as a means of manual labor for agricultural plantations. Taking such a historical precedent into consideration, it comes as no surprise that people possessing genetic deformities are thus set into the non-human category because they fail to “fit”, so to speak, the definition or look of being human.

As such with society unwilling to accept them and with no other form of livelihood available to them people possessing genetic deformities have no choice but to be part of circus freak shows as their only method of being able to earn a living. It is from this that it can be seen that the perpetrators of the continued suffering of people within carnival freak shows is in fact society itself which treats them as less than human due to the concept of humanocentrism relegating them into the category of not being human which strips them of the basic moral and ethical treatment that all humans have the right to.

Why Nothing Can Be Done to the Perpetrators

In most cases involving the inhuman and ill-treatment of individuals there is usually some form of commensurate punishment available to be subjected to the perpetrators of such actions yet how there be an appropriate punishment when it is actually society itself that is at fault. While arguments can be presented as to the culpability of the owners of various circuses and carnivals the fact remains that they were providing a means of income for people defined as freaks of nature by society who would not be able to gain any other means of employment (Fetal alcohol syndrome, 2010).

The blame for the maltreatment of the genetically deformed lies with the fact that society at the time, and even in the present, still considers such aberrations of human genetics as less than human. As such the relationship between society and circus freaks was not one of human to human interactions but in their eyes human to sub-human interactions where people possessing genetic deformities were considered inferior and thus deserving of their maltreatment. Another factor consider is the fact that at time, during the early 19th to mid 20th century, circuses, carnivals and their freak shows were considered to be the equivalent of today’s concerts done by musical artists such as Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

For American society, relegating human deformities to mere entertainment and shock value is the same as what is done today where various musical artists such as Lady Gaga wear outfits designed to elicit excitement and awe. It is doubtful that society at the time would have allowed circus freaks to go beyond their roles of entertainment and into more “normal” avenues of income. While it may be true that some participants of circus freak shows did go onto to live normal lives in the future, a majority of them continued to work for the various circuses and carnivals due to the role society set for them.

While such actions are inherently unethical and immoral there is nothing that can actually be done to the perpetrators themselves since they consist of the entirety of American society who through general consent relegated people with genetic deformities into roles measured by their perceived entertainment value rather than their worth as individuals.

What can/has been done to the victims

Ironically the end of the era of freak shows did not come as a result of the public outcry for the better and ethical treatment of individuals who have been classified as freak shows but rather the sudden boom in the popularity of television. Television was able to show audiences various forms of entertainment that surpassed what the various freak shows in circuses and carnivals had to offer and as a result the practice slowly faded with time.

References

Brennan, Andrew. (2003) “Humanism, Racism, And Speciesm.” Worldviews: Environment Culture Religion 7.3: 274-302. EBSCO. Web.

Fetal alcohol syndrome. (2010). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1. Web.

Memoirs of a Midget. (1998). Cyclopedia of Literary Characters, Revised Third Edition, 1. Web.

Royall, N. K. (1993). The True History of the Elephant Man. Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult Biography Series, 1-2. Web.

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