Abstract
The thirty-year ban on the 1932 circus horror film Freaks illustrates how deeply we share cultural notions about the disabled body and people with disabilities. The film's documentary-style exposé of images of “abnormal” bodies enjoying daily life behind the scenes of a circus sideshow greatly engaged movie audiences, but they were simultaneously outraged by its horror-genre treatment of the same bodies collectively avenging them-selves upon “normal” bodies. Ultimately, viewers were engaged through revulsion, not empathy. Contradictory and shifting notions about what constituted “normalcy.” especially normal sexuality, were reinforced. The construction of “freak” was in transition. No longer a celebrated exotic attraction, it was becoming a pathological, scientific specimen. Many audience members were moved to action to protest the film.
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