The humorous construction of disability: ‘stand‐up’ comedians in the United States¹

1. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada, April, 2005, and the Society for Disability Studies, San Francisco, California, June, 2005.

Abstract

We examine how stand‐up [sic] comedy constructs, circulates, perpetuates and/or disrupts stereotypical images of disabled persons in the United States. We use disabled people, rather than people‐first language, to remind readers that disability is an ill‐defined, culturally imposed attribute. Although humor is culturally specific, we draw on works of an international cadre of humanities scholars and social scientists to ground our analyses. We conclude that disability humor constitutes an emerging, liberatory art form. Disabled and non‐disabled comedians elicit thought‐provoking laughter and present disability as an interesting way to live. However, disabling humor still perpetuates stereotyping and isolation.

Notes

1. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada, April, 2005, and the Society for Disability Studies, San Francisco, California, June, 2005.