Cultural perspectives on the Body and Functional Variation: What do bodies do to us and what do we do with our bodies?

Abstract

The seminar “Cultural perspectives on the body and functional variation”1 was organized by the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland (SLS) in collaboration with the disciplines of Folklore and Ethnology at Åbo Akademi University. Researchers and experts were invited to this seminar to present and discuss different conceptions of normality and body in contemporary society. Although there has been research on functional diversity prior to this, functionally diverse people have often been excluded from the discussion and reduced to objects of study instead of being seen as experts. Furthermore, disability is often highlighted as a problem, ignoring the social and cultural prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities, which is known as ableism. This seminar aimed at expanding the discussion on functional diversity, including a broader variety of viewpoints, and placing it within a societal context. The audience consisted of students, researchers, and other people active within the field and engaged in these questions. The speakers used different terms for functional diversity, but I have chosen to use primarily the perhaps outdated concepts of “able-bodied/disabled” for reasons of consistency and readability. All presentations were in Swedish. The seminar was opened with an introduction by Ruth Illman, Chair of the Committee for ethnology and folkloristics at SLS. The first presentation was given by Dr. Maria Bäckman, University Lecturer at Stockholm University, and was titled To not see – but be seen. About exposed bodies and the desire to pass. Bäckman’s areas of interest include questions of meaning-making, gender, sexuality, youth, democratic ideals, multiculturalism, and the creation of difference and similarity. In this project, Bäckman conducts auto-ethnographic research on people who have lost their sight, partly or fully, in adult age. Bäckman herself has had visual impairment for a few years, and she believes that her own experiences give her insight that