The Tyranny of the Normal: An Anthology

Most cultures ostracize people who do not fit within their norms. They pressure abnormal people to change their appearance, fix what bothers others, or stay out of sight -- a pressure Leslie Fiedler has named "The Tyranny of the Normal". This anthology examines the experiences of those who live outside social norms for attractiveness, size, and shape; it also explores the reactions of "normal" people to those who seem grotesque.

About the author

Carol Donley is professor of English and codirector of the Center for Literature, Medicine, and Health Care Professions at Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio. She is the coauthor of Einstein as Myth and Muse (Cambridge University Press, 1986), and coeditor of Recognitions: Doctors and Their Stories (Kent State University Press, 2002).
Sheryl Buckley is an anesthesiologist in private practice in Cleveland, Ohio. She received her M.D. from the Medical College of Pennsylvania. She is coeditor, with Carol Donley, of What's Normal?: Narratives of Mental and Emotional Disorders (Kent State University Press, 2000).

Summary

A study of the experiences of those who live outside social norms for beauty, size and shape, as well as the reactions of "normal" people to those who appear grotesque. The text contains essays on treating those with disorders or deformities, and over 40 stories, poems and plays about abnormality.

Product details

• Assisted by: Sheryl Buckley (Editor), Carol Donley (Editor), Carol C. Donley (Editor)
• Publisher: The Kent State University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.12.1995
• EAN: 9780873385350
• ISBN: 978-0-87338-535-0
• No. of pages: 406
• Dimensions: 155 mm x 232 mm x 25 mm
• Weight: 603 g
• Series: Literature & Medicine; Literature and Medicine Series; Literature and Medicine; Literature & Medicine
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Medicine > General; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > General, dictionaries