Disability and Humor

Disability and humor have an uneasy relationship. Could it be because disability comes with a lot of pity, sorrow and somehow considered tragic? Disability humor raises a hidden paradox that makes people feel uncomfortable. What is so funny about having a disability when others think it is a tragedy?  Personally I feel there is little or no humor about having a disability, though I also feel that having a disability should not be seen as sorrowful or tragic. Many people in the community at large perceive disability with sympathetic and lamentable attitudes and because of that, they resist or oppose attempts to juxtapose humor and disability.

I have occasionally made jokes about my son, yes, it’s not that I laugh at him, NO. It comparable to those funny jokes or names our parents would call us and it absolutely meant nothing except for the humor in that moment.  There is this close friend of mine whose child has epilepsy, we have often joked about that moment of convulsion, in fact we even gave it a nick name and every time we discuss this we end up laughing to tears, we are not laughing because our children are convulsing, we are laughing at the nick name we gave the convulsion. Maybe we would take this in a completely and negative way if it came from a parent or anyone who is not a special needs parent like us, maybe we could see it as an attack or way of laughing at us indirectly.

Disability is assumed to be associated with dumbness, not being normal or just being odd and useless and most people don’t realize the different categories of disabilities and that a person cannot be judged from their disability. My feeling is in most cases when non-disabled people create humor narratives about disability they use what they perceive as the abnormality or oddness of disability to invoke the incongruity that signals humor, and, many non-disabled people, who perceive having a disability as tragic, pitiable, or just plain sad, may be uncomfortable about humor related to disability. Destructive humor sets disabled people apart by poking fun at what are seen as their inadequacies and incapability’s.

I don’t think I would find it funny if someone used my sons condition to create humor that may be directed to making him or me feel less in any way, no and never. I would also not entertain some jokes that would leave me feeling that it was funny but sad at the same time.  However, I wouldn’t want to feel personal about every joke about my son or any disabled person, it could just be a general joke that could be directed to any other person for the sake of humor in that moment.

In a way I feel disability and disabled persons should not only be for inspirational and serious subject contexts. The society should learn to see the diverse qualities of people with disabilities, especially that they also like to laugh and have fun just like anyone else. Comedy becomes a way to vent frustrations, as well as laugh at the world that does not really accommodate the differently able persons.

Lastly, isn’t it paradoxical that disabled people can make fun of non-disabled people and we for sure would find no offense in that? 😉 

Thank you for taking time to read this and I look forward to your views on disability and humor. Let’s talk.

Mama Elly