Education Resources

Class 3: Exploring Normalcy, Disability, Stigmatization, and Bias Through Graphic Medicine

Introduction:

This class explores the notions of “normal” and “abnormal” in the medical context. If disease is characterized by deviation from typical or normal functioning, this presupposes that there is a state of being that we can reliably identify as normal. Comics often challenge such notions, showing how social and environmental factors influence whether and how “difference” becomes “disability.”

Students read comics that depict differences, and explore themes such as disability, bias, social construction of illness, and stigmatization. El Deafo is a story about a young girl who develops a hearing loss, and describes what it feels like when she is treated differently by others. Marbles is a memoir about living with mental illness, and shows the experience of bipolar disorder with the “ups” of mania and the “downs” of depression. Susan Squier’s article discusses disability, and investigates how comics can illuminate our understanding of individuals who have differences.

Students engage in a drawing activity that explores the related topics of taboo and stigmatization. Comics have a long history of dealing with taboo issues, including sex, drugs, incest, etc. For example, in the 1960s, underground comics were often considered illicit or obscene. Today, very little is taboo, yet some things are still not discussed openly, because of fear of stigmatization or discrimination. What topics are taboo in medicine? Are there “elephants in the room” that aren’t said aloud? Using the Taboo Scenes Template, students draw two scenes, using 4 panels for each scene: 1) the most unexpected or outrageous thing a student ever heard in the hospital or medical clinic; and 2) something a patient is afraid to talk about with a doctor.