This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.

Further into Imperfecta Living Curiosities: Agency and Exploitation of the Teratological Body Curiosity draws us to the monstrous. But seeing is believing: whether in a book, a museum, or in a show, for centuries people have flocked to see “monsters” for themselves. In the 19th century, many people born with non-normative bodies performed as “freaks” in circus sideshows. Circuses became a sensation and they served as a forerunner to the modern entertainment industry. This exhibit explores the lives of the performers and showmen whose livelihoods depended on the public’s curiosity about seeing wondrous bodies for themselves. Seeing is Believing: Visualizing the Teratological Body When it comes to the wondrous, seeing is believing. From this page, you can explore some of the ways that “monsters” have been depicted over the centuries. Woodcuts in early modern texts, preservation in medical museums, and photography all have been used to display people. These technologies allowed one person’s image to travel across the world and allowed their subjects to “survive” beyond death. What Does It Mean to be "Other?" What does it mean to be a “monster?” What does it mean to be “normal?” These are not objective categories. They have changed meaning throughout history as people have become exposed to a wider diversity of nature, people, and ideas. From this path, you can explore some types of “Otherness” that have, throughout history, challenged apparently objective categories and shaped the direction of science.

Pourtraict d'un monstre merueilleux

This page is referenced by:

Introduction Welcome to Further into Imperfecta. This exhibit is a digital companion to Imperfecta, an on-site exhibit at The Mütter Museum open through the fall of 2019, which examines shifting perceptions about abnormal human development, from fear and wonder to curiosity and clinical science. Further into Imperfecta is presented using a non-linear format, allowing readers to explore various themes by following interrelated "paths." Teratology is the study of congenital abnormalities, including both the early modern concept of "monstrosity" or "monsters" and more recent investigations into the causes of abnormal human development.

The first major path, Living Curiosities: Agency and Exploitation of the Teratological Body, explores a theme discussed in Imperfecta: the monetization of non-normative* bodies. The topic, chosen by visitors to the Mütter Museum through voting that occurred between March 9th and April 30th, 2017, is most iconically represented through the "freak shows" of the 19th century.

The second major path, Seeing is Believing: Visualizing the Teratological Body, explores the ways in which non-normative bodies have been represented and the technologies that influenced those representations.

The third main path, What Does It Mean to be Other?, addresses ideas of "otherness" to help frame our understanding of this topic.

The fourth path, added in June 2018, features fully captioned videos of all six papers presented at our symposium, Of Marvels and Medicine: Perceptions of Abnormal Human Development, held at the College of Physicians in March 2018.

The fifth and most recent path was added in October 2018. Titled What’s Mom Got to Do With It? Maternal Impression in Western Medicine, this path explores maternal impression in western medicine, the long-held theory that an emotional or physical stimulus experienced by a pregnant woman could influence the development of her fetus.

Check in for updates or follow us on Twitter @CPPHistMedLib for announcements of new content.
*The contemporary term for those with congenital abnormalities.