Am I normal? | The Voltaire Lecture 2022, with Dr Sarah Chaney

'Before the nineteenth century, the term 'normal' was rarely ever associated with human behaviour. 'Normal' was a term used in maths: people weren't normal – triangles were.

But from the 1830s, this branch of science – the study of the 'normal' – really took off across Europe and North America, with a proliferation of IQ tests, sex studies, a census of hallucinations – even a UK beauty map (which concluded the women in Aberdeen were 'the most repellent'). In the Voltaire Lecture 2022, Dr Sarah Chaney tells the surprising history of how the very notion of the normal came about, and how it shaped us all, often while entrenching oppressive values.

Sarah looks at why we're still asking the internet: Do I have a normal body? Is my sex life normal? Are my kids normal? And along the way, she challenges why we ever thought it might be a desirable thing to be.

Dr Sarah Chaney is an honorary research fellow at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions. She spent her teens and twenties furiously rebelling against the mainstream, while secretly longing to be normal. It wasn’t until she passed 30 that she (mostly) stopped worrying about this mythical ideal. Alongside her research work she runs the public exhibitions and events programme at the Royal College of Nursing. Her most recent book 'Am I Normal?: The 200-Year Search for Normal People (And Why They Don't Exist)' was published in July 2022. She has also written on the history of self-injury, 'Psyche on the Skin' (2017).

Dr Adam Rutherford is a scientist, writer, and broadcaster. He’s a Lecturer in Biology and Society at UCL, and has written and presented award-winning series and programmes for the BBC, including Radio 4’s 'Start the Week', 'Inside Science', and 'The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry' with Dr Hannah Fry. He’s written an indefinable number of books including 'A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived', the very humanist 'Book of Humans', the Sunday Times bestselling 'How to Argue With a Racist', and, most recently, 'Control: The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics', published in February 2022.

[isatousarr]

This observation is a powerful reminder of how our understanding and application of the term 'normal' have transformed over time. In its original mathematical context, 'normal' simply described something conforming to a rule or pattern, such as the perpendicularity of triangles. Applying this concept to human behavior, however, represents a significant cultural shift that likely emerged with the rise of industrialization and the need for standardization in society.

Before the 19th century, the diversity of human behavior and experiences was more accepted as a natural part of life. Once the term 'normal' became associated with people, it introduced a framework for defining what is typical, acceptable, or ideal in society. While this shift may have been useful for some purposes, such as developing statistical tools in fields like medicine or education, it also introduced a problematic tendency to label deviations as abnormal or undesirable.

This transition raises important questions about the implications of normalcy as a social construct. When 'normal' becomes a yardstick for human behavior, it can lead to marginalization of those who don’t fit the mold, perpetuating stereotypes and stigmatization. It also highlights how arbitrary these definitions can be, what is considered 'normal' in one era or culture may be far from it in another.

Reflecting on this historical evolution encourages us to question the value and consequences of striving for 'normalcy' in human lives. It challenges us to embrace the full spectrum of human diversity and to be cautious about the ways we use language to define and limit the human experience.

[Nyam_Creativity.]

I'm Jahed Nohim from Bangladesh. The lecture is outstanding.

[KFF]

Super interesting (the topic and chosen subtopics in themselves - but also the presentation)... thanks a lot !

made me curious for more on this, so I will definitely also buy the book by Dr Chaney (I find it especially cool - and convenient for me - that it has been even been published in German)