Bodies with disabilities performed in/by language

Abstract

Disability goes beyond a physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory condition, profoundly impacting social, political, and cultural spheres. Despite significant advancements in laws, public policies, and awareness programs, barriers rooted in ableist attitudes, mindsets, and discourses continue to hinder the full inclusion of people with disabilities. These prejudices often manifest in how bodies are perceived and represented for failing to conform to normative aesthetic standards. This article aims to discuss how disabled bodies are performatized through language, considering them as discursive constructions shaped by historically ableist terms and statements. Subjects are conceived based on how their bodies—visible or not—are read and interpreted within discourse, reinforcing power relations that perpetuate normativity and exclude “defective” or “problematic” bodies. The analysis seeks to understand how language, intersecting with bodies in discursive relations, performatizes them in their aesthetic materiality and in relation to language itself. In this process, the constitution of the subject through language reflects the limitations imposed by social barriers, portraying asymmetric power dynamics where those who consider themselves “normal” objectify deviant bodies as flawed. At the same time, the article acknowledges the importance of social efforts to promote equity and diversity, emphasizing the need for transformations in language to respect and value differences. The analysis is grounded in a discursive perspective based on Bakhtinian theory (Bakhtin, 2011), articulated with Judith Butler’s theory of performativity (2000; 2020; 2021) and critical disability studies. It also draws on the contributions of Millett-Gallant (2010; 2017), Hashiguti (2016), and Hashiguti and Magalhães (2009), which help to understand how bodies with disabilities are aesthetically and symbolically performatized in/by language, within power relations, normativity, and social exclusion. Additionally, selected images serve as a starting point to explore the relationship between body, language, and performatization, highlighting how bodies are aesthetically objectified and discursively constituted based on categories that perpetuate social exclusion. Thus, the article invites reflection on the necessary transformations in language and discursive perspectives, broadening the understanding of disability as a complex issue that demands not only structural changes but also discursive and cultural ones.