They Made Us Invisible: From the Ugly Laws to Disability Pride
Listen to the latest episode here: Bitchstory In 1881, the city of Chicago made it illegal to be visibly disabled in public. The ordinance read: " Any person who is diseased, maimed, mutilated or in any way deformed so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object or improper person to be allowed in or on the public ways or other public places in this city, shall not therein or thereon expose himself to public view, under the penalty of a fine of one dollar for each offense." One dollar…Per offense (about $33 in today’s money). A fine for each time you dared to exist where someone could see you. Chicago wasn't alone. Similar ordinances appeared in San Francisco, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Columbus, and other American cities from the 1860s onward. Collectively, they became known as the Ugly Laws — a phrase that captures exactly what they were: legislation built not on public safety, not on any coherent civic principle, but on the idea that certain bodies were too unpleasan...