Cultural perspectives on the Body and Functional Variation: What do bodies do to us and what do we do with our bodies?

The seminar “Cultural perspectives on the body and functional variation”1 was organized by the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland (SLS) in collaboration with the disciplines of Folklore and Ethnology at Åbo Akademi University. Researchers and experts were invited to this seminar to present and discuss different conceptions of normality and body in contemporary society. Although there has been research on functional diversity prior to this, functionally diverse people have often been excluded from the discussion and reduced to objects of study instead of being seen as experts. Furthermore, disability is often highlighted as a problem, ignoring the social and cultural prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities, which is known as ableism. This seminar aimed at expanding the discussion on functional diversity, including a broader variety of viewpoints, and placing it within a societal context.