In Professor Imada's lecture "Freaks," she discusses the spectacularized display of "extraordinary and ambiguous bodies" on the stage of 19th century freak shows. These freak shows primarily showcased people with disabilities or perceived abnormalities. The perception of performers as "freaks" often lended itself to demeaning comparisons to animals and animal-like qualities.

P.T. Barnum, who was one of the most renown American impresarios, marketed people with physical and intellectual disabilities as "extraordinary bodies" in his many freak show attractions. This act of showcasing disabled people for profit and capitalizing on their perceived abnormalities to create a spectacle on stage, is ultimately disparaging. Labeling people as "camel girl" or "elephant man" (shown below) not only equates them to animals, but also objectifies them and diminishes their humanity. These people are not perceived as "normal" humans possessing thought or emotions. Instead, they are recognized solely for their "animal-like" qualities.

Today, although freak shows are no longer in action, the associations of disabled people with animals and animal-like qualities persist. While there isn't a stage to display these people with disabilities, the long-held perceptions of people with disabilities as deviant or incompetent are still very much on display.

Sanaura Taylor is an American painter, writer, and activist for disability and animal rights. She was born with arthrogryposis, a condition characterized by congenital joint contracture in two or more areas of the body, which can be found in both humans and animals. In her book Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation, she recounts how children would tell her that she "walked like a monkey and ate like a dog" (Rothman). These common phrases liken humans' undesirable qualities to animal representations—something that has not changed since the characterization of "freaks" through their animal qualities in 19th century freak shows.

Throughout her book, Taylor provides anecdotes of various animals in order to emphasize how "the widespread prejudice against disability lies at the root of humanity’s relationship to other animals" (Vettese). Humans' complicated relationship with animals have allowed for empathy and understanding, but also for judgement and separation throughout history. When it comes to people with disabilities, more than often, they are compared to animals in an attempt for people to create distance from what they may not be accustomed to or may perceive as non-normative.