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To be or not to be? | Moral guardians

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	Julia Pastrana, 'the World's Ugliest Woman' Fortean Picture Library

Throughout history, people with disabilities have worked in entertainment as gladiators, court jesters and 'freaks' – human oddities and curiosities that the able-bodied felt repelled by yet compelled to gaze at. Part of the fascination came from a belief that 'born freaks' were the work of Satan, forerunners of a weird new breed or the result of a traumatic experience during pregnancy.

As long ago as the 12th and 13th centuries there are records of farmers' fairs in England, such as Bartholomew Fair in London and Goose Fair in Nottingham, offering glimpses of deformed animals, hidden away in small pens.

By the Renaissance, these had translated to 'human variations' and some individuals were even taken on tour by their managers. A few achieved quite a degree of fame in the early 17th century, like Barbara Ursulin, the 'Hairy-faced Wench from Augsberg', and Lazarus Colorado, a conjoined twin whose sibling dangled from his chest. They were forerunners of such characters as Julia Pastrana, a Mexican woman covered in hair who was world famous in the mid-19th century and Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins who were amongst America's highest paid side show artistes in 20th century.

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