View source for Freak

{{Short description|Unusual person}}
{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{redirect|Freakish}}
{{about}}
{{Distinguish|Phreaking{{!}}Phreak}}

[[File:Joseph Merrick carte de visite photo, c. 1889.jpg|thumb|[[Joseph Merrick]], c.1889]]
A '''freak''' is a person who is [[deformity|physically deformed]] or transformed due to an extraordinary medical condition or [[body modification]]. This definition was first attested with this meaning in the 1880s as a shorter form of the phrase "[[wikt: freak of nature|freak of nature]]", itself a broader term meaning "[[wikt:whimsy|whimsy]] or [[wikt:caprice|caprice]] of nature", attributed at least as far back as 1847.<ref>{{OED|freak}}</ref> The term's original neutral [[connotation]] became entirely negative during the 20th century; therefore, ''freak'' with its literal meaning of "abnormally developed individual" is viewed purely as a [[pejorative]] today.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sherman |first1=Howard |title='Freak' is a slur and 'Freak Show' is propagating it. Disabled people deserve better |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/26/disabled-people-freak-show-horror-story-pop-culture |work=The Guardian |date=26 September 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Chemers |first=M|date=2008 |title=Staging Stigma: A Critical Examination of the American Freak Show |location=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |page=7 |isbn=978-0-230-61066-8}}</ref> However, the term is also recently used playfully to refer to an enthusiast or obsessive person, as in a ''fitness freak'' or ''[[control freak]]''.

==Usage==
''Freak'' saw usage as [[jargon]] by promoters and performers of [[freak show]]s, though its use in this sense has decreased along with the popularity of freak shows.<ref>The Rise and Fall of Circus Freakshows https://priceonomics.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-circus-freakshows/</ref> One well-known example of this word was in reference to [[Joseph Merrick]], the "Elephant Man."<ref>{{Britannica | id=184406 | title=Joseph Merrick}}</ref> As a jargon, side-show freaks were classified into two groups: natural freaks and self-made freaks.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stephens |first= Elizabeth|date=2005|title=Twenty-First Century Freak Show: Recent Transformations in the Exhibition of Non-Normative Bodies|url=https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/580/757 |journal=Disability Studies Quarterly |volume=25 |issue=3|doi= 10.18061/dsq.v25i3.580|access-date=June 18, 2021|doi-access=free}}</ref> A natural freak would usually have been born with a [[Congenital abnormality|genetic abnormality]], while a self-made freak was a person who was altered artificially (with methods such as [[surgical implant]]s).

The term has a variety of much more recent meanings. An example is something strikingly unusual about one's [[Human physical appearance|appearance]] or behavior. This usage originated from "[[freak scene]]" during the 1960s and 1970s, most famously promoted by the album ''[[Freak Out!]]'' made by the [[rock music|rock]] band ''[[The Mothers of Invention]]''.

A recent usage of ''freak'' is as a synonym for [[enthusiast]], such as a ''health freak''{{refn|For example, in the name of the British television show, [[Teenage Health Freak]].}}; or referring to obsessive behavior, such as ''[[control freak]]''.<ref>{{OEtymD|freak|accessdate=2020-04-01}}</ref>

==In science==
''Freak'' is used in science to describe plants and animals with a genetic [[mutation]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Human and animal freaks of nature |url=https://www.newscientist.com/gallery/mg20126905300-freaks-of-nature/ |work=New Scientist |date=7 January 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Whitfield |first1=John |title=Freaks are forcing scientists to rethink evolution |journal=New Scientist |date=January 2009 |volume=201 |issue=2690 |pages=42 |doi=10.1016/S0262-4079(09)60103-2 |bibcode=2009NewSc.201...42W }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ableism]]
* [[Deviance (sociology)]]
* [[Social rejection]]
* [[Teratology]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freak}}
[[Category:1880s neologisms]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for people with disabilities]]
[[Category:Circus slang]]
[[Category:English-language slang]]