Iun Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Abby and Brittany Hensel are two conjoined twins: they have one body shared between them - two hearts and lungs one reproductive system, one colon. They are trying to live a completely normal life - but what is "normal"? White bread, orange juice and reading the Times? Can two girls like this ever live what would be considered an unremarkable life? Discuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drahkon Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Normal is 'conforming to standards'. Since the majority of people aren't conjoined twins, the two ladies cannot live a 'normal' life. In my opinion, they shouldn't even try to live a normal life. They should just live the way they want to and don't think about being 'normal'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnas Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 As long as they're happy, I don't see the need to pursue a "normal" life. Then again, maybe a happy life actually is what they mean by "normal". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drahkon Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 (edited) The question should be: What is 'not normal'? Or rather, what makes you 'not normal'? I think that you cannot be normal or abnormal 'by yourself' (I'm having a hard time expressing my thoughts in English, sorry if it's difficult to read/understand). It's others who do that for/to you. Pressure from outside, the standards that society has established, standards that have their origin in some kind of majority. Only if you think about what's normal, you can become 'abnormal'. And that's what everyone does. I believe that's the reason why there even is something like 'normality'. If Abby and Brittany (as they are the example given) stopped trying to live a normal life, they would achieve exactly that. It's awfully pretentious to ask the following questions, and I hate it but...why fit in? Why conform to standards, especially when there is no way to make that possible? Then again, maybe a happy life actually is what they mean by "normal". Why not use the word "happy" then? By using the word 'normal', they actually make themselves 'not normal'. They are doing what society does. Impose a label based on a set of arbitrary standards. Edited April 26, 2013 by drahkon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnas Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Why not use the word "happy" then? By using the word 'normal', they actually make themselves 'not normal'. They are doing what society does. Impose a label based on a set of arbitrary standards. Maybe that simply is what they consider normal: living a happy life, regardless of whatever differences one might have from the rest of the population. In other words, I think they are just referring to the ability of fitting into society, not necessarily through a common standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEVILMURRAY Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 I keep seeing the advert on Five for that programme they shall be featured in, inspiring. Could the Scrubs "Victory Sip" be a reality? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iun Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 What fascinates me about this is that these two girls redefine what we think of as constituting a "person": Two heads, but one body, two different perspectives on the world, but only one pair of hands to touch it. Amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyboy-the-Dane Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Indeed, it is incredibly fascinating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 We watched this, and had sooooooo many questions that they just did not answer during the program. It was a bit infuriating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoogleViper Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 We watched this, and had sooooooo many questions that they just did not answer during the program. It was a bit infuriating. Still worth a watch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Not really. The actual program just seemed to be their parents saying how normal they wanted them to be, and their friends saying how great they were. I know it wasn't supposed to be a freak-show, but it just threw up many more questions than it answered. I've seen documentaries about them before (when they were younger) which were much more informative i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sumo73 Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 The story of Chang and Eng Bunker is worth looking into as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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