On the ethics of being photographed in research in rural South Africa: views of people with disabilities

Disabled people have long been misrepresented through photography and freak shows. A key challenge in the representation of disabled people is not only how to avoid histories of exclusion and hiding, but also to present the lives of people with disabilities in an empathic rather than an othering manner. We asked disabled people from a rural village in South Africa about the potential negative effects and the benefits of having their photographs taken as part of data collection for a large project. All said that they would like to be photographed, but under conditions in which their dignity was not impugned.