The Body Language of Adults Who Are Blind1

Abstract

The body expressions of adults who are blind have been relatively unexplored. The aim of this study was therefore to deepen the understanding of different forms of body expression, or “body language”, in adults who are blind. More specifically the study aimed at answering the following questions: What forms of body expression do adults who are blind display? What can the conditions for some different forms of body expression be? What importance can individual, social and cultural factors have for different forms of body expression? Data consisted of video-taped interviews with five congenitally blind, two adventitiously blind and two sighted individuals. The data were analysed in a hermeneutical and phenomenological sense. The results consisted of a typology of 19 different forms of body expression. All in all, we found that the congenitally blind participants expressed themselves mainly in a functional and concrete manner. They also seemed to have limited experiences with abstract, symbolic body expressions. The conditions and the importance of different factors for different body expressions are discussed. © 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.