Laughing matters: humour as advocacy in education for the disabled

Humour is an advocacy tool used by women organisers in Sāmoa, an Independent State in the Pacific. Examining the use of humour (jokes, sarcasm, banter, and clowning) in social action research reveal creative ways that advocates and activists can challenge systems of normalcy. This paper examines humour as an informal conversational and non-confrontational strategy used by (non)disabled Indigenous women to support the creation of schools for disabled students. Thematic analysis of the data shows that the women’s use of humour supports their agenda of transforming exclusive structures in education and policy. Using humour as an organising strategy also shifts mainstream thinking about disabled people as easy targets of offensive and degrading humour. The paper explores humour as an organising strategy that provides new supports into inclusive spaces for the education of disabled people in the global South.