Defectives, Feeble-minded: United States. Massachusetts. Waverly. School for Feeble-minded: Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded.: Sewing Class. c. 1903

Curator: This photograph, its title a stark "Defectives, Feeble-minded: United States. Massachusetts. Waverly," captures a sewing class at the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded. Editor: It's the regimented calm that strikes me first. Rows of women, heads bent to their work. The light is soft, yet the atmosphere feels heavy, almost oppressive. Curator: Indeed. These institutions, however well-intentioned, operated with a controlling hand. Sewing, like other domestic skills, was seen as a means of social control and potential rehabilitation. Editor: Note how the repetition of sewing machines becomes a visual motif. A symbol of industry, sure, but also perhaps of endless, identical tasks. What narratives lie within each stitch? Curator: Precisely. Photography, in this context, served a dual purpose: documenting the school's activities and reinforcing societal views on disability. Editor: This photograph is a stark reminder of the historical treatment of disability. It forces a reckoning with the narratives we once imposed on people.