Being stared at is a significant feature of the life experiences of disabled people. When people are stared at for their disabled bodies, the communicative effect is apparent. The stare tells the disabled person that they are seen as "unanticipated and inexplicable" in some way.

University of North Texas

Goffman considers civil inattention as the social norm of showing a certain degree of indifference to strangers, which functions as a quiet but effective privacy-preserving mechanism. "In performing this courtesy, the eyes of the looker may pass over the eyes of the other, but no ‘recognition' is typically allowed."

Civil Inattention

Dhillon, M., & Kumar, A. (2026). ‘Disabled and beautiful’: young women’s negotiations of beauty and body ideals. Disability & Society

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