台灣的盲人在日治時期,除了按摩之外,還從事針灸與電療等工作。但是到了國民政府時期,台灣的視障者的工作卻逐轉變成現在的按摩工作。為什麼盲人會從事「非醫療」的按摩工作呢?本研究採用行動者網絡理論(Actor Network Theory),來分析這個「身體」與「工作」間複雜動態的關係。在本研究中我們可以看到,過去百年間法規、政府、警察、教科書、針灸電療器具、中西醫專業團體,以及視障者如何在這轉變過程中,共同形塑出現在所看到的視障按摩樣貌與內容。2008年10月31日司法院釋字第六四九號解釋,宣告視障按摩保障違憲後,許多視障按摩團體希望能改變視障者就業訓練過程,重新進入醫療體系從事理療工作。然而從本研究的角度與立場來看,這雖然不是不可能的目標,但卻是個百廢待舉重新建構網絡的龐大工程。
The blind in Taiwan used to perform acupuncture, moxibustion, massage, and electrotherapy under the Japanese regime. Why did these blind physical therapists become ”non-medical” massagers after the Chinese Nationalist's takeover of Taiwan? This is the main topic to be explored in the current study. Since the current disability models are incapable of explaining these complicated relations between body and work, this study adopts Actor Network Theory as a tool to analyze and answer these questions. We will examine how government law and policy, medical professionals, blind workers and medical devices coproduce the form and content of today's blind massage. On October 31, 2008, the Taiwan Justices of the Constitutional Court issued Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 649, which proclaimed that it is unconstitutional to restrict massage work to vision-impaired individuals. Many of the blind-massage groups now intend to retrain the blind back into medical professions. However, though not impossible, there will be a lot of work to do to rebuild the network required.