Audism
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Audism is a term used to describe discrimination against deaf or hard of hearing people. This discrimination can occur in a number of forms in a range that includes both physical, cultural, and linguistic variants. Further complicating the issue is the existence of intra-group discrimination, which can either mimic the pathways of inter-group discrimination or take entirely new forms. The term was popularly originated by author Tom Humphries in 1975[1]; at the time the definition focused on the attitude that people who hear and speak, or hear and speak better, or have excellent English skills, are superior to others. The definition has since expanded.
One common form of physical audism occurs when a given person with hearing loss is judged as incapable of a given behavior, occupation, skill, ability, or achievement due solely to that hearing loss, whether or not there is evidence of that incapability, and usually without the person who engages in such discrimination entertaining the possibility of change on the part of the victim. This form of audism is a reflection of a widely-held naturalistic belief by people who can hear in their own superiority. While it is technically correct to say that some forms of employment or activity utilize sound, alternatives can usually be found and are sometimes preferable to their auditory counterparts, as the prevalence of text messaging despite the existence of telephones would seem to demonstrate. While opponents of such discrimination argue that deaf people can do anything that hearing people can do except hear, they recognize that there are limitations for certain kinds of employment in which deafness could plausibly carry an increased safety risk such as service in the army or employment as a commercial pilot (although technology already exists and is used which depends on text for communication, and armies have used signs for communication and continue to do so til this day.) Aside from such examples, deaf people and their proponents are capable of excelling in a wide range of settings and deserve equal opportunity. This is true amongst political conservatives as well as progressives and liberals; noted conservative George Herbert Walker Bush, for example, was instrumental in the development of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which attempts to provide for the alterations which makes such employment possible. This form of audism can also include exclusion of Deaf people or the disparagement of their ideas. A famous historical example is a criticism of the socialist ideals of Helen Keller by the Brooklyn Eagle, which implied that her ideas were of less value and should be taken less seriously than those of someone who could hear. (Note that Keller did not identify as culturally deaf.)
A less common form of audism, but one which is felt deeply by the American culturally Deaf community, is discrimination against those who use signed languages such as American Sign Language or British Sign Language. This can occur by banning use of these languages (several schools engaged in such prohibition in America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and some continue to do so.) It can also occur by criticism and disparagement of the languages, or persistent denials that they are languages at all, despite ample scientific proof. From the eighteenth century, and some say before, great controversy has raged over the inclusion of such languages in education.
A third form of audism is practiced against the Deaf person as a cultural entity. This can occur, for example, by criticism of aspects of Deaf peoples' cultures or by criticism against the right of Deaf people to have a culture as a whole. More subtle examples include the exclusion of Deaf people from representation in history, or their minimization and erasure as primal or secondary causes in history, movements, and other important aspects of national identity. Since being deaf is essentially to have an invisible difference, this is sometimes inadvertent rather than intentional.
Bitterness associated with decades of discrimination (both passive and active) has in some cases resulted in reverse-audism developing, whereby those in the Deaf community no longer wish to associate with people who can hear, or, in a tiny minority, believe they are superior to those who can hear. Audism can also occur between groups of deaf people, with some who choose not to use a sign language and not to identify with Deaf culture considering themselves to be 'better' than those who do, or vice versa.
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[edit] The Practice of Audism
Audism, in the examples above, can be practiced either actively or passively. Those who engage in audism are termed audists.[2] While those who actively engage in audism are few, the number of passive audists are many. A passive audist is an individual who has not given much thought to their actions concerning Deaf people, hearing people, or signed languages. Such a person, often, is only behaving in such a fashion because they are not informed of the differences between Deaf and hearing people. Such people are generally not malicious, and only act from ignorance. Their actions, however, can prevent the employment and education of deaf people despite their benign nature.
The active audist is one who, despite being informed, continues to engage in audist behavior. Their motivations often stem from audist perceptions; since they believe that it is better to, for example, use spoken rather than signed languages, they must maintain that belief. They occasionally deny that the Deaf Culture even exists. The writer Harlan Lane in his book "The Mask of Benevolence" quite aptly describes the goal of the active audist: "dominating, restructuring and exercising authority over the deaf community." Active audists are far fewer than passive, but they tend to be much more adamant in their views than a passive audist. They seek to pursue the goals stated by Lane in various ways; they maintain orally-focused education should be the main method of education of the Deaf; they work to limit the usage of American Sign Language within Deaf residential schools; they support laws that hinder the Deaf person's ability to freely interact with the world around them, the latter in very extreme cases. A famous historical example of an active audist is the scientist Alexander Graham Bell, who supported the sterilization of Deaf people. He himself, of course, remained unsterilized, although he was the child of a deaf person, and theoretically a carrier of genetic deafness.
While passive audism can be contravened through knowledge and experience, active audism persists against knowledge and the shared experiences of deaf people.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Audism FAQ by Gallaudet University
- deafness.about.com on audism
- [1] Audism Unveiled, a film of interviews with Deaf people about how audism has impacted their lives
