After a year and a half of coordinating literary management of the North Carolina Association of the Deaf’s monthly e-newsletters, I am constantly reminded of the Deaf disempowerment by the stories that I come across. While many members of the Deaf Community have raised issues of hearing privilege, I do want to explain a bit about what it is and why it is essential to acknowledge them. Hearing privilege is when hearing people decide what is best for the Deaf Community without their input, insight, or consideration. This is called HEARsplaining. Hearing privilege is all-pervasive.
I get frustrated with professionals who claim to be "neutral and pro-parent choice". I do not believe for one minute that an organization serving families with Deaf/Hard of Hearing children can be impartial when they have no Deaf individuals serving on their board and does not employ Deaf parent educators / Deaf mentors. Especially that their organization's website shows no American Sign Language resources and not offering families paid sign language classes when other resources are gladly provided. This only indicates bias on their part.
The Interpreting Community
There is a profound lack of trust between the Deaf Community and hearing interpreters. I am astounded by how very little awareness some interpreters have of the professional opportunities that they are given. I cannot stress enough for them to "be careful and thoughtful about the roles they accept and the situations that they participate in" (Aubrecht & Furda, 2012). When an interpreter told me: I have served the Deaf Community for X number of years, I am a worthy… I couldn’t listen anymore. If anybody is seeking gratitude for their work being an ally, please don’t. That’s when it hit me. I realize that I have privileges too. Just because I am Deaf does not mean I am without privileges.
Culturally Deaf
This topic is incredibly complex and is so very layered. Even uncomfortable.
I am not just deaf but culturally Deaf with signing privilege.
Who had access to language and community their whole lives? I did. I had access to languages – American Sign Language and English. I grew up having a place in the Deaf Community which I’ve always felt an enormous sense of belonging. It wasn’t until years later that I realized I was on this end of the spectrum where I had this complete access to language and community. I’m very privileged and, frankly, extremely fortunate.
It pains me to think about individuals who had to endure the opposite end of this specific spectrum. It’s not about being deaf but about being a human being. No one deserves to survive through intentional, systematic oppression, feeling “I struggle with my language” and “I don’t have a sense of community” (Hanaumi, 2020). I contribute to and nurture the health of the Deaf Community as the system puts that spectrum in there. Because our society prioritizes monolingualism and deeply rooted systemic ableism within audiology, studies show that only a minority of deaf Americans have had access to sign language in their youth (Saperstein, 2021).
An eye-opening experience was through my volunteer work as a board member of the NC Association of the Deaf, where I answered many e-mails and phone calls. Despite technological advances such as cochlear implants and hearing aids that we have nowadays, many suffer from isolation, communication obstacles, and barriers to incidental learning, especially in education (Listman & Kurz, 2020). The most nerve-wracking conversation for me is when I explain to clients why deaf people with cochlear implants are turned down after applying for social security disability income. The Social Security Administration views them as “rehabilitated” after their cochlear implant surgery as a child. I’ve been screamed at by clients: from “I am not cured!” to “I cannot find a job!”
That’s when I think about my signing privilege—every time.
Remaining Neutral or Objective Only Helps The Oppressor
There is no harm in sign language exposure. There is evidence of its benefits – Deaf Gain, we call it. There is growing evidence that lack of language access has negative implications, from mental health issues to lower quality of life (Braun et al., 2017). I am committed to the priorities of deaf child development, a focus on the healthy growth of all developmental domains through a linguistically rich environment such as sign language, rather than auditory deprivation and speech skills (Hall, 2017).
I'm dedicated to paying particular attention to marginalized deaf/hard of hearing people, engaging in crucial conversations with sincere intent and honest acknowledgment. Our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being must be valued and nurtured by the whole.
“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented…” - Elie Wiesel.
Suppose you work with the Deaf Community, please support organizations and businesses led by Deaf people. Make donations if you can. If you are already a part of an organization that serves families with Deaf/Hard of Hearing children, seek culturally Deaf people to serve on the board and to become parent educators.
Please stand with us, shoulder to shoulder.
Very sincerely,
Jaime Marshall
Note: Deaf Community includes people who may identify as deaf, deaf-blind, deaf-disabled, hard of hearing, and late-deafened.
References:
Aubrecht, A & Furda, E. (2014, November 21). Hearing Privilege & Unpacking in Action: A Story. Facundo Element.
Braun, D. C., Gormally, C., & Clark, M. D. (2017). The deaf mentoring survey: A community cultural wealth framework for measuring mentoring effectiveness with underrepresented students. CBE Life Sciences Education, 16(1), ar10.
Hall, W.C. (2017). What you don't know can hurt you: The risk of language deprivation by impairing sign language development in deaf children. Maternal and child health journal, 21(5), 961-965.
Listman, J. D. & Kurz, K. B. (2020). Lived experience: Deaf professionals’ stories of resilience and risks. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 25(2), 239-249.
Saperstein, L. (2021). Cochlear Implants: Myths and Facts. Language First, 1(3), 2-3.
