Ginny Stewart

EDSP 1115-002
Danielle Goyette
November 19, 2020
Reflection Paper #5
Audism in the Deaf Community

Ask almost anyone, and they will know the term racism and sexism. In fact, most people

would be able to discuss these issues and understand the problems surrounding them that need to

be fixed. But say you were to ask a person about the term audism, it is likely they would not have

even heard of the word. Audism includes many forms of disempowering people of the Deaf

community, including suppressing the use of sign language or “simply viewing the Deaf

community as inferior because of their deafness” (Beddes, 2019). This is a growing issue that

people are not discussing as much as they should.

Audism is a form of discrimination that people in the Deaf community face practically

every day. This discrimination often causes disempowerment within the Deaf community as

well. “The word (disempowerment) has quite a simple definition for such a powerful concept: to

take away power” (Street Leverage, 2012). This disempowerment can come from many different

people in many different ways. Trudy Suggs tells a story of when she was in high school, and her

interpreter felt she signed too quickly, so she would simply speak gibberish to the class when the

interpreter could not understand. To a student who is already vulnerable in a hearing society,

making fun of her and drawing even more negative attention to her took away her power. This

happens to Deaf people more than people might realize.

Another way that Deaf people are disempowered is on social media. I am a frequent user

of the app Tik Tok. I have read multiple comments and seen multiple videos posted by members

of the Deaf community asking people to put captions on their videos so that they can participate

in the entertainment that the hearing community gets to enjoy. I am very pleased to be able to say
that the generations that use Tik Tok are very respectful and aware of the injustices going on in

the world. Many creators put in the extra work to put captions on their videos to be respectful to

all people. On the other side of that though, apps like Twitter and Facebook are often filled with

older generations that tend to ignore the issues happening in society. This discriminates the Deaf

community from being able to enjoy the videos posted the same way that friends and family

members do.

The list of ways that the Deaf community is affected by audism and disempowerment

could go on forever, but that needs to change. “The Deaf community certainly has come a long

way over the decades, even if the pendulum constantly swings from one side to the other in terms

of education, discrimination, access, and equality” (Suggs, 2016). While there have been

improvements, it is 2020. We should no longer be discriminating against people based on

whether they can hear or not, or if they have a disability, or the color of their skin, but

unfortunately, it is still happening. This is where I feel my generation, Gen Z, is going to make a

change. As this year has gone on, we have seen the power this generation has between making

our voices heard through voting, protests, and much more. While our focus has been aimed at the

injustices in the African American community, we are fighting for the equal rights of all people.

As a single person, I may not be able to get far in advocating for the rights of Deaf

people, but with the help of social media, I am able to make my voice heard and spread those

beliefs to people across the country. One of the ways that I have been able to help advocate for

the Deaf community is simply educating people. I have made it a goal of mine as a privileged

person to stand up for those who others might not listen to. If I hear people being offensive to the

Deaf community, I will call them out for it. If I see people on social media dancing to a song

using “sign language” on Tik Tok when in reality they are signing gibberish, I will point it out so
that others know. I can stay up to date on events and issues happening within the Deaf

community so that I can sign petitions or attend protests. The list of ways I can help goes on, and

it is my goal to do everything in my power do advocate for the Deaf.

These issues stem from people simply not caring enough to educate themselves, but as a

society, we cannot continue ignoring the problems that others face. The privileged, whether it be

a white person, a person of wealth, a hearing person, or so on, must stand with the people being

oppressed to make others listen. It is heartbreaking that people will not listen unless people they

find “worthy” begin to care, but unfortunately, that is the case. I hope that through mine and Gen

Z’s efforts, we can make audism just as important as a word as racism or sexism, because it is.
 References

Beddes, L. (2019, November 13). Audism: The Unseen Prejudice.

https://medium.com/@beddeslo/audism-the-unseen-prejudice-7accd5a2ebbe.

Street Leverage. (2012, December 10). Trudy Suggs: Deaf Disempowerment and Today's

Interpreter [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=pDSNKRaOmo8&feature=emb_logo

Suggs, T. (2016). A Quick Look at Everyday Disempowerment of Deaf

People. NADmag_Spring2016_Suggs.pdf