#actuallydeaf

[this-is-audism]

audism is the fact that in the US cops are only legally obligated to provide an interpreter after a Deaf person is detained. this results in many Deaf people being murdered by the state for not understanding instructions at things as simple as traffic stops.

many cops make no effort to use alternative communication with Deaf people even after we have identified ourselves as Deaf.

audism is also the fact that our signing is considered threatening and something that warrants murder. audism is the fact that our signing is labeled as gang signs and is used to justify murdering us. (and, for the record, actual gang signs also don't justify murder)

audism is the way Deaf people are accused of lying to "get out of things" when we identify ourselves as Deaf.... which is then used to deny us accommodations like interpreters or written communication.

audism is the fact that multiple Deaf people (mostly unhoused) have been murdered in my city alone in the last 5 years under the premises of "refusing to follow instructions" and "threatening hand gestures" and "gang signs." audism is the fact that Deaf people (and especially multiply marginalized Deaf people such as Black Deaf people) disproportionately experience police brutality even when it isn't lethal.

[wheelie-sick]

for the lovely lovely deafies out there who want to get involved in direct action you absolutely 100% cannot ever bring a hearing aid or cochlear implant with bluetooth to any direct action. bluetooth devices all carry a unique signal that can be used to identify you if it's picked up at a direct action. go with a [more] hearing buddy and communicate in sign language. if you don't mutually know a sign language then come up with gestures. do not risk your freedom because you want to have your hearing aid/cochlear implant at the action. it's not worth it.

[filiasyth]

This is a short personal comic/ stream-of-consciousness I made to mark the last day of Deaf Awareness Month (September). It’s based on something that I’ve experienced a lot in my life, but rarely see mention of, even though it’s a big issue. As a mainstreamed deaf person who grew up without sign language or a Deaf community, I had to learn a lot about advocating for myself and my language needs.

Isolation is very alienating and painful. So the next time you meet a deaf person, please, be patient, and respect the mode of communication they choose.

<0/  (https://deafpower.me/)

Image descriptions below.

[Image Description:

A six-page comic about deaf identity titled, ‘What Do I Mean When I Talk About Deaf Loneliness.’ All pages have capitalized text, simple colors, and drawings set on a white background.

The first page shows the title written in black in scratchy, rough lines. The final word, loneliness, is written in thick red marker.

The second page shows countless tiny black circles of the same size scattered over the entire page. The message is written in light blue and reads, ‘I mean not existing in a room full of people.’ The letter O in of is filled-in with dark blue.

The third page shows nine stylized speech bubbles, each a different size and shape and which correspond to the words in the text. The message reads, ‘I mean always being talked about but never talking.’ All the words are light purple, except for the word talking which is a darker violet.

The fourth page shows a large column of text in the middle of the page surrounded by eyes of all different shapes and sizes. The eyes are all staring intensely at the words in the message, which reads, ‘I mean stared at but never seen.’ All the words are green, with the word seen in light green against a dark green background.

The fifth page shows a tangled mess of black threads interwoven within and around the text, trailing off the page. The message reads, ‘I mean being the joke but not laughing.’ All the words are in yellow, except for ‘being’ and ‘laughing’ in dark orange.

The sixth and final page shows three large, mostly abstract drawings stacked with the text. At the top is a loose, sketchy drawing of the sun in yellow, and at the bottom a swathe of tan brushstrokes indicating sand dunes. The message reads, ‘I mean having hands like water in a desert.’ All the words are brown except for the word water, which is bright blue and takes up the center of the page. It fades into a series of blue waves, which morph into various handshapes and letters in American Sign Language that reach up and around the word water, which is also rendered in the ASL fingerspelled alphabet. Finally, the word desert is written in dark brown, and is stylized with scattered brushstrokes to match the sand dunes.

End of Image Description.]

[raccooninapartyhat]

you can wear your hearing aids but watch out!! you may then experience The Sounds

[hard-of-death]

There are truly no words to describe how much I fucking despise how the only posts about D/deaf and HoH people that get any actual recognition are made by... hearing fucking people

And in most of the cases, hearing people with no relation to the Deaf community, or that held audits and ableist ideology very tight to they heart and do not speaking at all for us

And is not because we are not vocal! We are, our voices are just being ignored and drowned under the voices of hearing people and is just. so. fucking. tiring

[inthewaytoamultilinguallife]

Do you want to learn a sign language?

If you are hearing and want to learn a sign language, there is a few stuff you need to know about before you start -maybe even before you chose a sign language to learn.

I want to clarify that, while I was born hard of hearing, and have several HoH family members myself, I've only started learning my country's sign language a few years ago. I've, nevertheless, been around too many hearing folks that have expressed a desire to learn sign language to know what they always get wrong. So, from your local hard of hearing folk that is tired of hearing folks being not educated enough:

Sign languages are languages. They have grammar, morphology, and all the complexity and history of a language.

Sign languages aren't universal, that is: there is not only one sign language that is used by every person that knows how to sign. While the number is not known exactly, there are around 300 sign languages in use around the world nowadays.

On the same note, there is not such a thing as "South America's sign language" or "Latinoamerica's sign language". Neither there is an "Africa's sign language". Different countries of South America and Africa have their own sign language.

Sign language can and have linguistic variations. Like any other language, they are not monoliths. Don't treat them like that.

Those "exaggerated" facial expressions you see D/deaf people make as they sign? More often than not it is part of the sign language grammar

If you are learning a sign language, you will have to learn Deaf culture, even if you are learning it for your mute friend, or alike. This is mostly because there is a lot of things you won't understand otherwise, to be respectful and because most hearing people don't know sign language anyway. I know there are mute, autistic, and trans folks that want to learn sign language for a variety of reasons and don't want anything to do with D/deaf and HoH folks. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to learn a SL to hide your voice or be able to communicate, know that you will not be able to detach yourself from the Deaf community or deaf folks, as your primary source of communication in sign language would be deaf and HoH folks that sign.

On a similar note, not all deaf and HoH folks sign. Some sign and speak, others only speak, and others only sign. That is up to the individual, and one is not lesser than the other.

Blind folks, as well as amputees, can and do sign too

Most of the songs translated to sign languages by hearing folks are wrong. I know a lot of people use them to study or practice, but unless you are advanced enough to spot mistakes, or know by a fact that the translation/ interpretation was made by a D/deaf or HoH folk that signs, or a professional interpreter, stay away from it. The Deaf community had spoken about other issues with hearing people interpreting songs at length before, you can look it up if you want to learn more.

Don't go fishing for a sign name, and stop treating it like some sort of trophy to show off. Is incredibly rude and irritating.

Deaf culture is not a monolith, it changes from country to country, and in some cases, from race to race. Learn the Deaf culture from the sign language you are learning, and don't judge or politicize the Deaf culture from another one

And most importantly: Deaf and HoH people don't own you anything. Nor congratulations or gratefulness for learning a sign language, nor teaching you about deaf culture. Not even teaching you signs or how to sign at all

Deaf and HoH folks are always welcome to add more!

[mxoleander]

if you reblog a video and add "unmute!" or something similar, i'm putting you under a mummy's curse until you add captions

[twinantithesis]

I'm tired. I'm tired of being treated like a doll or house plant on a shelf because I can't talk. I'm tired of no one understanding my BSL, of no one listening to me.

I AM A HUMAN!

I have words to say, thoughts to express, feelings, a fully functioning consciousness! I deserve respect too!

When I sign at strangers they just stare at me with this dumbfounded look, empty nonunderstanding eyes. When I need help they ignore me, don't even offer a pen & paper, force me to play charades with them only for them to misinterpret it!

Do they not know how lonely it is? When everyone else in the room is chatting, laughing, shouting, and I sit there not able to utter a word? How isolating it is for no one in your life to try to learn sign for you?

This world and its cruelty, people and their negligence, this crushing ache to be understood...

If you are abled, if you are hearing, if you are speaking, I'm begging you to learn some basic sign. You have no idea the pain and fear of not being able to communicate. If you know even just your country's sign alphabet, you could literally be someone's lifeline in situations like this. Enough with the abled saviour act, get out there and actually be one.