“There is a cyborg hierarchy. They like us best with bionic arms and legs. They like us Deaf with hearing aids, though they prefer cochlear implants. It would be an affront to ask the Hearing to learn sign language. Instead they wish for us to lose our language, abandon our culture, and consider ourselves cured. They like exoskeletons, which none of us use. They don’t count as cyborgs those of us who wear pacemakers or go to dialysis. Nor do they count those of us kept alive by machines, those of us made ambulatory by wheelchairs, those of us on biologics or antidepressants. They want us shiny and metallic and in their image.”
― Jillian Weise, "Common Cyborg" from Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century edited by Alice Wong.
Edit: Updated. Sorry for the incorrect attribution. I didn't have a copy of the book readily available and assumed deaf authors I follow on social media were correct when they were sharing this quote. Thank you @themathomhouse for bringing this to my attention.
Listen, I don't know how to tell you this, but disabled people don't actually need to be polite when educating you for something you should already know.
I'm not being an asshole when I tell you that obviously we don't use American Sign Language in Australia. (/directed)
I'm not being an asshole when I tell you not to push me when I'm in my wheelchair without asking.
I'm not being an asshole when I tell you you're being ableist.
Disabled people don't owe you shit. I'm not going to be respectful to you when you're not respectful to me or other disabled people.
As of yesterday, Florida is no longer allowing interpreters of any kind when someone takes a driver’s test (this includes the written portion and the driving portion).
They’re requiring all tests be taken in English.
Not only is this complete discrimination against people who read and speak spoken languages that are not English, it’s also complete discrimination against people whose primary language are neither spoken nor English. Like people who communicate mostly or entirely in American Sign Language.
Not allowing interpreters during the written portion is still awful in the context of people who use ASL because not every deaf person’s first language is English. ASL and English are not the same language at all and ASL is not a written language. Just because someone uses ASL does not automatically mean they can read English.
This new rule or whatever makes it more likely disabled people can’t drive and won’t be in public. This independence being taken away also means we [disabled people] have to rely on other people for things we need. This can lead to disabled people being abused. It also makes it a lot more difficult for disabled people to leave if we are being abused.
And, yes, this is illegal. A lot of discriminaion that’s technically illegal - and has been for decades - happens all the time.
All in all, this harms a lot of people and should be talked about and taken seriously.
every time I see the Boots advert for hearing tests that's like "Your granddaughter is upset you missed her joke" or the other one that's like "your dog is sad the TV was too loud" I start to feel slightly insane because. hold on. we're like 200 years into the Deaf advocacy movement (exact timescale varies by country), a non-insignificant part of which is the idea that deaf and hard of hearing people should be able to choose to reject or use hearing aids without shame or pressure from hearing people. this shit isn't exactly obscure anymore. and major pharmacy chain boots has decided it's a good idea to make adverts that subtly imply you're causing problems for the people around you if you don't go get a hearing test (to get hearing aids. so you can hear ""normally"" again).
This is ableism, transphobia, exorsexism, and varsexism.
Holy shit. I cannot believe this. So much is wrong with this, where do I even begin?
The people they want to ban from driving include:
-Deaf and HOH people. (Literally for what purpose? Because they may not be able to hear honking and police sirens? Well, just being observant of surroundings is all that's really necessary, you don't have to hear to be a safe driver!)
-People with colorblindness (not all forms of colorblindness make it impossible to tell a red light vs green light!)
-People with epilepsy. (Plenty of epileptics are not a danger behind the wheel!)
-People with paraphilic disorders. (I cannot even concieve of a possible connection. It's just stereotyping us as dangerous individuals.)
-Schizospecs. (Literally just the stereotype that a schizospec person becomes dangerous when having an episode, that is not the case for a majority of them.)
-People with personality disorders (again, for what purpose? Just stereotyping us as dangerous?)
-People with behavioral disorders (Like with para disorders and personality disorders, its just again, another stereotype!)
-People with neurodevelopmental disabilities (not all neurodevelopmental disabilities impair ability to drive!)
-Binary trans people, non-binary people, and other people with gender incongruence. (This has to be the most absurd one, in what way could having a queer gender identity possibly correlate with driving?)
Audism exists along the lines of interpersonal ableism and institutional ableism.
Audism is when your friends cut you off for being a "gaslighter" because you couldn't hear them and asked them to repeat things. (Expressing your communication needs is abusive.) This is interpersonal ableism.
Audism is when your partner promises to take a sign language class for you for the 5th Christmas in a row and yet again does not follow through. (Your communication needs are just not that important) This is interpersonal ableism.
Audism is when your friends take advantage of your deafness to talk shit about you right around the corner. (Your trust in your friends is just not that important) This is interpersonal ableism.
Audism is when your friends take a sign language class but refuse to practice with you. (Your communication is just not that important) This is interpersonal ableism.
Audism is when a stranger makes a comment that they would have aborted you if you were their child. (Your life is just not that important) This is interpersonal ableism.
Audism is when your professor decides that he will only caption the videos you watch at home for homework, not the ones shown in class. (Your understanding of the material is just not that important) This is institutional ableism.
Audism is when the interpreter is "charging too much" to be hired for the event you were supposed to be attending. (Your access to the event is just not that important) This is institutional ableism.
Audism is when interpreters aren't required for traffic stops or any other police interactions before arrest. (Your safety around the police is just not that important) This is institutional ableism.
Audism is when your job won't let you use your FM system around customers because "they might not feel comfortable with it." (Your ability to keep your job is just not that important) This is institutional ableism.
Audism is when your professor tells you that wearing your FM system is "annoying" so he won't be doing it anymore. (Your ability to understand the lecture is just not that important) This is interpersonal AND institutional ableism.
Audism is when the police officer mocks your deaf accent while you try to speak after being denied an interpreter. (Your communication is just not that important) This is interpersonal AND institutional ableism.
Audism is when over and over again you are rejected by the people around you and the institutions you live within. Audism is when you are treated as worthless day in and day out. Audism is when you can't keep friendships, jobs, good grades, etc. because everyone gives up on you- you are not worth it. That is what the world tells us every day.
When you wake up deaf* you wake up to a world that does not want you. Your waking up in and of itself is an act of resistance in a world that would have rather you died than have to accommodate you.
*I am including all levels of hearing loss under the definition of "deaf"
Welcome to this-is-audism! - Read before submitting
Audism: Discrimination based on hearing ability
This is a gimmick blog for discussing audism! It exists in the same vein as @this-is-saneism and @this-is-ableism as well as other this-is blogs.
This blog stands with Palestine 🇵🇸
What can be submitted
Any experience with audism can be submitted here!
You can submit here if you:
Are d/Deaf
Are hard of hearing
Have any level of hearing loss or deaf gain
Have auditory processing disorder
Are self diagnosed
Hearing people may submit their own experiences being assumed to fall into one of the above categories but these submissions will be posted at my discretion. Hearing people may not submit another person's experience without their consent. If you are submitting on behalf of a deaf/hard of hearing person or someone with APD please specify that you have their consent or your ask will be deleted.
The queue currently posts 1 time a day.
What will not be posted
Asks attempting to incite or engage in discourse
Anything asking a question already answered in the FAQ (it's below the cut)
Any variation of "I misread audism as autism"
Callout posts
FAQ
1. What flag is in your profile photo?
The deaf flag created by Arnaud Balard
2. What is the difference between lowercase and uppercase d/Deaf?
Lowercase deaf refers to medically having hearing loss or deaf gain. Uppercase Deaf refers to Deafness as a culture.
3. What is deaf gain?
The term "hearing loss" frames deafness as a loss. The term "deaf gain" was coined to describe what is gained by being d/Deaf.
4. Am I deaf or hard of hearing?
I don't know, that's really up to you. There is no line in the sand where someone goes from hard of hearing to deaf. I can't tell you this.
5. I have auditory processing disorder without hearing loss/deaf gain, can I call myself deaf or hard of hearing?
No.
6. What is the best way to learn sign language?
Offline in a class with a Deaf teacher.
7. [Insert sign language question here]
I'm not qualified to answer this, ask someone else.
8. Do you have a DNI?
No, but I'm an antifascist so be prepared to be blocked if you are a fascist (includes zionists and TERFs
9. Why is "hearing impaired" offensive?
"Hearing impaired" implies that hearing is the default and deviations from it are defective and out of the ordinary.
10. How do I know if I have hearing loss?
You go to an audiologist and get an audiogram.
11. How do I know if I have auditory processing disorder?
You go to an audiologist or SLP (preferably one who is licensed in both) who works with APD and get an evaluation.
12. How do I join the Deaf community as someone with hearing loss/deaf gain?
You learn your local sign language and make an effort to incorporate yourself into the community.
13. Am I "deaf enough" to be part of the Deaf community?
If you have any level of hearing loss/deaf gain then you are "deaf enough" to join the Deaf community.
My question is not listed here (guidelines for asking questions):
Don't apologize for asking a question. I don't like hearing guilt here- it's fine to ask questions. I don't want to feel like I need to reassure you that asking questions is ok. It is. Just ask the question.
Asking follow up questions about questions in the FAQ is acceptable but they should be new questions, not restatements of the original question.
I can't tell you anything about you and if you ask about yourself I will probably not have a solid answer. Ask from a 3rd person perspective and you are more likely to get a helpful response (e.g "Am I a good candidate for hearing aids?"- I don't know you vs. "Is someone with moderate hearing loss a good candidate for hearing aids?"- now we're speaking generally, I am more likely to be able to answer this)
I don't answer most questions about myself. This is a gimmick blog. I'm not going to make it about me.
Most good faith questions are on the table. I don't bully people for having questions, even if I think they're inappropriate. If I don't like your question I will just tell you it's inappropriate. In the worst case scenario I simply don't respond.
the sheer amount of fandom, fanfic, and fictional character content in the d/Deaf and hard of hearing tags is staggering. You have to scroll for ages before you even start getting to the deaf cat, let alone actual d/Deaf and hard of hearing users and issues.
this isn't specific to d/Deaf or HoH spaces either, you can barely poke your head into any tag without hitting a wall of fiction. is it that hard to understand that if you believe the internet is a source of connection and sharing knowledge that it's bad to deliberately obstruct that?
Have some basic decency and keep fictional characters in their own tags. It's hard enough for disabled people to have any opportunity to talk about disability or connect with each other without the streams of information constantly contaminated with your favourite blorbos. Let us communicate and share things, for fuck's sakes, without finding ways to make it about fiction. Without finding ways to make it about what you like instead of what others in that space like and need. Sometimes disabled people... actually exist. And are more important than fiction.
