Stereotypes of the deaf and hard of hearing

some stereotypes i get..

deaf parents want to have a hearing kids
deaf people can't work
deaf are gays/lesiban
deaf are poor

these are all not true.. yet some true.. but they think one person who is poor then they think all are poor.

this saddens me.
 
Yes, back years ago, the writers/writresses have to pay like 8% of their sale receipts to IRS for tax purposes rather they get enough tips or not. The owners of restaurants have to report to IRS of all sale receipts. That is why we all need to understand about tips.
 
deafdyke said:
I get that a lot too......I am DEAF. I can't modulate my voice for crying out loud! I hate having a deaf voice.


Dont ever say that i am hearing and i love deaf voices. They are cute and a special tone to them. One of the things i would miss the most is my girlfriends voice.
 
i, too, love the deaf voices. it's charming :)

the deaf= dumb thing bothers me a lot :| along with hoh= old people.... in hearing aid ads, it's a bunch of old men :P

i dont know if it fits in with stereotypes... but i hate it when i'm signing to somebody and somebody else comes up and says, "hey! i know sign language, too!" and then they just hold up the middle finger *grumble*
 
Murasaki said:
i, too, love the deaf voices. it's charming :)

i dont know if it fits in with stereotypes... but i hate it when i'm signing to somebody and somebody else comes up and says, "hey! i know sign language, too!" and then they just hold up the middle finger *grumble*

Hahaha - I don't know if it fits in but I like it! It is amazing what people do and say!! :ugh:
 
SB_GB_4ever said:
Dont ever say that i am hearing and i love deaf voices. They are cute and a special tone to them. One of the things i would miss the most is my girlfriends voice.

I have had several people say they like my voice. They say it sounds southern?! I don't have a severe accent at all but when people say things about it they almost always mistake it for a regional or even foreign accent than one caused by my hearing.
 
deafdyke said:
I get that a lot too......I am DEAF. I can't modulate my voice for crying out loud! I hate having a deaf voice.

When I was a kid, my stepmother would scream at me "SHUT UP, I HATE YOUR VOICE!" :(
 
Oh, let me count the stereotypes....
As for the ones that haven't been mentioned:
-All deaf people can lipread
-All deaf people have interpreters all the time
(I know these are somewhat contradictory, but most hearing people seem to believe either one or the other)
-Deaf people with cochlear implants can hear (perfectly, or near it)


One big one: All deaf people are just like the one deaf person that hearing person has met. It is true that one deaf person can really influence hearing people's beliefs about deaf people. This can and does cause SO many misunderstandings!
 
What about pity. Little G is still so little that everytime he goes out with his hearing aides on everyone looks at him like "That poor little boy." I don't feel sorry for him. He is fine just the way he is. He is a typical active toddler who enjoys life to the fullest. He is still not proficient with sign but we have our own ways to communicate. :dunno:
 
R2D2 said:
The most common stereotype that comes out to me is the surprise I get sometimes that I drive. Grrr! It's only my ears that don't work not my hands, eyes or feet.

Ya know, I've often wanted to throw this fact at certain family members of mine who think I can't POSSIBLY be aware of an emergency vehicle when my radio is on loud (I am hearing, but rarely is the music ever off!). That's what mirrors are for. ;)
 
signer16 said:
One big one: All deaf people are just like the one deaf person that hearing person has met. It is true that one deaf person can really influence hearing people's beliefs about deaf people. This can and does cause SO many misunderstandings!

Good one. This is exactly why I have to force myself to be a completely polite and friendly professional in so many situations where I want to strangle a hearing client, because many hearing people ignorantly associate interpreters with deaf people. If I am perceived as rude or inappropriate, they think deaf people are rude and inappropriate. And I'm not even talking about linguistic issues!

I have to remind myself at times that many hearing people won't think "Wow, the deaf person was nice but that interpreter was a real b*tch," but rather "Wow, deaf people are b*tchy!"
 
signer16 said:
Oh, let me count the stereotypes....
As for the ones that haven't been mentioned:
-All deaf people can lipread
-All deaf people have interpreters all the time
(I know these are somewhat contradictory, but most hearing people seem to believe either one or the other)
Oh yeah, I have seen this myself. Not all deaf people do sign, nor do all lipread. Some do both, too. I myself get tired of explaining the truth over and over again.
signer16 said:
-Deaf people with cochlear implants can hear (perfectly, or near it)
Lots of implantees on this board totally deny this one, but it is the most common CI-related stereotype out there. Being a hearing person myself, I find myself explaining over and over again "No, they can't hear perfectly with the CI...."
signer16 said:
One big one: All deaf people are just like the one deaf person that hearing person has met. It is true that one deaf person can really influence hearing people's beliefs about deaf people. This can and does cause SO many misunderstandings!
Ugh!!!!! I hate this one! :ugh: :pissed: I have seen it though. It is the hardest to overcome because it requires deprogramming people, which is really hard... :hyper:

Oh, and I have another one:
Several hearing people think that if a deaf person says they're deaf with their voice, they are seeking attention and/or lying. (I've mostly seen this from very Freudian psychologists, but I've also seen it from other people.)
 
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Rose Immortal said:
Ya know, I've often wanted to throw this fact at certain family members of mine who think I can't POSSIBLY be aware of an emergency vehicle when my radio is on loud (I am hearing, but rarely is the music ever off!). That's what mirrors are for. ;)

I don't have my radio loud, and I often drive with it off, but I usually see them before I hear them. I would instead worry about noise-induced hearing loss with your radio. ;)
 
R2D2 said:
The most common stereotype that comes out to me is the surprise I get sometimes that I drive. Grrr! It's only my ears that don't work not my hands, eyes or feet.

OMFG...YES!

That is one of the dumbest questions that I get from others regarding my deafness. Almost always, the first thing out of their mouth is "...are you allowed to drive?"

Well, duh, yes.

*rolls eyes*
 
My (deaf) fiancee's mom keeps telling her "How the HELL can you drive if you're deaf?!" This is the main reason she hasn't taken driver's ed yet--just because her mom thinks deaf people can't drive. :pissed:

This stereotype made no sense to me--especially since I don't watch the road with my ears! :wtf:
 
SJCSue said:
Every Tuesday night, I go to group counseling. Last night, I brought up that people stereotype me as being stupid because my speech is not always clear. :dunno: What are stereotypes for the deaf and hard of hearing?


Of course the real biggie of sterotyping comes from the deaf community i.e. all deaf want sign language, and use it,and of course the old chestnut all deaf people cannot HEAR .....
 
gnulinuxman said:
.Lots of implantees on this board totally deny this one, but it is the most common CI-related stereotype out there. Being a hearing person myself, I find myself explaining over and over again "No, they can't hear perfectly with the CI...."Ugh!!!!!

This remark is misleading and inaccurate and I feel that I should clear the record.

No implantee on the CI sub forum has claimed that one hears perfectly with a CI but for some reason Gnu clings onto this belief that they do. We've asked him over and over again for examples of posts that back up his claim this but he hasn't been able to provide anything.

Just because some people are happy with what they do hear it doesn't make it perfect hearing. From what I have seen on the board everyone has acknowledged this.

Please stop claiming that implantees on this board believe they have perfect hearing with a CI Gnu. It's not true.
 
R2D2 said:
This remark is misleading and inaccurate and I feel that I should clear the record.

No implantee on the CI sub forum has claimed that one hears perfectly with a CI but for some reason Gnu clings onto this belief that they do. We've asked him over and over again for examples of posts that back up his claim this but he hasn't been able to provide anything.
Read it again.

Since I must always re-explain myself (even if you don't read it), I stated that HEARING PEOPLE WITHOUT COCHLEAR IMPLANTS SOMETIMES THINK THAT PEOPLE WITH COCHLEAR IMPLANTS HAVE PERFECT HEARING. My post had NOTHING to do with the implantees themselves thinking or stating they had perfect hearing.

I also stated that some implantees denied that any hearing people would have this stereotype of cochlear implantees (I'm not naming names here because I don't want finger-pointing wars here.)

Again, I did NOT say you or any other cochlear implantee or CI advocate was stating this. I was stating that HEARING people knowing NOTHING about cochlear implantees had the stereotype.
 
LuciaDisturbed said:
R2D2 said:
The most common stereotype that comes out to me is the surprise I get sometimes that I drive. Grrr! It's only my ears that don't work not my hands, eyes or feet.

OMFG...YES!

That is one of the dumbest questions that I get from others regarding my deafness. Almost always, the first thing out of their mouth is "...are you allowed to drive?"

Well, duh, yes.

*rolls eyes*
I actually asked my fiancee this back when we first met (she's deaf). But this stereotype does actually have logic behind it.

In some areas (specifically the State of Missouri, where I am from) it is illegal to drive while one has on headphones (such as from a walkman or ipod). The reason? It blocks more of your hearing of the events around you than does your car radio (assuming it's being played at a reasonable volume.) Although hearing is not required for one to opperate a car, you cannot deny that in some circumstances being able to hear what's going on around you can prevent accidents (such as when you are backing out of a parking spot and failed to see an approaching vehicle; he honks and you stop before hitting him).

Thus, logic would indicate that since the law does not allow one to be opperating a car while they are effectively eliminating their hearing, it would be illegal for one who cannot hear to drive as well.

I'm not saying deaf should not be able to drive, just pointing out that there can be a fairly logical reason why some people make that assumption.
ismi said:
This is an unfortunate myth. If you don't earn the minimum wage, that's tough luck; employers aren't required to make up for it. Not that the minimum wage is enough to live on anyway (at least, in the US).
Actually, I've searched around on the internet, and all references I can find support my previous statement. Admittedly, I was not looking at law texts, and the internet isn't always the most reliable source of information, so I could still be wrong.
 
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