Reflection on the Deaf-World

Oliver’s article on the definition of disability was interesting.  He wrote that one of the reasons why definitions are important is because of the need to identify and classify people.  He said if a disability is see as a tragedy, then disabled people were be treated as if they are the victims of some tragic happening or circumstance (pg. 167).  The other very interesting thing that I found in this reading is Oliver said that poverty is a major cause of disability (170).

Understanding the politics of the definition of disability was important for me moving forward in reading Liza Mundy’ article “A World of Their Own”.  In this article she writes about two women (Sharon and Candy) who are deaf.  They also have a deaf daughter.  They sought out a sperm donor that was deaf, so they would have a better chance of having another deaf child.  I found it interesting that regular sperm banks did not allow deaf people to donate their sperm.  The women had to ask a deaf friend to be the donor.

Throughout the pregnancy the women worried whether their child would be born deaf or not.  They were hoping for a deaf child.  Although they said they would love the child either way, they really wanted it to be deaf.  Three months after the child was born it was given a hearing test.  The test showed the child was deaf in one ear, and severely deaf in the other.  The child could have been provided with an aided device that may have helped him hear something.  Sandy and Candy decided not to have the hearing aid.  In a world where most parents would have done anything to help their child hear, these parents decided to wait until the child could make the decision.  It seemed like in the article that by waiting, the child would have lost his chance of hearing.

This raises two questions. What are people’s thoughts on Sharon and Candy seeking out a deaf donor to increase their odds of having a deaf child?  What are people thoughts on Sharon and Candy not providing the hearing aid to their child? 

At first I could not understand why they would have chosen either road.  Then I read the article by Lane on Ethnicity, Ethics, and the Deaf- World.  I also read the person essay.  This shed a new light on my feelings.  The personal essay by Heather Shaw was very moving.  The most powerful statement and reflection on myself I got from that essay was her words “I am not disabled, until someone sees me as disabled”.  This goes along with what Oliver state in his article about definitions, if it is seen as a tragedy, it will be treated as one.   These articles, along with Lane’s article changed my thinking about Sharon and Candy.  Sharon and Candy are part of a Deaf-World, to them this is their ethnicity, their identify.   The Deaf-World sees itself as an ethnic minority group.  They do not see themselves as disabled, others see them as disabled.  So in a world where woman are having test to determine the sex of babies, spinal bifida, cystic fibrosis, Downs Syndrome, and another of diseases, then making the decision to terminate their pregnancy, then I cannot be angry with Sharon and Candy for choosing the child that they wanted.

I felt bad at first, then I thought who is to say that being able to hear is not a disability.  Who I am to tell a deaf person that they have a disability?  These articles have given me a new perspective on the Deaf-World.

 Reading 18: Oliver, Michael – Disability Definitions: The Politics of Meaning

Reading 19: Mundy, Liza – A World of Their Own

Reading 20: Lane, Harlan – Ethnicity, Ethics, and the Deaf – World

Personal Essay – Invisibly Disabled