- Related Topics:
- discrimination
- deafness
- prejudice
- social differentiation
audism
-
What is audism?
Audism is the belief that those who can hear are superior to those with hearing loss. It can be exhibited by both hearing and deaf individuals. The term was coined in 1975 by Tom L. Humphries to describe discrimination against deaf people.
Humphries says audism occurs when people judge deaf individuals based on their ability to use the language of hearing culture. It also happens when deaf people oppress other deaf people by demanding the same standards of behavior. Harlan L. Lane described audism as a way for the hearing to dominate the deaf community, especially when environments for deaf people favor hearing persons.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How does audism affect Deaf and hard-of-hearing people?
Audism is the belief that hearing individuals are superior to those with hearing loss, leading to discrimination and prejudice against Deaf or hard-of-hearing people. It can manifest as judging a deaf person's intelligence based on their ability to speak the language of the hearing culture.
Audism also appears when deaf individuals participate in the oppression of other deaf people by demanding the same standards and values as hearing people. The concept of metaphysical audism suggests speech is fundamental to human identity, wrongly implying those who are deaf are inhuman.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are some examples of audism in daily life?
Audism is discrimination or prejudice against individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, based on the belief that hearing people are superior. It can manifest in various ways, often unintentionally, affecting daily interactions and opportunities.
Examples of audism:
* Judging deaf individuals' intelligence or success based on their ability to use spoken language.
* Favoring spoken language over sign language, thus limiting visual stimulation for those who need it.
* Assuming deaf people need to be "fixed" or "cured," reflecting a view that deafness is a problem.
* Pressuring deaf individuals to assimilate into hearing culture.
* Not providing accommodations, such as interpreters, thus creating barriers to communication and participation.4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How is audism different from other kinds of discrimination?
Audism is the belief that those who can hear are superior to those with hearing loss. It involves judging deaf individuals based on their ability to conform to hearing culture and can manifest as institutional practices favoring hearing individuals.
Like other forms of discrimination, audism involves prejudice against a specific group, but it is unique because it is based on the sense of hearing. Audism also includes the idea that speech is fundamental to human identity, which is not true. Recognizing sign language as a fully human language is vital for human rights and respects the visual learning needs of a linguistic minority.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How can audism impact education and job opportunities for Deaf people?
Audism, coined in 1975 by Tom Humphries, is the belief that hearing individuals are superior to those with hearing loss. It can manifest as judging deaf individuals based on their ability to conform to hearing culture.
In education, a clinical model that focuses on overcoming hearing loss can clash with a cultural model that embraces American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf culture. This divide affects how deaf students access education, with debates around mainstreaming versus specialized deaf schools and the role of ASL in instruction.
Audism also extends to job opportunities, where prejudiced attitudes may limit career advancement for deaf individuals.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are ways society can reduce or challenge audism?
Audism is the belief that hearing individuals are superior to those with hearing loss, leading to discrimination and prejudice against deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals. Overcoming audism involves recognizing and challenging the systemic biases that favor hearing individuals.
To reduce audism, society can:
* Promote awareness and education about audism and Deaf culture.
* Support and encourage the use of sign language.
* Ensure accessibility and inclusivity in education, employment, and other areas.
* Empower deaf individuals and give them control over their lives.
* Recognize and respect Deaf peopleās unique identity, culture, and language.
* Advocate for the rights and dignity of deaf individuals as a linguistic minority.4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
audism, belief that the ability to hear makes one superior to those with hearing loss. Those who support this perspective are known as audists, and they may be hearing or deaf. The term audism was coined in 1975 in an unpublished article written by American communication and language researcher Tom L. Humphries as a way to describe discrimination against persons who are deaf.
According to Humphries, audism manifests āin the form of people who continually judge deaf peopleās intelligence and success on the basis of their ability in the language of the hearing culture.ā It also appears when deaf people themselves āactively participate in the oppression of other deaf people by demanding of them the same set of standards, behavior, and values that they demand of hearing people.ā
The concept of audism reemerged in the 1990s, beginning with the work Mask of Benevolence: Disabling the Deaf Community (1992) by American psychologist and speech researcher Harlan L. Lane. Lane described audism as a way for the hearing to dominate the deaf community. This notion was supported by the fact that environments tailored for deaf persons were limited in their visual stimulation and continued to give advantage to hearing persons. Thus, Laneās description invoked the idea of institutional audism, whereby hearing ability was favoured.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
Humphriesās and Laneās contributions to the concept of audism have helped to make previously hidden structures of thought and beliefs visible. Institutional oppression is inherently difficult to detect, for it often masks itself as practices that follow common sense. The production of common senseāthat is, the hegemony of hearing-as-normāhas roots that extend to fundamental questions of human identity. The idea of metaphysical audism, which is based on the concept that speech is fundamental to human identity, emerged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, with the work of American English professor Brenda Brueggemann and American professor of deaf studies H-Dirksen L. Bauman. Brueggemann identified the problematic syllogism on which metaphysical audism rested: āLanguage is human; speech is language; therefore deaf people are inhuman and deafness is a problem.ā However, the realization of the grammatical nature of sign languages and research in neurolinguistics suggest that every human is able to communicate via spoken, signed, or written language. Thus, speech is not the only language of humankind.
Awareness of audism has increased in the deaf and hearing communities, and it is now considered to be a matter of human rights and dignity for a linguistic minority to have access to a fully human language that best fits their visual learning needs. Thus, the discourse around audism allows its users to perceive the overarching drive to normalize deaf persons into hearing persons as a severe instance of discrimination and oppression at the hands of a ruling majority.