So You Want to be an Interpreter? Chapter Five Cultural Frames: Schemas, Beneficence and Audism

What is schema?  A perceptual framework based upon personal experiences and cultural background  Each person has their own unique schema (remember our Identity exercise?)  Our schema helps us make sense of events and guide us in acting appropriately

Schema typically consists of five main categories  Physical  Roles  Interactions  Psychological  Memberships

Physical  We class individuals based on their appearance, gender, physique, age, etc.

Roles  We have certain expectations based on one’s social position (neighbor, doctor, student, etc.)

Interactions  The way people behave in social situations (aloof, friendly, judgmental, etc.) influences our sense of who they are and what we might expect of them

Psychological  Similar to the category Interactions, we group individuals based on our personal psychological assessments of them (curious, nervous, insecure, etc.)

Memberships  We also categorize others according to group affiliation (refugee, Baptist, member of the School Board, female, etc.)

These categories (called constructs) help us to:  Organize our observations  Form impressions  Predict what will happen next  Determine what is expected of us  Generally make sense of interactions with others

Example, restaurant schema  We know what to expect from the waiter, chef, hostess, manager, etc. because of our role constructs. We are aware when these people are being friendly, helpful, sarcastic, aloof, etc. We all have schemas for school, work, friends, domestic partners, etc. These schema help us make sense of our world.

The funny thing about schemas  Everybody has their own due to unique experiences  Our schemas are largely influenced by the culture we grow up in  We use our schema to make generalizations about others and their behavior  This can lead to stereotyping

Stereotyping leads to negative judgments like:  Racism  Sexism  Ageism  Heterosexism  These attitudes lead to individual, group, and institutionalized oppression

Stereotyping, Oppression and the Deaf Community  Today, viewed as a linguistic and cultural minority  Historically, categorized as disabled, imperfect, not fitting the ‘normal’ schema of hearing  The majority views deaf people as defective. This is called the pathological perspective

Pathological perspective  Defines deafness as a handicap, a defective or pathological condition  Role models for Deaf children should be ‘normal’ hearing people  Spends resources on seeking a cure  Focus on amplification and or developing speech

Pathological perspective  Avoids use of ASL, anything other than English is viewed as inferior  Visual communication is denigrated  Supports assimilation of the Deaf community  Discourages Deaf-Deaf marriages  Professionals like teachers, interpreters are there to ‘fix’ the Deaf people

This perspective led to:  Group oppression –Directed toward all members of a group because they are categorized as part of an inferior group  Institutionalized oppression –Negative attitudes to this group are overtly or covertly perpetuated by social institutions like schools, media, medical/mental health professionals, etc.

And…..  Internalized oppression –When members of the oppressed group start to believe what they are being told about their inadequacies –Results in the denigration of the minority group’s language, culture, and individual worth –Members of the oppressed group become marginalized from the mainstream

Marginalized peoples…..  Are the oppressed, the powerless, and the rejected. They are ethnic minorities, women, the unemployed, the poor, the illiterate, the homeless, the handicapped, the AIDS-infected, gays, lesbians, and so on. Those who are not part of the institutions that dominate can be regarded as marginal people. (Page 5.7)

Examples of institutionalized oppression  Harlan Lane reviewed professional literature from 1970 – 1980 –See the table on page 5.9

What is Audism?  Like racism or sexism, audism judges, labels, and limits individuals on the basis of their hearing status resulting in a negative stigma.

Benefactors as oppressors  Benefactors believe they are doing ‘what is best’ for the ‘poor Deaf people’. However, they are frequently unconsciously motivated by factors related to the maintenance of the status quo and maintenance of power

Characteristic Benefactors  Negative View of the Minority Group  Reciprocity of Perspectives  Myth of the Misguided Child  Paternalism and Possessive Consciousness  Need for Approval from Marginalized Group Members  Resistance to Attempts for Liberation

Negative View of the Minority Group  Majority defines ‘normalcy’ according to their schema  Minority group is stigmatized for not living up to the majority standards  Minority group is marginalized

Reciprocity of Perspectives  Majority group assumes others desire to be like them  Hearing people assume Deaf people want to hear  ‘Fix it’ mentality  Hearing aids, cochlear implants, speech therapy

Myth of the Misguided Child  Members of power group can’t believe the oppressed group would reject ‘help’  When Deaf people don’t want help, they are thought of as childlike without the ability to know what is ‘best’ for them  Non-deaf individuals make decisions that impact Deaf people

Paternalism and Possessive Consciousness  Benefactor becomes a ‘caretaker’  Benefactor wants things to work out well for the oppressed group but doesn’t trust them to be able to do this on their own  The hearing benefactor must ‘take charge’ to ensure success

Need for Approval from Marginalized Group Members  Benefactors expect and need some expression of appreciation and gratitude from the oppressed group.  If they don’t get it, they feel angry “Why can’t Deaf people appreciate what I am doing for them?”

Resistance to Attempts for Liberation  The power group is afraid of and angered by any attempts from the marginalized group for independence  Today we see resistance to Deaf empowerment, legitimization of ASL, bilingual-bicultural education  Those teachers, hearing parents, doctors, school administrators are ‘benefactors’

How Audism affects Deaf People  Ambivalence  Fatalism or Passivity  Horizontal Hostility  Benefactors are Perfect  Dependence on the Benefactor  Fear of Freedom

Ambivalence  Deaf individuals may suffer from low self- confidence  Deaf individuals may have positive and negative feelings about being Deaf  Deaf individuals may be self deprecating

Fatalism or Passivity  Feel powerless to change status quo  Can’t fight the system

Horizontal Hostility  Crab theory  Oppressed group members vent their hostility towards majority group with each other  Really successful individuals in the minority group are pulled back down

Benefactors are Perfect  False impression that majority group is infallible  Life is easy if you are ‘hearing’  Idea that all hearing people have excellent English, never struggle for jobs or promotions

Dependence on the Benefactor  Minority group members depend on the benefactor for things they think they can’t do for themselves  Exacerbated by history of ‘care taking’  Expectation that society will take care of them

Fear of Freedom  Not all oppressed people are able to embrace the idea of freedom  Freedom is frightening  What if it is worse than what we have now

Viewing Deaf People as Different  Distinct cultural and linguistic group  Norms and values are different from hearing  Deaf people are normal and capable  They have suffered from audism  Respect the language and culture of Deaf people

Viewing Deaf People as Different  Best role models for Deaf children are Deaf adults  Visual communication is a positive thing  Signed languages are equal to spoken languages  Support Deaf-Deaf socialization  Interpreters are viewed as professionals and allies

For Students  Reflect on your own bigotry  Become a recovering audist  Honestly look at your need for power  Face your own prejudices  Fulfill your role and responsibility of a non- Deaf member in the Deaf community