Hey guys, it's Abigail Gulley! I am in charge of beginning the blog this week and I am excited to hear your responses. On Tuesday we talked about the different stages of Deaf individuals forming an identity for themselves. I thought that it was neat to discuss because I have never seen them before. However, I wanted to discuss why labels are so bothersome and annoying to certain individuals? Do you think that we can overcome labels? If so, how?
A label is simply something that people make up to "stick" onto someone to give them a place to "belong", to be like their "kind." Finding a clique is in our genetic makeup, we want to be accepted by our peers so we search in labels to find our "home". I find it interesting that labels in the hearing world was not mentioned in working to understand labels in the Deaf community; There really is no difference. Where I find the problem is that other people place labels on us. While listening to Anita talk she repeatedly said "they." Example: "I classified myself as Deaf but THEY said that I was hard of hearing." "How am I hearing?" she said "I cannot hear!!!" "You're hard of hearing because you are so vocal." Often times people place a label on us (or the Deaf) before we can get a sense of who we are. The issue in labeling is that WE do not get to choose, others choose for us. Anita continued to talk about how she struggled after that point in identifying what she classified as because she grew up in a "hearing" life but she was deaf. I find labels to be bothersome because others feel empowered to decide who we are for us. I believe that labels can be overcome with individuals that have unwavering determination and a loving attitude.
I think labels are very unfair towards others especially if society creates labels for the deaf community. I just don't really understand why deaf people have to have labels upon their identity or themselves. They are just like people in society but just have a hearing impairment. I think labels start to create as deaf people get older and depends on their experiences in the and how they react to the hearing world. I think we can overcome labels if we society starts treating deaf people equally and including people no matter how loss their hearing is. However, people don't know what they don't know so that can be hard including someone that is deaf when someone has never dealt with that.
ReplyDeleteI think that it depends upon the situation, but when referring to individuals who are Deaf and the labels they have been given I think that it can be very difficult to overcome labels that have been given to you. When an uneducated hearing person sees a Deaf person, they give them a label of being “Deaf’ before they even meet the individual or sometimes before they even communicate with them. As far as labels that an individual can give to themselves I think that those can be overcome. I think it is up to the individual to choose their own label and it is up to themselves to determine how much that label means to them. I do agree with Tionna, I think that it is ridiculous that every person must be labeled regardless of the situation. We live in a time where everyone must be identified from every aspect: race, religion, culture, socioeconomic status, and more. I personally I think that it is unimportant what everyone is labeled as but rather that their actions speak louder than labels.
ReplyDeleteHi Abigail. Thank you for sharing this topic. I think it is a very interesting one. Do you or any of the other students think there are any "labels" that are positive? Are there any that people accept or wear with pride?
ReplyDeleteI do believe that labels can be positive; It would be up to an individual to choose that. I also believe that labels could be used as motivation. If someone finds themselves "falling" into a label that they do not like, a label would be used as motivation!
DeleteI believe that some people take pride in their labels, while others hate the thought of them. With that being said I don't think that labels will ever be overcome. With so many people strongly identifying themselves with different titles and labels I feel as if people will continue to use them. I think we mainly focus on the bad labels but we don't always put thought into the positive ones. I think it all falls under a person's opinion, one may feel as if being Deaf is their identity while another person may feel otherwise. I don't think there should be such a demand on whether it's good or bad but strictly how a person feels, let them decide their identity.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the ideas that continues to come to my mind. I know of many people who have various labels they actually wear with pride!
DeleteLabeling can be a bad thing when somebody else labels you. This is a good point. However, I don't believe they always have to be a bad thing. When thinking about the deaf forming an identity, labels can be very important to some of them. A lot of people label themselves based on their culture. For example: I am Appalachian, I'm a future teacher, I'm a writer, I'm a girlfriend, and I'm a daughter. This are just a few of the labels I use. All of these define who I am, while some of them place me in groups with people who are similar to me. I am able to relate to others because of the way I have labeled myself. I don't believe labels are something that needs to be overcome. I DO believe that stereotypes (assumptions) and generalizing need to be eliminated from our society. However, this could take a long time to prove as diversity is something that people aren't taught nearly enough about.
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DeleteThis is another key thought - is it the label itself or stereotypes and perspectives that individuals often attach to a label. I think "deaf" and "Deaf" is a good example or even Appalachian! Those who have lived within either of those cultures and know the value will wear those labels with pride. It is someone who has not had the opportunity to have experiences relating to someone from within those cultures who not may see that way of identifying oneself as a positive and sense of pride!
DeleteI really liked this question and post! I think you are exactly right Abigail, it is so important that we respect the identities that others choose to have rather than label them from our perseption. I think this is an important concept not only to respect the Deaf community, but the hearing one as well. As a future educator I will address my students as they wish to be identified, not by how they choose to communicate. As we discussed in class it's all about letting the deaf individual decide how they want to be precieved, not how we choose to precieve them.
ReplyDeleteCassidy, I couldn't have said it any better, I agree with you 100%. As a teacher the best thing that we can help our students with is to encourage them to be who they want to be. They are not always going to be that 5,6,7 year old. one day they could be the mayor of our town or the local librarian. Respecting their identity, no matter what, is a HUGE way that we can help them grow.
DeleteTo me, labeling a person or culture is inevitable. Yes, you may identify as one thing, and other people may label you as the complete opposite. Labeling sucks and shouldn't happen, but it is something we, as humans, do without a second thought. Some people acknowledge that labeling others is wrong, and others, many other, might not. But, no matter what people will be labeled. Unfortunately, that is one thing I feel will never change. The only thing that might change is how we label someone.
ReplyDeleteFor example, we will always look at a person in a wheelchair and think "unable", but we can become aware that it might not be the case for that person. Taking that extra second to think about the label you use can make all the difference in the label you place.
I guess it really depends on if the labeling could seem offensive to the one being labeled. We talk about how some deaf individuals are proud to be Deaf. While some people could be offended by the term. So I say it really depends on the person on rather labeling is something you take with pride or something you take with offense. Personally I think labeling is something our society does to make certain individuals stand out. To belong to a club or a crowd of people. And that's not something a whole population is going to stop doing. Even back in the day you had dukes, kings and peasants. Everyone was labeled.
ReplyDeleteI think labels can be offensive because often times that is what an individual is known for after the label is put on them. When someone is given a label it is hard to get away from it after so long. I believe eventually we can overcome labels but it will take a lot of time and effort.
ReplyDeleteI feel like labels are always going to be there and there is not much we can do to make people stop putting labels on others. However, I think it is up to each individual ourselves to stop labeling others. Everyone needs to know that each person has the right to labeling themselves and it is not up to anyone else whatsoever. If everyone could be educated into thinking like this, maybe it would make a difference. Great blog post! I never really thought about this topic and how labels made people feel until her speech.
ReplyDeleteHey Abigial!
ReplyDeleteI find labels extremely bothersome and sad. Unfortunately, I do not think they will ever be completely stopped. I do not mean to sound negative like there is no hope, but the task would be especially difficult in our society today. Whether this is true or not, we can take it up on ourselves to try to change that. We can simply start by making sure we quit labeling others ourselves. Another thing we could do is to try to encourage others to do the same. It doesn't have to be in a mean, confrontational way either. Just talking to someone about your opinions and trying to give them another perspective on the subject might make them think twice next time they try to do so.
I feel as though labels can be looked at in a positive and negative manner. Much like Amber said, I agree that labels are bothersome when they are placed upon people by others. Meanwhile, when individuals label themselves, to me, I think it is a form of identity and expression of individuals being proud of who they are. Due to this, labeling will remain within our society and used in both manners, unfortunately. Although, I think the negative use can be diminished simply by people being educated on the fact because it is likely that those who use it in this manner, do not understand the impact it has behind it.
ReplyDeleteLabels are something that will always be there because it's what people think about others. Not all labels are bad, though labels normally they are. Labels upset people when they are placed on them by others because everyone in the world wants to be accepted. When people are labelled it's normally negative and makes them feel bad about themselves.
ReplyDeleteI believe we can always overcome labels. In my opinion labels are what others put on me because of their own opinion, and the fact they don't know me truly. I think people giving us labels kind of helps them not get close if they don't want to as well. Labels are easy to overcome, all someone has to do is prove others wrong and not listen to anything anyone is saying. This is something that will always be there our whole lives good and bad it is up to us though which label fits us if we choose or if we come up with our own label. We are the only ones that matters at the end of the day and what we think of ourselves and our families.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. When society places a label on a group of people it can take away from that person. Far to often the society groups people together by several things. Groups are formed from income, culture, race, religion, and form of communication. In the end as teachers we need to take time to learn about people and place the labels that society have formed in our minds.
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