Employment: Oppression

Audism

Deaf scholar Tom Humphries coined the term audism in 1975 to represent the discrimination he was seeing throughout the Deaf Community. Audism is seen in people who continually judge the intelligence of Deaf individuals on the basis of their ability in the language of the hearing community. Audism may arise from social, historical, or philosophical areas of thought. Overall, audism manifests itself in beliefs and behaviors that assume the superiority of being hearing over being deaf.

Deaf people come into contact with audist attitudes, actions, and judgments across the entire span of their lives, and often, with great frequency. The workplace is no exception.

Humans or Animals

Throughout the centuries, Deaf people have been frequently described as “animals,” particularly by their teachers. Johann Conrad Amman, a teacher in 1700 wrote about the uneducated deaf as “animals” and called them “dull.” One hundred and fifty years later, American oralist Lewis Dudley wrote a text that called Deaf students only “half-human.”

The metaphorics of deaf-as-animal became especially widespread following Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Many believed that being human involved speaking, and deaf individuals often have trouble with this. And the stigmatization has continued throughout the years. When it is believed that deaf people are inhuman, the logical conclusion is that they must “speak” to be more human. This is true both in schools and on the job, and those who only communicate via ASL are often discriminated against more vehemently.

The Law as It Applies to Deaf Individuals in the Workplace

The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides legal protection for Deaf Americans, but there is often a marked difference between the law and how it is put into practice. Deaf individuals do not wish for special treatment; they simply want the same quality in their working lives as those who are hearing.

The ADA of 1990, which has been amended lightly several times since its inception, prohibits discrimination and grants equal opportunities for those with disabilities in public accommodations, state and local government services, transportation and commercial facilities. It also requires the establishment of TTY and video relay services. The current ADA text includes the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

Title I of the law concerns employment. If 15 employees at a company are disabled or deaf, the workplace must be modified to be accessible to all through the use of ramps, railings, special phone lines, etc.

Title II is concerned with public services. Under this portion of the law, transportation, activities and programs cannot discriminate against deaf and disabled people. Job training programs and assistance in obtaining gainful employment are included under this section.

Title III concerns public accommodations, which states that all new constructions of public building must be accessible to all.

Title IV states that all telecommunication agencies that provide phone services must provide a relay service for TTY users.

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