The case study regarding Sharon Duchesneau and Candace McCullough and their son Gauvin is a very complex scenario to try to analyze and figure out whether or not it was morally right for them to intentionally make their son born deaf. Deafness to some may be seen as a disability or handicap and to others may be seen as a cultural identity. There are a number of factors that are needed to determine whether it was morally justified what Gauvin’s parents had done. After reading the case study thoroughly and doing further research I have a strong opinion towards this situation and believe that it was morally wrong what Duchesneau and McCullough had done. In the case study, there were many issues that could have came into question when figuring …show more content…
I think what Gauvin’s parents decided to do was wrong for many reasons. First of all, intentionally making your own child come into this world with a disheartening disability is a terrible thing to do. And yes I do think that deafness is a handicap, rather than an enhancement. Having any disability is already an unfortunate thing, but it also comes with many obstacles. Someone with a disability, like deafness, will always struggle when it comes to things such as school, working, and making friends. They will struggle far more than “normal” people with no disability would. Also, I agree with Kant in which people have the right to freedom of choice. It 's unfair to Gauvin that his parents made the decision for him to be deaf for the rest of his life, and making sure he 's not able to do anything about it. I personally believe what Duchesneau and McCullough did demonstrated ethical egoism. They did what they did through self-interest. They didn 't look at the type of future Gauvin would have or the struggles he would go through, instead they were inconsiderate and only thought about themselves. Opponents may argue and say that it was morally justified what Duchesneau and McCullough had done. They argue that being deaf is not a handicap, but a cultural identity. The main argument that they use is that hearing parents, who have a deaf child, fit their child with hearing aids or cochlear implants is no different than deaf parents wishing to have a deaf child like themselves. I would argue back and say that these are two completely different scenarios. If your child is born deaf and you want to provide them with a hearing aid to help them hear you are not hurting them like you are if you intentionally want to make your child deaf. Using hearing aids and allowing them to hear is doing them a favor because they
I learned a lot about Deaf people, ASL, and/or Deaf Culture after reading this book. Deaf people are normal just like anybody else and they should not be treated any differently. Some people treat Deafness as a disease that needs to be cured, but it's not. If a parent comes to learn that their child is deaf they react very crazily and act like their child is dying and that deafness is some fatal disease. Deaf people should be treated just like anyone else and no differently. They are not disabled and can do great things in this world.
The movie “Audism Unveiled” was a very interesting and powerful movie. I never realized that deaf individuals are discriminated against. This could be partly because I have never been immersed in or educated about the deaf culture until this year. One of the things that struck me the most while watching “Audism Unveiled” was the many heart wrenching stories about children being unable to communicate with their own non-signing hearing families.. The deaf child would have to ask their family members, why everyone was laughing or what’s going on. The family members would just tell them “I’ll tell you later” or “Nevermind. It’s not important”, resulting in the individual feeling isolated. Personally, I agree with people saying that if a parent has a deaf child they should learn how to sign; communication is what brings families together. As a result, the most intriguing thing to me was the stories of family members never learning American Sign Language; leaving their family member isolated.
What I found most interesting about Jarashow’s presentation were the two opposing views: Deaf culture versus medical professionals. Within the Deaf culture, they want to preserve their language and identity. The Deaf community wants to flourish and grow and do not view being deaf as a disability or being wrong. Jarashow stated that the medical field labels Deaf people as having a handicap or being disabled because they cannot hear. Those who are Deaf feel as though medical professionals are trying to eliminate them and relate it to eugenics. It is perceived that those in that field are trying to fix those who are Deaf and eliminate them by making them conform to a hearing world. Those within the Deaf community seem to be unhappy with devices such
Marika Kovac-Houlihan’s TED Talk hurt me. Hearing her stories first hand truly reveals the discrimination Deaf people face. It’s an easy to listen and understand the definition of discrimination but to experience it or witness is different. Kovac-Houlihan’s intention was for the audience to be stunned by her experiences, I imagine most of those people feel the same way I currently do. Her understanding was that most hearing people see Deaf people as disable or inferior, not every hearing person thinks that way, but most do. Kovac-Houlihan believes hearing people’s assumption is “that a deaf person may be isolated, uneducated or without language” (2:29 Kovac-Houlihan). I slightly disagree with her, but there are exceptions to every rule, one individual does not always impact the thoughts of the mob. I choose this video because of my reaction to Kovac-Houlihan’s primary discussion topics: the phonocentric ideology, loss of identity, and the divide between hearing and Deaf
Many people never realize or take much notice on what deaf people go through in life, but by watching the movie "Love is Never Silent", hearing people are able to have a clear view of what it is like to be deaf in the hearing world. Many different perspectives towards how deaf people live, socialize, party or work are built by many distinctive types of people. As the movie "Love is Never Silent" shows, Margaret and her family are isolated from their community. They aren 't allowed to sign in front of the hearing because it 's strange and abnormal. Seeing a deaf person sign during a time where being different can make a person look like an outcast makes hearing people pity the deaf and end up treating them as ignorant people. Although deaf
In the beginning of the book, the author talks about deafness. He believe that deafness is not something that should be looked down upon. His beliefs people reduce their thoughts about people with disabilities. He talks about other beliefs on deafness and hard of hearing. Mark experience difficulties within his work place as well as school, early life, and relationships. In the workplace, Mark felt insecure and like he could not obtain a job in any other field
Overall, the eugenics movement was meant to discourage Deaf people from socializing, intermarrying, and reproducing with each other. But these goals are very much unachievable. When Deaf children are growing up in a residential school, they have no choice but to socialize with other Deaf children. Since they all pretty much use the same language, socialization is not a problem for them. Because these children grow up with others who use their language, they tend to remain close to their friends and often intermarry. Many people, including A. G. Bell, were opposed to Deaf marrying other Deaf. Bell said that sign language "causes the intermarriage of deaf-mutes and the propagation of their physical defect" (Lane, 1996:382). Bell also claimed that society was condoning the spread of "a defective race of human beings" by allowing Deaf people to socialize with each other (Jankowski, 1997:53). Since others too saw deafness as a physical defect, they agreed with Bell and started adopting oral schools for the Deaf where signed language is prohibited. If oral schools ended up being the only schools for Deaf, then their signed languages would have diminished along with a part of their heritage and culture. A long time ago, m...
My response to this question is two-fold. Firstly, I believe that (for the most part), Deaf people actually like being deaf. While observing my neighbor (who happens to be deaf), I realize, he is never unpleasant, he keeps an unceasing smile on his face, is eager to help us hearing neighbors whenever applicable, and in general, he always looks for the silver lining in the clouds. I don’t think that I could ever work up the nerve to ask him if he’d desired the ability to hear. I’ve never seen him preoccupied with his inability to hear, so why should I. His deafness is a part of who he is. In our book, it mentions that being Deaf is a part of the individuals’ personality, an attribute just as important to a person that is right or left-handed. Why would Deaf people want to be hearing? If a person is born deaf, such as my neighbor, they don’t find themselves missing what they never experienced. Our book lends to us the illustration of someone who is
Deaf people often occupy an uneasy position in society. Since most children with hearing impairments have hearing parents, their family members frequently oppress them by taking over the decision-making processes regarding their well-being (Andrews 27). For ex...
Deaf and hearing impaired individuals are know longer an out cast group. They now have there own deaf community. Deaf individuals do not consider themselves having an impairment, handicap, or any type of disability. They believe that through the use of sign language, other communication skills, and technology that there deafness is the way they are supposed to be. Many people who have perfect hearing can not understand deaf people and why they embrace there deafness instead of trying to receive hearing and get rid of there handicap. However not all deaf people have th...
In the United States today, approximately 4500 children are born deaf each year, and numerous other individuals suffer injuries or illnesses that can cause partial or total loss of hearing, making them the largest “disability” segment in the country. Although, those in the medical field focus solely on the medical aspects of hearing loss and deafness, members of the deaf community find this unwarranted focus limiting and restrictive; because of its failure to adequately delineate the sociological aspects and implications of the deaf and their culture. Present day members of deaf culture reject classifications such as “deaf mute” or “deaf and dumb”, as marginalizing them because of their allusions to a presumed disability. (Edwards, 2012, p. 26-30)
The documentary of “Through Deaf Eyes” has open my eyes to the deaf culture. The movie has made it “click” that deaf people are just that people and individuals like me. Deaf community has its struggles just like everyone else. They struggle with growing into who they are as a person, harmful situations, and feeling a sense of belonging. They just speak a different language like Italians and Hispanics. Communicating with a different language does not make them lesser than a hearing person. When able to learn to communicate, the deaf are able to learn and gain knowledge just like a hearing person. The only difference is they have to learn more and work harder to achieve their goals and gain knowledge, which a hearing person learns just by hearing their surroundings.
The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to an online transcript,“Through Deaf Eyes” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007) there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing. Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents (Halpern, C., 1996). Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group, every region, and every economic class” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007). The deaf culture and hard of hearing have plenty of arguments and divisions with living in a hearing world without sound however, that absence will be a starting point of an identity within their culture as well as the hearing culture (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007).
From a deafness-as-defect mindset, many well-meaning hearing doctors, audiologists, and teachers work passionately to make deaf children speak; to make these children "un-deaf." They try hearing aids, lip-reading, speech coaches, and surgical implants. In the meantime, many deaf children grow out of the crucial language acquisition phase. They become disabled by people who are anxious to make them "normal." Their lack of language, not of hearing, becomes their most severe handicap. While I support any method that works to give a child a richer life, I think a system which focuses on abilities rather than deficiencies is far more valuable. Deaf people have taught me that a lack of hearing need not be disabling. In fact, it shouldn?t be considered a lack at all. As a h...
This essay will explore the medical model of disability as well as the social model of disability by providing an in depth analysis of the views and explanations that outline each perspective. It will examine and establish the connection of the two models in relation to Deaf people. Furthermore it will illustrate how Deaf people are defined according to each outlook, as well as the issues and concerns that arise from these perceptions. This essay will consider the medical model and the social model to compare the ideas and objectives of the given articles; Caught in the Deaf Trap by Karen Van Rooyen, A Brave New World of Sound by Thandi Skade, Fake Interpreters: A Violation of Human Rights and lastly Professor Graham Turner’s; 10 lessons from the tale of the ‘fake’ interpreter.