Not Just Drops of Water: Here’s an interesting finding. Frey compared the chemical make-ups of tears caused by eye irritants such as sliced raw onions, and tears caused by emotions. Tears caused by emotions were found to have more protein and beta endorphins in them. These emotionally induced tears appear to contain high levels of cortisol, an important hormone released during times of stress. When we cry from emotional stimulation, we may actually be releasing toxins from our bodies, in the same way we do when we sweat or breathe out air. Through crying, we help ourselves heal.

The Gender Gap: Although all over the world, women are more likely than men to cry, the difference in frequency is not that great. American men, for example, have been found to cry about 1.8 times per month. American women cry about 3.5 times per month. Women may cry more often because they have naturally higher levels of prolactin, a hormone found in tears. Prolactin is also the hormone that triggers milk production.

ASC’s First Vlog: In response to many requests from our readers, we decided to post our first vlog attempt today. What are some parallels between Deafhood and Feminism? Check out this vlog to learn more.

To cite:

McCullough, C. (2006, September 19). Deafhood and Feminism. ASC on the Couch. Retrieved September 19, 2006, from http://www.ascdeaf.com/blog/?p=202

Don’t Miss Any ASC Posts: Those of you who rely on DeafRead.com for alerts about ASC posts should know that the DeafRead.com editors do not include every ASC on the Couch post in their daily listing (for example, yesterday’s post on sexism in the classroom ). Posts are screened by the editors, who use their discretion to select what they think are the most Deaf-centered posts each day. If you don’t want to miss any ASC posts, it is best to subscribe to our blog at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

Believe It or Not: Sexism still exists in classrooms today, and we wonder – is anyone paying attention? Consider these scenarios that we recently witnessed:

1. A girl comes home from school, crushed after learning that the role of Peter Pan in her class play can only be played by a boy. Girls must take on “girl” parts; boys must do “boy” parts. How ironic, considering that in all the major productions of this story, Peter Pan has actually been played by a series of actresses, including Mary Martin, Sandy Duncan, and Cathy Rigby. Where is the challenge and fun in acting, if gender roles are not allowed to be explored? What kind of message does this send to children?

2. A girl is told that she can’t write a report on Albert Einstein, but must instead study a female scientist such as Marie Curie. The teacher has divided the assignment by gender. Although the teacher most likely had good intentions in wanting to expose the girls to female heroes and role models, the implications of dividing by gender are not simple. For one thing, most of the girls and boys were probably more familiar with the famous male scientists – simply because American history tends to ignore women’s contributions. It would be natural for the children to want to learn more about someone whom they already recognize.

When a girl in this situation is told she can’t study a certain famous person because she happens to be a girl, she is also being told, very subtly, that just being a girl is enough to prevent her from getting something she wants. Her enthusiasm for learning may be dampened. Redesigning the assignment so that girls and boys study both male and female scientists might be more effective. In this way, both girls and boys will be exposed to appropriate role models. When all is equal, there is less likelihood of complaints and objections. If it so happens that a boy objects to studying Marie Curie because she is a g-i-r-l, then this could be a perfect opportunity to teach the children about sexism.

3. A boy is told that he can’t choose to spend his money to get his nails polished during a lunchtime fundraising event at school, even though any girl can. He can pick from any of the other booth offerings, but not this one, because it is for girls only. Once again, a child is being told that gender is a basis for deciding what girls and boys can and cannot do.

Removing the Isms for Deaf Children: When incidents like the Peter Pan play, the Albert Einstein report, and the nail polish taboo, happen again and again over the years, they have a tremendous impact on how children think about themselves and the opposite sex. Not just girls, but boys, as well, end up paying an emotional price for sexism. Little by little, children learn that they are supposed to think and behave in certain ways, according to their gender. As noted by a teacher in this excellent article on teaching middle school students about sexism, girls often set lower professional goals for themselves, and both boys and girls easily fall into stereotypical thinking about male and female roles.

Deaf children already deal with audism, and will encounter more of it in their future. Our goal as Deaf adults should be to try to remove as many of the other “-isms”, including sexism and racism, from their lives. Parents and teachers can learn more about how to identify subtle sexism (in addition to racism and other -isms) by checking out these guidelines on screening books. Our goal, and we hope, yours, too, is for all Deaf children, girls and boys, to dream big, unoppressed by any “-isms’.

In or Out: Compared to 50 years ago, coming out as lesbian, gay, bi, or transgendered (LGBT) has probably never been easier. Although, sadly, hate crimes and gay bashing still occur, our culture has generally become more accepting of LGBT people. LGBT characters regularly show up in movies. There are PFLAG support groups for family members and friends. More and more people are out at work and in their neighborhoods.

Even so, coming out to one’s family members can be a difficult, sometimes terrifying, move. For some Deaf people, it can be challenging to come out to their families, no matter if they have Deaf or hearing parents. Deaf and hearing families may have similar reactions, whether positive or negative, when their Deaf child comes out to them. Having Deaf parents doesn’t necessarily make it easier to come out though. Today we focus on Deaf LGBT people from hearing families.

Family Issues: It has been our observation that some Deaf people with hearing families worry that coming out will make them even more different from their families. They are already different in their Deaf and hearing identities. If they come out as LBGT and their family members are all straight, they may feel even more different and alone in their families.

These hearing parents probably already experienced a mixture of emotions when they found out their children were Deaf, ranging from shock to sadness or anger. They may have tried to “fix” their Deaf children with hearing aids, cochlear implants, or speech therapy. It makes sense that some Deaf people might think twice about coming out, knowing that they may once again disappoint their parents and cause them grief. They may even wonder if their families will try to change them, because there are indeed families who will look for therapists to try to change the LGBT children. It may feel safer to stay inside the closet.

Free to Be: For a very small minority of Deaf people with extremely conservative families, coming out might (and a very small “might”) result in losing their families. For most, however, this fear is unlikely to become a reality. There are Deaf people with hearing parents and siblings who enjoy warm and loving relationships with their families. Coming out and sharing their true identities and lives is a way of strengthening and deepening these relationships. Not having to carry around a big secret anymore, or worry about being out-ed, Deaf LGBT people can feel free to live and grow with authenticity.

Women in Science Face Biases: Yesterday’s Washington Post features a story about a neurobiologist who had a sex-change operation, switching from a female to a male (FTM = female to male). According to the story, after the scientist had his operation, he returned to work as a man and gave a talk. Another scientist, who did not know that his formerly female colleague was now a male, was overheard telling someone that he had done a great job and that his work much better than his sister’s work. Imagine! The only thing that had changed was the scientist’s gender. Here was a man doing the exact same work he had done before when he was a woman, only now he was getting more of his colleague’s respect and praise.

This makes us think about Deaf and hearing colleagues. It’s not hard to imagine that in the hearing world, hearing people get more respect than Deaf people for the same work. What about in the Deaf community? If a Deaf professional and a hearing professional do the exact same work or make the exact same suggestions, who gets more respect? What might happen if two copies of a book are submitted to the Gallaudet Press, one identified as written by a Deaf person, the other identified as written by a hearing person? Which book would be selected for publication?