Lydia Callis, signed language interpreter for New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg, is getting a lot of attention these days for her interpreting during Hurricane Sandy. She’s been spoofed on Chelsea Handler’s show, she has Tumblrs dedicated to her, , and she’s even been named  Hot Slut of the Day by Dlisted. Why all the attention? Is it because she’s an attractive woman doing something “exotic” with her hands? Or is it [...]

  Life is created by you only. People, objects, events, and education come into your life and they leave with some kind of mark, but only you as a human being remain. So it’s important to live your life the way you want to. If you find purpose in your life, then you have found peace. I’m writing this letter that I hope hundreds, maybe thousands of people will read, [...]

  Just as I’m flying to California State University Northridge to present at their Deaf College Student Leadership Conference, I was reading a copy of Newsweek. There was a story on the infectious appeal of the #Occupy Wall Street movement. One particular quote stood out to me: “In 2008 vast new numbers of Americans transformed the political process through social media and small-donor fundraising, electing a rank outsider, Obama, who [...]

[Editor's Note: The following is a list of contact information for survivors of domestic/sexual violence and/or stalking.  It is meant to be Part III of Deaf Echo author Adrienne Gravish's What Does It Mean to Be a d/Deaf Woman Living a Life That is Free of Violence series.   This information has been recently updated.]   National Deaf Domestic Violence Hotline: Video-Phone: (206) 787 – 3224 Monday  to Friday 9 am [...]

How may our communities support the empowerment of Deaf survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking? Continue to support Deaf-focused domestic violence organizations in your community. Organizations such as Deaf Abused Women’s Network (D.A.W.N.) in Washington, DC, and Deaf Hope in Oakland, California are still working to erase barriers that keep Deaf survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, and/or stalking from seeking and receiving the help they need from [...]

Individually: It means knowing we deserve love, respect and safety. It means feeling secure in our ideas, personal choices, right to autonomy, humanity, and d/Deaf identity. It means that our relationships, friendships, and communities affirm the same to us. It means that in a relationship, we are not demeaned, ignored, or belittled. Our ASL, English, or speech is not made fun of. We are not punished, shaken, hit, choked, accused, [...]

Last week, I received paperwork from the local school district to fill out for my son. “Preschoolers with Disabilities” was written at the top. This caught me off guard for two reasons: first, I can’t believe my baby is ready for preschool already! But more importantly, “Disabilities?!” I’ve spent the last two years trying to explain to family and friends that deafness is not a disability. My husband and I [...]

Not to hammer away at my favorite franchise – Starbucks – yet again, but my friend “Jane” recently sent me the following email, and I asked her for permission to share both it and my reply with Deaf Echo readers. Here it is: “Hi Chris! The following story happened to a friend of mine today and he is totally flabbergasted at what went down. I am curious as to your [...]

You people have got to stop trying to avoid the Deaf rumor mill. You’re not going to escape it no matter what you do. So why not make it work for you? I personally make it a point to start up one new rumor about myself every week. There’s a fine art to these things. Unmitigated bullshit, surprisingly enough, nobody will believe. So if you heap on too much too [...]

Imagine for a moment:  A culture in which you are added to involuntarily.  And even as you are added, your parents most likely are not. That culture would be a strange and wondrous one, indeed.  What are the implications of a culture like this existing?  There’s sure to be confusion and resentment on the parents’ end. Deaf culture is that rare culture in which one, a majority of its members [...]