You know being an “ally” (for HOH/Deaf people) isn’t always just talking loudly or learning the ASL alphabet. Its all about the little things you do in every day acts.
For example, when I got my hair done for an event once 5 years ago, my hair dresser noticed my hearing aid and talked to me about her brothers hearing problem and asked if I wanted my hair styled to hide, or show my aid. She wanted what I found to be the most comfortable, because she didn’t want the elaborate hair style to cause feedback/discomfort.
Most hair dressers ignore my aid, or awkwardly ask if I could take it out (which I usually end up doing anyway)
Whenever my friends and I watch TV together without question, they put on closed captions.
When walking and talking some of my friends will always walk, or move to stand on the side of my good ear when talking. (i’m HOH in one ear and perfectly fine in the other)
Another time I was getting my hair cut my hair dresser sometimes would stop cutting, or blow drying my hair just to continue the conversation, so that way I could hear him.
It’s the small details like these that count to support a person with differences. Its not these big boisterous acts of helping, its just being a friend doing friendly things. Instead of glorifying it, just normalize it.
I was drawing a bunch of pentagrams in my notebook during math class because I was bored and I think I drew 150 pentagrams in total before a devilish-looking guy wearing a red suit broke down the door of the classroom and yelled“wHAT the fUCK do you wANT?!”
At a grocery store before I had top surgery there was a couple Infront of me. The guy was pointing at random folks around and saying to the girl, “I’d fight him for you, I’d whoop him for you, I’d beat him for you.” She nods toward me and says “what about this dude behind you?”. I have my headphones in (without music) and I see the guy glance behind himself at me, make a face and look back to her. “Nah, girl, did you see his chest? He could probably knock me out with his pec, girl” Honestly it was a life changing event.
Hey guys I just want to give a heads up. The book Adam by Ariel Schrag has been turned into a movie which has been named as one of the most exciting LGBTQ films of this year. I don’t want to spoil anybody’s fun but you should know before watching that the book is about a cis boy who pretends to be a trans man in order to persuade lesbians to sleep with him.
It is deeply deeply transphobic. It is lesbophobic as it features a corrective rape narrative (a lesbian does have sex with him and then decides she does love men after all).
This book gives out incredibly harmful notions about trans men and lesbians that are used to hurt them in real life. It’s so entrenched in the narrative that I don’t see how the film can be any better. You can find more info in this twitter thread
I’d like to tell people to boycott it but I can’t tell you what to do. So instead I’m going to ask that you share this because it being named as an exciting new LGBTQ film is going to make LGBTQ teens want to see it. And they should know before hand how hurtful it could be. They should be able to arm themselves with that knowledge.