Latest Posts by kaeyassam - Page 9
When I’m out with Deaf friends, I put my hearing aid in my purse. It removes any ability to hear, but far more importantly, it removes the ambiguity that often haunts me.
In a restaurant, we point to the menu and gesture with the wait staff. The servers taking the order respond with gestures too. They pantomime “drinks?” and tell us they learned a bit of signs in kindergarten. Looking a little embarrassed, they sign “Rain, rain, go away, come again another day” in the middle of asking our salad dressing choice. We smile and gently redirect them to the menu. My friends are pros at this routine and ordering is easy ― delightful even. The contrast with how it feels to be out with my hearing husband is stunning.
Once my friends and I have ordered, we sign up a storm, talking about everything and shy about nothing. What would be the point? People are staring anyway. Our language is lavish, our faces alive. My friends discuss the food, but for me, the food is unimportant. I’m feasting on the smorgasbord of communication ― the luxury of chatting in a language that I not only understand 100% but that is a pleasure in and of itself. Taking nothing for granted, I bask in it all, and everything goes swimmingly.
Until I accidentally say the word “soup” out loud.
Pointing at the menu, I let the word slip out to the server. And our delightful meal goes straight downhill. Suddenly, the wait staff’s mouths start flapping; the beautiful, reaching, visual parts of their brains go dead, as if switched off.
“Whadda payu dictorom danu?” the server’s mouth seems to say. “Buddica taluca mariney?”
“No, I’m Deaf,” I say. A friend taps the server and, pointing to her coffee, pantomimes milking a cow. But the damage is done. The server has moved to stand next to me and, with laser-focus, looks only at me. Her pen at the ready, her mouth moves like a fish. With stunning speed, the beauty of the previous interactions ― the pantomiming, the pointing, the cooperative taking of our order ― has disappeared. “Duwanaa disser wida coffee anmik? Or widabeeaw fayuh-mow?”
Austin “Awti” Andrews (who’s a child of Deaf adults, often written as CODA) describes a similar situation.
“Everything was going so well,” he says. “The waiter was gesturing, it was terrific. And then I just said one word, and pow!! It’s like a bullet of stupidity shot straight into the waiter’s head,” he explains by signing a bullet in slow motion, zipping through the air and hitting the waiter’s forehead. Powwwww.
Hearing people might be shocked by this, but Deaf people laugh uproariously, cathartically.
“Damn! All I did was say one word!” I say to my friends. “But why do you do that?” they ask, looking at me with consternation and pity. “Why don’t you just turn your voice off, for once and for all?” they say.
Hearing people would probably think I’m the lucky one ― the success story ― because I can talk. But I agree with my friends.
— I’m Deaf And I Have ‘Perfect’ Speech. Here’s Why It’s Actually A Nightmare.
Jackie Shane | 1940 - 2019
Shane was a rhythm and blues singer, and key contributor to the Toronto Sound of the 1960s. She began her career identifying as a gay man initially, then becoming more ambiguous and avoidant to questions of her identity, before publicly coming out as a trans woman in 2017.
white ppl have no concept of the pain of finding a community that you belong to and then discovering the deeply entrenched racism in said community
something i've noticed in people trying to gatekeep queer language is that they are native english speakers. i think this is partly from anglocentrism (in the case of americans even more pronounced)
they tend to forget that people live in different contexts and try to create homogenization our consolidation of our experiences based on their own views.
100000% this
just felt like drawin some Soft Bodies
Buffy/Tara + tags people left on my previous gifs of them
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1997 - 2003)
friendly reminder that gods hate terfs and exclusionists
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER | S4E9: Something Blue (requested)
Your deities love you.
Haven’t tidied their altars in forever? They understand.
Don’t have the motivation to give them offerings? They get it.
You haven’t left bed for a long time? They still care about you.
Aren’t devoting time to them lately? They don’t mind
Forgot an offering? That’s alright. They forgive you.
Fucked something up? They’re not going to ditch you for your mistakes.
Decide to take a break from deity work? Totally cool, they’ll still be here for you.
Your deities understand your struggles. Even your mental health related issues. They get it, and they love you regardless. Just do your best for them, and they’ll appreciate it.
Caitvi are confirmed lesbians and finally hit 6k followers on twitter! woo!
this is a rework of this piece from last nov which, wow improvement!
I know there’s a few of them already but…. I had to
Spiderverse thots
drawing i made for my girlfriend ❤️❤️🏳️🌈 happy pride month!!
Expressive eyes means u can’t hide that much anymore
She has a wind under her sails, and I’m trying to keep up
anya + season 5
I mean, I for one didn’t want to start my day with a slaughter. Which really just goes to show how much I’ve grown!
It was very challenging to draw but I enjoyed doing it, Happy pride month everyone !✨🌈
Poor Vander, he is a patient dad xD
:) maybe the world is good actually (just saw these lesbian flag tulips on my walk!)
HAPPY PRIDE!!! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
anya + season 5
I mean, I for one didn’t want to start my day with a slaughter. Which really just goes to show how much I’ve grown!
spuffy
today in social media...
Quinta à noite.
Trans witches are valid and vital for the community.
Intersex witches are valid and vital for the community.
tenderness
i have no idea how this app works but uhh we’re finding out rn 🫡‼️
Just 2 friends in an alley no biggie
totally NOT doing anything unholy~