Hi Tanis and all,
I think this is great .. and I wasn't getting at you at all ... I think its
the old thing about the word 'teasing' which I see as defining a trivial
activity compared to say bullying, and that we constantly underestimate the
power of the audience to translate meaning in a different way to our intent
(I will get back to you Johnson, but I think you are spot on). But, as this
example shows, the impact of discriminatory language can be the same as
being slapped in the face. However because of the ethnographic research
I've been working on, I am beginning to question this power thing. I've
seen deaf kids regularly run rings around teachers - they do things like
walk behind the teacher and raise the COW sign so that I can see and the
teacher can't when the teacher is asking them to do things which mean
nothing to them. This is not a criticism of the kids .. I found it
wonderful to watch ... but I ask myself who has the power in this
situation? It's certainly not the teacher. And what does this say about the
kids ability to challenge, resist and so on.
Best wishes, Mairian
>Hi, it wasn t me- it was Mairian or someone else responding to what I
>said, and I want to put my points in contexts- I do think that verbal
>abuse is still abusive and damaging. My point was that when children use
>the words AGAINST us we have little power. It is teasing that is aimed at
>us. (snip) However- and this is the point I inadequately made - as
>ADULTS ( or as growing up people who may or may not ever reach maturity),
>we can start to choose our language and our meanings. We may, as Mairian
>so rightly pointed out, never convince others of our meanings or get them
>to accept how we label ourselves, but we DO HAVE A CHOICE, as social
>actors.
>
>--------0----> :-)
>This is Tanis Doe- Real name- Please send any documents with
>attachments to another email address Tanis_Doe@bc.sympatico.ca...
> Also check out my temporary web site for a conference on the i
>nternet and women at
>www3.bc.sympatico.ca/inclusion/workshop.html Inclusion Works!
*********
"To understand what I am doing, you need a third eye"
*********
Mairian Corker
Senior Research Fellow in Deaf and Disability Studies
University of Central Lancashire
Postal Address:
111 Balfour Road
Highbury
London N5 2HE
U.K.
Minicom/TTY +44 [0]171 359 8085
Fax +44 [0]870 0553967
Typetalk (voice) +44 [0]800 515152 (and ask for minicom/TTY number)
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