CHAPTER 61:

"Are Deaf people still stereotyped? If so, How? What kind of stereotypes are still popular? 

I don't like to compare hearing class of people versus a deaf class of people because to me we are all the same. Certainly we all have different characteristics in which make us who we are (individuality) but, ultimately we are all human beings. Thinking back many chapters of this HBO book, when we discussed classifications of people, I believe that their will always some type of stereotypes that will exist in our world. Outsiders of any "class" of people will always have an altered image of people out side of their norm. Some stereotypes that exist for the deaf culture are the silent sufferer, the pathetic waif, emotional basket case, super- sleuth who can read lips through walls, super- deafie with novelty value, and many more. Although I am sure that the deaf culture has stereotypical names for outsiders as well these names given to the deaf community are all rude and belittling. The silent sufferer sounds very cruel to me. According to the HBO book itself, The silent sufferer stereotype is deaf people who are seen as solitary social outcasts, terribly alone, more alienated than hearing characters. Just because a person is deaf does not mean any of these things!!