'Survivor' contestant splits deaf community

The Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | Thu, Mar. 13 | Tanya Barrientos

[goodolemr]

If Christy Smith, the first disabled competitor on Survivor, thinks she's facing adversity in the Brazilian jungle, wait till she gets back home and faces some of her deaf fans.

As the newest and most visible deaf celebrity on TV, Smith, 24, has become a magnet not only for praise, but also scathing criticism.

On one hand, the deaf community is proud of the Colorado native who is a graduate of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the world's only liberal-arts college for the deaf.

But on the other, many deaf people are angry that she is not openly displaying more pride in deaf culture. They want her to use sign language when she speaks, and to teach other members of her all-female tribe how to sign.

They are particularly critical of her choosing to read lips and speak instead of insisting on a sign-language interpreter during the Darwinian game show. Those choices are particularly insulting to strong proponents of deaf culture.

"I was so excited when I learned she was going to be on the show," said Kristy Griffin, a youth specialist at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Germantown. Speaking through a sign-language interpreter, the classroom aide said she had looked forward to the first episode.

"Then, whoa! She's not signing, she's speaking. I told my husband that I was sure she'd have a sign interpreter at Tribal Council, so I waited and waited and she didn't. It's so not deaf-friendly."

The show does not allow journalists to interview contestants until they've been voted off. Smith is still in the competition.

The tug-of-war between signing and speaking has long been a sensitive issue in the deaf community. Many deaf-culture advocates believe that hearing-impaired people who read lips and speak are acquiescing to the expectations of the hearing world.

The deaf community is often split between those who embrace a deaf lifestyle - using sign language and considering themselves similar to an ethnic minority - and those who emphasize assimilation into the mainstream.

"Deaf people should be proud of signing," said Fred Turner, 16, a ninth grader at the Pennsylvania school, where both students and teachers have been watching the show closely. "Be proud of being deaf."

"It's almost like she doesn't want people to know she's deaf," said Billy Hartman, also in ninth grade. "I guess I'm kind of hurt."

Some in the deaf community have questioned whether Smith, who signed on her audition tape and during preproduction interviews, was pressured into reading lips by CBS.

"It was completely her decision," said Colleen Sullivan, director of prime-time series at CBS. "We left it up to her on how she wanted to handle it."

But, Sullivan said, the network did not offer to provide a sign-language interpreter for Smith during the competition, which now has six women against six men.

"We had the discussion with her in advance," Sullivan said. "We said, 'Do you think it's fair that you participate without an interpreter?' And she said, 'No, but life isn't fair and I want to do it.' "

On the first episode, Feb. 13, Smith did not tell the others on her team of her deafness until they were encamped. The men are still not aware of her disability.

"She knew she was going to spark controversy," Smith's mother said in a phone interview. "When she's in the deaf world, she doesn't voice at all. I guess on the show she didn't want to stand out because it's about survival, right?"

Raised by hearing parents, Glenda and Bob Smith, in Basalt, Colo., Smith was diagnosed as severely hearing-impaired when she was about 6 months old.

"She was a preemie and so we knew she was in danger of having physical problems," Glenda Smith said. "She's had hearing aids since she was 2 years old. She can hear some sounds, but not much."

As a child, Smith was not exposed to deaf culture and did not use sign language.

"We live in a rural community," her mother said. "We chose at the time to integrate her with lip-reading and speech therapy." But, she said, her daughter grew to feel isolated and unhappy.

"She came home from school one day her sophomore year and said, 'I'm never going back to that school again. You have to decide where to send me.' "

She finished her high school years at the private academy in Washington that is associated with Gallaudet, and went on to college there.

That is where Christy Smith embraced deaf culture.

"I know all this controversy about signing or not signing going on in the deaf community seems stupid to hearing people," Glenda Smith said. "But it's very real."

Judging from the charged messages being exchanged in Internet chat rooms and on Survivor: The Amazon fan Web sites, Smith's participation in the show has fanned flames in both the hearing and deaf worlds.

"Yes, deaf people do have their role in society and can be extraordinary people, but the bottom line, as cruel as it may sound, is that Survivor is about dealing primarily with communication," wrote someone called JaiPeur on a chat site called Survivor Sucks (which is actually for fans of the program). "... It seems to me deaf people might struggle on Survivor."

"You need to show them that you can do it, Deaf!" a chatter called Survivor Tikis replied. "Deaf, you can establish pride for the disabled!"

Some deaf chatters have argued that it would make no sense for Smith to sign on the program because none of the other contestants knows sign language.

Jennifer Peterson, Smith's best friend from college, agrees.

"I tell people, 'What if you were placed in the middle of nowhere, in the woods, with a bunch of hearing people? Would you sign with them? No,' " she said. "But that aside, we're all so proud. Christy being on the show is an amazing milestone for the deaf community... . She's educating the world about an invisible disability."

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

"I know all this controversy about signing or not signing going on in the deaf community seems stupid to hearing people," Glenda Smith said. "But it's very real."

Really Stupid. Form your own little town and move there if you want. You will not be missed.

But what are you going to do with your hearing children?

[John H K]

You'd be amazed at some of the positions radical deaf advocates take...

We're now getting to the point where children born deaf can now have hearing restored through surgical implants; some of the more radical Gallaudet types are strenuously OPPOSING this because they're terrified their "ethnic group" will then disappear.

[Larry Lucido]

I told my husband that I was sure she'd have a sign interpreter at Tribal Council

Yes, everyone knows that, in primitive times, when a member of the tribe went deaf, he was assigned a sign interpreter. It makes perfect sense to maintain the tradition in the "Survivor" context.

[John H K]

The men are still not aware of her disability.

They mixed up the tribes so now she's in a tribe with several men.

Interestingly, they were about a billion times nicer to her and more accomodating to her than the women were when she was in the all-woman tribe, and she spent most of the episode raving about that.

[Vol2727]

Yeah, I read this article before. It really pisses me off that the deaf community is reacting this way yet it doesn't surprise me at all.

I am profoundly deaf but was raised orally. I didn't learn sign language til I got into college. I have a very similar background as Christy.

Christy is doing the right thing on the show as far as I'm concerned. Look, she's playing a game and she needs to do what she has to do to survive in this game. The way I look at it is why use sign language around hearing people if they don't know it. And you just never know some of these contestants might be so put off by sign language and vote her off. And the show isn't over yet. She is now with the men (they did a swap in the tribes last Thurs) and they have shown more interest in her than the women have so who knows they might ask her a little bit about sign language. You just don't use sign language around hearing people. Well, in my case, I don't. Unless they show interest then I will teach them. If one can communicate just fine without sign language then so be it. These deaf people sometimes just don't get it. Sorry to say that. I would be considered a traitor in the deaf community for saying that.

This show is producing a lot of deaf awareness and it's been relatively positive in my opinion. I'm sure we'll be seeing some sign language from her in one way or the other. She just needs to do what she can to survive, that's all. This is reality TV, not real life. Geez. Give her a break.

Thanks for posting the article here.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

It is getting weird out there. Since when is a handicap considered an ethnicity?

What next, the blind opposing books on tape? The lame opposing artificial limbs?

[Nataku X]

Cochlear implants are NOT a cure.

[John H K]

They're certainly not perfect now, but down the road, within decades, we're going to have the technology to effectively restore full hearing to the deaf.

[Straight Vermonter]

But what are you going to do with your hearing children?

I live across the street from a deaf couple who have hearing kids. Some of their deaf friends did not think they shoul dteach their kids to speak! These people are insane. I mean clinically insane.

[fourdeuce82d]

"Be proud of being deaf."

Why?

[Nataku X]

Agreed completely.

I'll go off on a little tangent here. There is widespread misconception that cochlear implants or hearing aids are "cures". Basically, a cochlear implant is "artifical" hearing--the sound quality is nowhere near that of normal hearing. Speaking and listening is very hard for the deaf no matter what... it takes a great deal of concentration and is only effective in ideal settings with few people, and that's not something you want to do when you're relaxing (i.e., parties). So sign language will always be a part of the deaf culture, hearing aids or not.

Freepers and conservatives have an unfortunate tendency to blame the victim and no doubt there will be more harping on sign language speakers here. However, that being said, these militants in the Deaf Culture are total idiots.

[Straight Vermonter]

I worked with a man who was educated in deaf schools right through college. He then came to work with us and was completely unable to communicate. The company brought in sign interpreters for his training and for department meetings but they could not be there through the entire work day. After 2 years (yes years) of his being unable to accomplish much of anything he was finally let go. Of course he sued the company but I do not know what the outcome was.

My question for you is what do you think we could have done differently for this guy? We all tried to learn some rudimentary signing but it was not enough to communicate the complexity of ideas that was required. We all felt badly that he never caught on but we were also hurt that he would sue the company after we really made an effort.

[Vol2727]

I would not go so far to say that I'm proud to be deaf. BUT I will say that I'm not ashamed to be deaf. If people can't accept my deafness, then that's their loss not mine.

I have been asked over and over if I were a good candidate for a cochear implant, would I take it. My answer has always been a resounding NO. Nothing to do with what the Deaf Culture says. It's personal for me. I feel that God has made me this way for a reason. He knit me together in my mother's womb so why change it? I've accepted it though it took me a while to get to that point. I communicate just fine so why change it? I still have some residual hearing left in my left ear. Like only five percent left, that's all. Totally deaf in my right ear.

Besides, it's kinda nice being deaf sometimes. Like at night, nothing wakes me up, heh. And if I get into an argument, I just turn off my hearing aids and close my eyes, heh. So, there are some advantages, ha.

[Nataku X]

Nothing. As long as they don't emphasize English, deaf schools just throw taxpayer money down the tiolet and condemn them to a future of poverty. However, mainstreaming doesn't work that well, either... I had a Deaf friend tell me about someone she met who was mainstreamed, and he had -no- language at all, English or ASL.

Every deaf person I've met (well, the ones who were prelinguistically profoundly deaf) who had a good grasp of English had one thing going for them: Hearing parents who toiled for many hours outside of school time to teach them English.

I believe this Deaf Culture thing is an over-reaction to the fact that sign language and such was historically banned by English speakers. Kind of like what happened with affirmative action & reparations when slavery and Jim Crow laws were abolished.

[coloradan]

"Be proud of being deaf." Why?

Well, the liberals want people to be proud of being liberals, and that's a thousand times greater incapacity than being deaf.

[COBOL2Java]

I showed this article to my deaf wife (a Gallaudet alumnus), and she rolled her eyes. It reminds me of the "furor" over Heather Whitestone, the first deaf Miss America. Unfortunately for some in the deaf community, Heather was schooled in the Oralism tradition, and didn't sign. A conservative Republican, my wife was proud of her achievement over adversity, not whether the new Miss America belonged to the "correct" deaf tradition. When Heather Whitestone was in town for a book signing, we were one of the first in line.

As with any culture, there is a diversity of opinion; there are deaf Republicans and deaf Democrats; gee, what a surprise, eh?

[Vol2727]

Gosh, I can't believe he still couldn't communicate after all you guys did. I believe you all did everything you could have done. Makes me wonder if he did all this on purpose just to sue. Hate to say that. Most deaf people who graduate from deaf schools do pretty well in the real world. Some do fine with writing on paper, reading lips, etc... I don't see what else you could have done differently. If your company had everything documented as to what you all did for two yrs, then you all shouldn't lose that lawsuit. But you just never know these days.

I'm sorry this had to happen to you guys. It shouldn't have. He should have caught on at some point. We may be deaf but we ain't dumb, ya know. So, I don't know what his problem was. It's almost like he was trying to make that "deaf and dumb" quote come true. Sorry, if I sound harsh. Especially, if he went through college, you'd think he would be able to understand something. Hmmm..

You guys did everything you could. He should have been able to communicate one way or the other.

[robertpaulsen]

If you were in town for her book signing, but she doesn't sign, why did you go?

[COBOL2Java]

If you were in town for her book signing, but she doesn't sign, why did you go?

As I said, my wife was proud of Heather for her accomplishment, not whether or not she signed. Conservatives celebrate achievement over adversity, not whether or not you belong to the right "class."