The Power of ASL
A Society Supporting Language, Literacy, and Performing Arts in the Signed Modality
Winter 2016 A Newsletter of the Society for American Sign Language Issue 4
By Stacy M. Duvall, AA & AAS
There is a famous saying about how it takes a village to raise a child. I have personally found that to be absolutely true. But what happens when and if the village you ' re born into decides not to raise you? To help provide support and guidance as you grow into the fully formed adult that you were meant to be and serve the purpose for which you were born for? What then?
This is a story of a little girl once lost, but now found. Once blind but now sees. Once Deaf but now and truly Hears. Oh, do not get me wrong. I ' m as Deaf as they come and will proudly continue to be until the day I die. This is just an apt metaphor to describe my journey.
My name is Stacy and I was born and raised in your quintessential Small Town, Anywhere, USA. Except this particularly small town just happens to be in the South. This adds a layer of complexity to the story that I am about to share with you.
You see, people of the South have long considered themselves a proud and stoic people, part of the USA and yet, almost separate from everywhere else in the country. We hold our traditions, passed down generation by generation, very near and dear to our hearts. Life here is seemingly simple and easy. Everything moves at a snail’ s pace and even the way people talk and sign are drawn out like slow and melodic songs. Change comes at even a slower pace, if at all. Yet, beneath of what appears to be a truly beautiful way of enjoying life lies something deep: The Southern Code. If something happens to rock the boat such as something new or different than what they are used to; We. Do. Not. Talk. About. It. Instead, we eradicate it by all means possible and if that fails, then pretend it simply does not exist. Whatever the result, we still do not talk of it. Thus, deep shame, deep wounds and secrets form.
By sharing my story, I am breaking the Southern Code. Then again, I am not, nor was I ever a member of the village, I was born into and it has taken me a very long time to finally accept that. The last straw that finally broke the camel’ s back and brought upon me a year of deep, deep mourning then finally, acceptance, was initiated just over a year ago.
One of the most difficult things in the world is to be something other than what your parents want you to be and also to know that they made mistakes, intentionally or unintentionally. This is unbelievably hard to process and I applaud all who are brave enough to come out of the proverbial closet and am compassionate towards those who simply cannot even think about it.
My mother had claimed I had been born hearing and became deaf through ear infections. It is true, I did have ear infections. Or more like one sustained, very long infection. I remember this very well. Brown, extremely thick mucous strings would just slowly flow …( Continue on page 6)
The Power of ASL 1 Winter 2016 – Issue 4