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Anderswo

Speaking Hands
Day 2

Sign Language Week

DRAW A NEW PICTURE

Whether you have been abroad or not, you might have found yourself in a situation in which someone says: You don’t look like someone from your country! Can you teach me some swear words in your language? As you may have experienced, people oftentimes are quick to stereotype, because among other reasons these generalizations are a functional way of dealing with the world and reduce complexity. However, oversimplifications can make us ignore differences between individuals and judge people in no time.

Still, if you have not crossed the boundaries of social categorization, then you will be pleasantly surprised that not every Latino can dance, not every German is punctual and not every Italian loves pizza (maybe that one is true). The truth is that each individual is unique and the only way to free us from stereotypes is interaction. American Walter Lippmann wrote in his book Public Opinion that stereotypes are pictures in our heads of the social groups. I think the time has come to blur the old picture about deaf and hearing-impaired people and draw a new one.

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SarMSwv_aHI
LANGUAGE: British Sign Language (BSL)

– Author: Juan