Working Deaf Women - Assignment Example

Jackie Collins June 25, HIS 331 Silent Worker In the 1800s deaf women found more job opportunities if they had an education or attended vocational rehabilitation programs. However this did not solve all problems with how individuals who were hard of hearing felt about their career outlook and personal worth in society. Deaf women that attended colleges or universities usually went on to teaching at deaf schools; or became writers if they had good English and writing skills. Likewise, vocational rehabilitation was another option for deaf women to find work by learning a certain trade that would offer them work in a deaf friendly environment. The pay might not be as high as the women that had an education; however, it is a job that offered them satiability. Few deaf women a completely different path; by passing as a hearing woman if they can speak and read lips or have a hearing family member help them along. Gallaudet University a deaf college, believed in helping deaf students in mastering a trade that would allow them to work in the hearing environment and support themselves and be a part of society. Gallaudet offered library method courses; which were successful for those that took the class. Miss Schwartz was one of the deaf women at Gallaudet that took the course and worked for 6 years as a classifier in the Newark public library museum. Miss Schwarts later worked at the Hispanic Society of New York City. Interestingly, she was the third deaf women working there. Likewise, Miss Tredwell, who was enrolled in California University night school and Miss Eleanor Sherman, were the other two deaf women. The Hispanic Society was not easy to get into; as it required that the hopeful entrant would have had a college education or equivalent and a certain amount of technical knowledge in Library methods; as well as knowing Spanish. Therefore, one can easily see that the three women meantioned earlier were all educated and bilingual. They had an incredible career on top of offering tutoring and support for deaf children that came to the library. Miss Hypatia Boyd found her career path after graduating from the University of Wisconsin as a journalist for the Deaf Silent Worker paper and her local hearing newspaper Milwaukee Sentinel. She was part of the Day school for the deaf and had excellent speaking and writing skills along with speech and lip reading. She also taught at the deaf school in Wisconsin until she died in 1930. Some Deaf women that did not attend college but participated in vocational rehabilitation also made significant accomplishments. The Maple Leaf Sewing Circle, and organization for deaf women who work for charity, were considered professional seamstress. Some were able to do difficult stitches that a lot of hearing women were not able to do and they were very detailed and neat. The ladies attended New Jersey, Mt. Airy or Michigan school for the deaf where they received instructions in sewing. The Maple Leaf Sewing Circle offered Deaf women that are interested in learning to sew or improve their sewing skills to come and meet with the group once a week for support. In 1928 Miss Helen Heckman surfaced in the deaf community. She was a deaf dancer that won second place in a contest of Beauty of Face and Figure. She also performed for the Congressional Club in Washington, D.C. Although there were several profession deaf women dancers, deaf readers appreciated that she appeared talented and sexy; not dependent. (Burch pg. 146) Deaf women quickly learned to support and encourage each other in order to receive recognition and employment. Those who had excellent writing skills such as Miss Hypatia Boyd took the time to write back to deaf women that wanted to become journalist. She answered their questions, and encouraged them to improve their English skills and gave ideas with regard to how to write and what newspapers were looking for in a writer. Miss Margaret Sherman one of the deaf educated and bilingual Liberian community worked at the Hispanic Society and wrote to the Buff and Blue newspaper for the deaf to explain about the great opportunities of being a deaf Liberian and how it might open doors for those interested in advertising. Although these deaf women were successful and reached out to other deaf women to give them support and encourage them to find employment, hearing people still viewed deaf people as unemployable and disabled. If deaf women were not able to speak or lip read they were considered dumb and not normal. Employers wanted to be able to communicate and give orders. Some deaf women were able to pass as hearing. Most Deaf women that attended Day school for the deaf that used oral communication with little or no sign language and were successful in this method found the burden of finding a job in a hearing community bearable; but it did not guarantee them a job. Because of this, they often found low paying jobs such as cleaning and ironing. Because of the gender discrimination, deaf women had to fight twice as hard to find a place in the hearing society and against deaf men in the working environment, social clubs and activities. Organizations that were run by deaf men would sometimes allow deaf women members but they had no voice in the organization management. One particular organization called the National Fraternal Society of the Deaf felt that women should stay at home. It took a campaign of Deaf women in Atlanta to changed their mind and allow 1,500 Deaf women to be include in their organization. Deaf women were in constant battle to defend deaf education, sign language, the deaf community, and deaf men from both oralism and displacement by hearing teachers. In so doing, they fell into even more subordinated roles. (Burch 20). Even in the deaf newspaper and magazine men wrote about deaf women differently than deaf men. They were not mentioned as much as deaf men and if they were it were not as powerful or encouraging. Deaf women received less press coverage than male leaders or athletes. Most pictures of Deaf women show them posing in elaborate costumes, evening gowns, or bathing suits. Several major Deaf newspapers, like the Silent Worker, Digest of the Deaf, and American Deaf Citizen, subtly promoted images of Deaf women that downplayed their differences from mainstream society. The Deaf paper focused on women that appeared “normal”. (Burch pg. 146) Yet, there were other journalist, such as Herbert W. Robert who wrote the article ‘The Maple Leaf Sewing Circle”. As such, his article was also not as supportive toward Deaf Women. Although he favors Vocational Rehabilitation programs he had low expectations of deaf women. He said that the program helped deaf women become independent, self-supportive and useful members of the society, and deaf women sew well, are modest and make great housekeepers. Examples of this were given such as: that their house was always in order and neat as if that is the only thing deaf women were capable of doing. He downplayed the deaf women in the article. He never talked about how intelligent and educated these women were and how strong and independent they must be to establish a charity organization that help those less unfortunate and also with their sewing ability produce income for their household. This was common to see when it came to writing about deaf women, even in a deaf newspaper. If the article was written by a deaf women you would be able to see a different and more supportive perceptive about what deaf women are doing when it comes to their hobbies, support for the deaf community and employment. Deaf women in the 1800s have made tremendous accomplishments and made a path for other deaf women to follow in their footsteps. They were supportive of each other and wanted to see other Deaf women succeed. Some deaf women found a college education a way to adapt in the hearing society; while others felt a vocational rehabilitation program gave them what they needed to master a trade of their interest, but many women were able to accomplish things without either but with the help of family members and other Deaf women. When it came to hearing and deaf men, deaf women learn to go around them and dismiss their outlook in deaf women. deaf women regardless of their education, upbringing, communication and their gender they have thrive and continue to thrive today because of their self-respect and can do attitude. Citation "How a Deaf Woman Succeeded." Silent Worker [Trenton, N.J.] Feb. 1903, Vol. 16 No. 6 P.94 ed.: 1. Print. http://dspace.wrlc.org/view/ImgViewer?url=http://dspace.wrlc.org/doc/manifest/2041/33518 Studt, Ada. "What Some Deaf Girls Are Doing." The Silent Worker [Trenton, N.J.] Mar. 1920, Vol. 32 No. 6 P. 150 ed.: n. page. Print. http://dspace.wrlc.org/view/ImgViewer?url=http://dspace.wrlc.org/doc/manifest/2041/38066 Hypatia, Boyd. "Deaf Women and Their Work." The Silent Worker [Trenton, N,J.] Nov. 1899, Vol. 12 No. 3 P.43 ed.: n. pag. Print. http://dspace.wrlc.org/view/ImgViewer?url=http://dspace.wrlc.org/doc/manifest/2041/32638 "What Can Deaf Women Do?" The Silent Worker [Trenton, N.J.] Oct. 1905, Vol. 18 No. 1p.1 ed.: n. pag. Print. http://dspace.wrlc.org/view/ImgViewer?url=http://dspace.wrlc.org/doc/manifest/2041/34112 Burch, Susan. Signs of Resistance: American Deaf Cultural History, 1900 to World War II. New York: New York UP, 2002. Print. V., Van Cleve John, and Barry A. Crouch. A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community in America. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet UP, 1989. Print. Read More