Hearing aid design and ableist stereotypes
Hearing aid design, Indigenous climate solutions, and Afro animation summit
IN THE MARGINS
Class is in session and we're diving right in! (no 10-minute grace period haha). If you want to prep for the Accessibility Module, check out Jaipreet Virdi’s article about using bold, beautiful hearing aids to celebrate deafness. Time to take your seats :)
ACCESSIBILITY
Disability Design: Discrete vs Daring
Jaipreet Virdi’s article about using bold, beautiful hearing aids to celebrate deafness got me thinking about fashion and accessibility, yet again.
I was an adult when I was formally diagnosed with my hearing loss so by that age, I was more about function over form. I had worn glasses most of my life up until that point - including the welfare ones from the ‘special tray’ that got me teased a lot - so I was well beyond any embarrassment for whatever this new hearing aid journey would be. I also had Invisalign (clear ‘braces’) while an adult, so again, no shame in my wellness or cosmetic game.
Hearing aids have always been designed to be concealed. - Jaipreet Virdi
And yet one of the first questions the audiologist asked was if I wanted my behind-the-ear hearing aids to match my skintone or if I wanted the more inconspicuous model that were in-ear. In fact, it was me that had to ask about the quality difference between the two types and which model would be best for my specific kind of loss. It was strange that the aesthetics question came up before even addressing customizing for my needs.
Exhausted from constantly trying to appease those around me, I got over this embarrassment in adulthood, and slowly began to accept that my deafness couldn’t always be invisible. - Jaipreet Virdi
Assistive technology and mobility aids have stigmas attached. I began to wonder which would be worse: dealing with this new stigma or continuing the exhausting work of hiding my hearing challenge.
d/Deaf experience is a spectrum and personal identity is just that - personal. Some people prefer to conceal their aids and some want them in neon colors. There is no right or wrong way to be d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing. (Although I would challenge people to dig deeper into why they may want to hide their aids as internalized ableism isn’t always easy to detect or admit. Hell, I’m still sorting through why I don’t identify as “disabled” so it’s a tricky journey).
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
White Washed Hope
Let’s be real, when it comes to sustainability and the climate, Global North countries have been reckless at best and intentionally destructive at worst. There’s lots of buzz about how we can get out of this hole but for all the fancy tech-driven solutions, there are some methods and knowledge already there if we bothered to listen to Indigenous people. Climate change and environmental justice are related and with that comes whitewashing (and greenwashing) of terminology. As I learn more, terms like “regenerative agriculture” sound great on the surface but digging a bit deeper shows that doesn’t seem to be the case.
In an Indigenous-led collaborative post, Kamea Chayne, the host of Green Dreamer Podcast, explains why they think the practices of “sustainable farming” don’t encompass the cultural and relational changes needed. What I liked about their info-carousel is they clearly had the Indigenous vs Colonized perspectives side by side for comparison, encouraging readers to get broader context and do some self-reflection. They even offered the graphics, captions, and attributions for download so you can easily reshare by copy/pasting!
Download the images and captions
ART & DESIGN
125 Remixed Renderings
When creatives say “there are a million different ways to do this 1 thing”, they mean it. While not quite a million, here is a 5-min video of 125 ways animators handled the same template. From samurai to space, from drones to Dali, there’s a variety of environments and visual styles. As cliche as ‘think outside the box’ is, try it next time you’re doing something routine. Add a new ingredient, try a new formula, turn the canvas upside down. (Thanks Austin for sharing)
AfroAnimation Virtual Summit
For 2 days AfroAnimation Virtual Summit will be the global online destination for African, Afro-American, and Afro-European animators, comic book artist and Gamers to meet their cross continent counterparts, exchange ideas, learn, network and get deals done with senior media industry stakeholders.
The goal is to bring together the best animation, comic and gaming talent of color on the planet in a single online destination. When it’s over AfroAnimation aims to have connected talent, showcased some of the most creative works, exchange ideas that move the community forward, increased the Black animator talent pipeline, awarded student internships, and be an active ambassador to industry deals closing.
Signing off from the Starship SBLTN,
Laneen (Pronouns: she/they)
🎧 Listening - 4-hour track of ambient focus music with dope visuals
💬 Quote - [What] if we stop stigmatising disability and see beauty in difference? - Jaipreet Virdi
📖 Reading - “Hearing Happiness: Deafness Cures in History” by Jaipreet Virdi
✔️ Random Fact - More than 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents. (source)