Censorship In The Virtual Deaf World: Some Thoughts
Teri Sentelle’s blog post, Censorship in the Virtual Deaf World?!?, certainly got some poeple talking. I’m not going to critique Teri’s post specifically, as much as I want to raise some points about censorhsip.
Censorship is often understood as “…the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful or sensitive, as determined by a censor. The rationale for censorship is different for various types of data censored..”
What’s not often understood, is that censorship can often be achieved in less obvious ways. More to the point, censorship be effected using methods that are not actually acts of censorship, but have the same effect.
Before we can discuss censorship and how it occurs, we need to understand and acknowledge, what censorship is designed to achieve. What is the intention of the censors? The arcticle on censorship posted at Wikipedia, gives us an insight into the different types of censorship. The types that people commonly understand as censorship.
But my question is, what about the humble editorial guideline? No need to quote Deaf Read or deaf village, but while I understand the function of an editorial and publishing guideline, I’m not appreciative of their side effect which can, and does result in self censorship.
I am an example of self censorship. In order to ensure that my posts appear on Deaf Read [and let's not talk about deaf village], I have been tailoring my posts - ensuring that the word DEAF appears, ensuring that it is OBVIOUSLY relevant to Deaf and deaf people. It’s not enough that I am Deaf. I am forced, to write in a style that meets the editorial guidelines. As a consequence, my voice becomes stifled. Though it does present a challenge for mockery and subversion.
This is not to say that the editorial guidelines, as instituted by Deaf Read, is an act of censorship. Far from it. But they do have unintended consequences, that are not appreciated. The deaf village, thinking they could do better, stormed in a huff, and instituted an editroial policy that is simply no better, and most likely paraphrasing the Deaf Read one
As for the deaf village, my reputation ensures that my blogs are not included, or that my posts appear. This I believe to be true, on account of the moderator’s silence, when I emailed TWICE requesting inclusion of my blog.
Before I sign off, on this post, I want to leave you with one salient point. When studying, reading, writing, researching, or discussing history, whose history are we talking about?
And to quote Mrs Lintott, from the film, The History Boys:
History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.
Recommended Reading:
Recommended Viewing:
Further Reading:
- DeafRead, Deaf Village, Aggregators, Part V: Flogging A Deaf Horse
- DeafRead, Deaf Village, Aggregators, Part IV: Communication Is Two Way Street
- DeafRead, Deaf Village, Aggregators, Part III: Argggggghhhhhccess
- DeafRead, Deaf Village, Aggregators, Part II: Access
- DeafRead, Deaf Village, and Aggregators
- DeafRead, Community, Censorship and Freedom Of Expression P3: New Aggregator
- DeafRead, Community, Censorship and Freedom Of Expression P2
