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Surgery

Sources: SigningSavvy, Lifeprint, ASLDeafined

[Image ID:

Surgery in American Sign Language. Hand in A handshape drags thumb against base hand in open B handshape. Movement is illustrated by arms that are translucent green and blue in different stages of the sign.

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a sign of affection media review: Deaf representation (under cut long lots of points to discuss)

a sign of affection is anime about a Deaf college student yuki.

they showed the sign language on screen most of the time characters were signing. (apparently creator worked with Deaf friend to make sure signs were accurate. don't know japanese or signed japanese so can't say if signing was correct.)

good depiction of hearing aids & auditory processing. when yuki wears her hearing aids she can hear some sounds but she can't tell where they are coming from & she has trouble identifying sounds (& sounds don't form words).

good respectful about yuki's voice. yuki character have voice actor narrate her thoughts & signs out loud but yuki doesn't speak. she explains one point she copy people's mouth shape learn to speak but she has deaf accent. she only uses voice with her family.

okay with lip reading depiction. don't know if japanese is easier to lipread than english. but yuki mainly understands others with lipreading only no sound cues. is only shown make mistakes or misunderstand few times. good job she can't lip read when character wears masks or mouth not in her sight line.

sad there is not more sign. for having multiple Deaf & signing characters, not much sign language presence. even when talk to yuki characters know sign language not always sign to her. also usually talk to her instead of write . burden is on yuki for communication. also even yuki not sign very much usually type on phone or gesture.

which relate to next point: not good Deaf community representation. yuki went to Deaf school & has Deaf friends but hardly ever see her Deaf friends & her interact with Deaf community.

she in mainstream college setting no interpreter . all hearing friends now & again communicate way is most convenient for them. yuki not participate in conversations a lot & nearly always hear from yuki is just internal monologue. Deaf character is isolated.

one more thing yuki infantilized. she is shorter than most other characters include other girl characters (on its own not problem just how fit into whole character). have a signing character say Deaf people should not go out into college/hearing world & should be kept safe, & same character intervenes in situations involving Deaf characters without their permission. (think that character overall shown as be negative behavior though.)

last point: captions. maybe just version i watch but subtitles only translation of the spoken japanese. no caption for sound effects/music which ironic given is show about Deaf character. think would be accessible to Deaf audience especially when sounds sometimes important to scene.

overall: cute story, okay representation. probably made for hearing audience. definite things would like to see handle better but pretty good overall.

Snow

Sources: SigningSavvy, Lifeprint, ASLDeafined

[Image ID:

The sign for Snow in American Sign Language. Both hands in 5 handshape wiggle fingers as they move down. Movement is illustrated by arms that are translucent shades of blue in different stages of the sign. Background is white.

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Include

Sources: SigningSavvy, Lifeprint, ASLDeafined

[Image ID:

The sign for include in American Sign Language. Base hand in C handshape. Dominant hand in 5 handshape circles base hand then closes to flat O handshape and rests in base hand. Movement is illustrated by arms that are translucent blue, purple, and pink in different stages of the sign. Background is white.

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descriptive transcript:

Haben, a Black woman in her thirties with long dark hair, speaks to the camera, a vibrant blue wall behind her.

Haben: If you're a creator, add transcripts to your videos. I can't see videos, I can't hear videos, but I can read transcripts.

Pins on a Braillenote Touch pop up and down in their Braille cells. Each cell has eight pins that are either positioned up or down depending on the specific Braille letter.

Haben: Braille displays connect to phones and laptops, allowing Braille readers to access the internet this way. Descriptive transcripts should have both the visuals of what's happening on screen and speech and key sounds for the video. Really good descriptive transcripts captivate readers just like the best novels.

The Braille display disappears and the video shows Haben in the same room.

Haben: Once we have widespread accessibility, it'll be easier for deafblind people to share our stories and also participate in conversations. I love learning from lives different from mine and in order for me to do that, I need transcripts. I look forward to reading all your transcripts!

end transcript.

sharing for people who aren't aware this is a thing & can put it into practice, video transcript copied from haben's instagram (please let me know if the format needs to be adjusted in some way 👍🏻)

Protest

Sources: SigningSavvy, Lifeprint, ASLDeafined

[Image ID:

Protest in American Sign Language. S handshape palm facing signer and elbow resting on base hand in open B handshape palm down. Fist twists out and arms move out slightly. Movement is illustrated by arms that are translucent green and blue in different stages of the sign.

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[Image ID:

Image 1: Protest in ASL. Arms are different darker skin tones.

Image 2: Protest in ASL. First set of arms are in Gay pride colors. Second set are Trans pride colors.

Image 3: Protest in ASL. Arms are different skin tones in a black wrist brace.

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I had a question about your commissions- is it $5 per word on the finger spellings or $5 overall? I presumed the former but wasn’t sure

I'll say up to 20 characters

Overcome

Sources: SigningSavvy, Lifeprint, ASLDeafined

[Image ID:

Overcome in American Sign Language. Hand in S handshape moves down over base hand in S handshape. Movement is illustrated by arms that are translucent green and blue in different stages of the sign.

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Late Night

Source: ASLDeafined

[Image ID:

Late night in American Sign Language. Open B handshape with palm down sweeps to the side while wrist stays resting on wrist of base hand. Movement is illustrated by arms that are translucent green, blue, and purple in different stages of the sign.

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Ujamaa(Collective Economics)

Support black business!

Collective Economics

Sources: National Black Deaf Advocates

[Image ID:

The Sign for Collective Economics in American Sign Language.

Collective is signed with both hands linked in bent, open B handshape, arms parallel to the ground. Hands pull each other in a circle motion. Movement is illustrated by arms that are translucent black in different stages of the sign.

Economics is signed with hand in E handshape, palm up tapping base hand in open B handshape with palm up. Movement is illustrated by arms that are translucent green in different stages of the sign.

Background is white.

End ID]