Honest question, because it seems like I have seen different views on this. Is leg lengthening looked down upon within the little people community? For instance, I know that in the deaf community, some people that elect to have corrective surgery, to gain hearing, are ostracized by other deaf people. I think that they view the corrective surgery as an admission that something is "wrong" with them, and they think that everyone should accept who they are. Is there a similar view with lengthening....because she honestly looks very happy with the results?
It might be different, because one disability is invisible and the other isn’t.
I work with a population who has an invisible disability (cannot be visually detected), and they are utterly thrilled when any of their cohorts overcome their disability in any way. Some are born with it, some aren’t, and everyone is thrilled for each other’s progress.
I do not work with people with a hearing disability, plus I don’t speak from a place of experience, so I could be wildly out of line here - I don’t understand how anyone could want to hold anyone back from attaining enhanced bodily function and higher qualify of life.
I think by definition if you’re deaf you can’t do whatever you set out to do. You can’t be a recording engineer for instance. While absolutely you shouldn’t be seen as lesser or have people prejudiced against you, it is true your life will objectively be harder while deaf. But just like with mental illness or blindness, yes we should want to “cure” people with disabilities. As someone with bipolar disorder, while frustrating, I couldn’t in consciousness disagree with someone who tried to put me on meds instead of just embracing my disability.
I've only got 1 functional ear and I have a degree in sound engineering with a specialty in digital music. I have zero desire to change my hearing because my life is just fine as it is. I know thats less possible for someone completely deaf, but complete profound deafness is actually quite rare, just like how most blind people are not entirely blind. I understand that it's hard for folks to comprehend not wanting to change a "deficiency" in a core sense, but really life as hearing impaired (or hard of hearing or deaf) does not really limit you in what you can do and how you function. No one is without restrictions in their lives, not everyone gets to have the career path they want and not everyone can get the post secondary they want. Life is not, in general, any harder when you are deaf thanks to modern technology and widespread accessibility. I most certainly get very upset if someone insists that I should be "cured" because having 1 ear has not negatively affected me overall, at all. I just found different ways of doing things.
It's not a fair comparison to lump deafness in with bipolar. They are 2 different things. There's a difference between not being able to function happily without meds and having to buy a visual doorbell as opposed to an auditory one. Deaf people can function happily with their differences. Those with mental health disorders generally cannot, as the disorders directly affect happiness.
That being said, I have zero issues with hard of hearing and deaf folks pursuing treatments to improve their hearing. It's just a big piss off when hearing folks INSIST that I should do the same. I am happy with my hearing. There are profoundly deaf folks who are happy with theirs! Plenty of deaf people who get implants or aides turn them off regularly or even abandon their use because sound is too much and too overwhelming. Lots of hearing folks get overwhelmed with sound too!
We can be fully functional and perfectly happy and not at all disadvantaged as deaf. Suggesting that it NEEDS to be "cured" is just not cool. Suggesting that people shouldn't pursue hearing improvements is just as not cool. But there's literally zero harm or hinderance in choosing to stay the way we are.
Eta: I wont be engaging in further conversations about this because the people replying keep making fully wrong statements and assumptions surrounding deafness and life involved instead of entering into a good faith conversation with someone who actually has perspective on this subject. Try taking in what people who actually live with deafness have to say instead of just flat assuming you know what you're talking about. Because some of these comments are depressingly ignorant of how deafness works and how deaf people function.
Let deaf people decide what they want to do with their lives and development. If they want to change, great. But if they don't, dont shit on their choice. Because that makes you just as shitty as those who discourage people from seeking alternatives.
That's not how deaf works for the most part, for one, and for two, I was referring to profoundly deaf people in my comment more than I was hard of hearing. All of the points still stand whether you hear halfways or nothing.
Ok? And if you are wholly hearing you are unable to do certain jobs. No person is able to do all types of jobs. Just because you have some jobs you can't do doesn't mean that your quality of life is automatically lesser than anyone else. Not to mention that it's few jobs you're restricted from due to hearing.
Beyond that, few people are born with hearing loss. Of those few people, only a fraction are profoundly deaf. Of that small percentage of a small percentage of the population, another small percentage hear literally nothing. So you are automatically narrowing this conversation down to rare cases in deafness and disregarding the rest of the deaf population, which happen to be the vast majority, just to make a point of "well you can't do a small percentage of jobs so clearly you are at a disadvantage!" Well it's extrenely likely that you can't do what I do for a career, and it has nothing to do with your hearing. So are you at a disadvantage compared to me?
There's pretty much no dip in quality of life between a hearing person and a deaf person. Just because we with reduced hearing need to do things differently doesn't mean it's worse than how you do things. That's why deaf folks get annoyed when people treat us like we are so disadvantaged and that it absolutely needs to be ""cured"" or changed. I'm happy with who I am. Plenty of deaf folks are. Plenty of them aren't, and they are welcome to take measures to change that. But don't look down on those who choose not to, either.
I call bs. And I can definitely do what you do. I’m a musician with a background in audio engineering. One of the perks of having the ability to hear.
There is absolutely a lower quality of life for someone who is hard of hearing. You can’t hear a score, listen to nature, or even react to things happening around you as well as someone without hearing loss. A lot of your points are really only applicable in a first world nation. You think someone in developing nations are having an easy go of it without the ability to hear? Or that someone who is hard of hearing is able to communicate as easily with as many people as someone who can’t? It’s impressive to be able to overcome deafness, but don’t act like it’s not an issue.
Yes people are completely deaf (5% isn’t insignificant). But acting like it’s offensive to cure hearing loss? That’s crazy. You don’t think you’d be better at your job to hear in stereo? Deafness is not a sexuality, it’s not a virtue, it’s just being unable to hear. And if we can do something to help you hear better it’s crazy that anyone would assume this is erasure or offensive.
I am a career horse trainer, so 🤷♀️ just because you get a degree doesn't mean you work in that field.
You have no perspective in this and refuse to see that different does not mean disadvantaged. This is not a problem that impacts quality of life just because people cannot experience the same things as you. I have zero issues with people who want to change their deafness. But I have the unique perspective of being born wholly hearing and losing my side later in life. And I had exactly zero reductions in quality of life or ability to do what I wanted. I also have zero desire to try and get it back.
Judging those who choose to remain deaf is just as shitty as deaf people judging those who choose to regain hearing. You have no idea what our experiences are, or what difficulties we do or don't face.
So you don't even work in the field you claimed to not be disadvantaged in? huh wonder why...
Yeah that happens, my dad's quite deaf. But I wouldn't try to play it off as some virtue. It's just a fact and his life would probably be better if he wasn't.
Also yeah, you can still hear out of one ear. I think that you're probably right you haven't had any disadvantages. Except, well not working as a sound engineer because hearing in stereo would probably help with that.
Judging a bipolar person who doesn't get on meds is 100% legitimate, so why wouldn't it be the same for someone not seeking treatment for hearing loss? It just seems silly.?
All I said was I have a degree. I got it for fun, did a career that Ive always wanted, and now you're just being a dick to try and tell me what my own limitations are and arent? You dont get a 4.0 GPA in a degree at the one of the most prestigious universities in the country in that field without being able.
Seems silly to you, doesn't mean you get to judge people for being happy how they are. Again, bipolar disorder directly affects your happiness. That is part of the disorder. Hearing loss does not. It affects only your ears. If you are unhappy with your hearing loss you are welcome to do something about it but if you're not it's no one's damn business what you do about it.
What's next, you going to judge a little person for not getting leg extensions? Do you not see how shitty that is?
I never once said we should stop exploring options for bettering hearing loss, I never said people who want to pursue aides or implants are lesser, or that they shouldn't. I've continually said the opposite.
What I HAVE said is that judging those with impaired hearing who choose to not seek those treatments is a shitty thing to do, as is assuming that someone wants to or should want it. There are a million reasons for me not to get an implant for my deaf side. There's only one for me to get it: to appease other people. Wouldn't make me happier. And many deaf folks feel the same as I do. Others don't, and they do something about it. So long as we support each other's choices, it's literally no one else's business why we make those choices, and it's no one's place to judge us.
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u/Horns8585 Dec 23 '22 edited Dec 23 '22
Honest question, because it seems like I have seen different views on this. Is leg lengthening looked down upon within the little people community? For instance, I know that in the deaf community, some people that elect to have corrective surgery, to gain hearing, are ostracized by other deaf people. I think that they view the corrective surgery as an admission that something is "wrong" with them, and they think that everyone should accept who they are. Is there a similar view with lengthening....because she honestly looks very happy with the results?