Deaf + Mother + Blogger = Deaf Mother Blogger
There is much talk among with my husband, daughter, and friends who are hearing and deaf about the term “Deaf Mother”. Some like and use the word freely, while others choke on air once they hear someone spill it from their mouths and hands. I didn’t used to care. The way I look at it I am a Deaf Mother and I am a Blogger. Therefore I, by default, am a Deaf Mother Blogger. The word DEAF MOTHER to me has pleasant feelings. Ember calls me “DEAF MOM” to her friends makes my heart swell with pride. Being a Deaf Mother is the most important job in my life.
Professionally, I have never had any issue with being a Deaf Mother Blogger. I never felt it limited the scope of what I could write or vlog (Video of myself) either. Then it all changed.
Ok let me stop for a second and talk about relationship. My job as a blogger and creator content is to create a relationship with my readers and viewers. I write and produced films for them everyday because I feel a connection to them. We have a relationship. The same goes for the companies I work with. I have been offered professional advances because a company has a relationship with me that is valued. I have gone above and beyond for a company because I value our relationship. When it comes to my readers/viewers, I always go back to the same train of thought. It’s all about relationships. I want my readers/viewers to develop a relationship with the companies I work with. I only work with companies that I think are a good fit for me and my readers/viewers. Creating a relationship between the two is the natural next step.
After a while I figured something out. I realized that my husband never says his “Deaf Wife” but just saying “Wife” to his co workers and friends down the road he finally said his wife is a Deaf which it surprised them. Same time Ember keeps telling her friends at her school her mother is a Deaf whole the time. It still surprise Ember’s friends’ families because of this “Deaf” they didn’t understand the long term benefits of how a real endorsement could really benefit my husband and Ember as family. They didn’t know what a real equal access family I have with my husband and daughter front of their people around them.
After they have shared with me what they saw in their friends and families. I stopped for a second and rethought everything I ever knew about Deaf Mother Blogging. I regrouped and the next stop I made I introduced myself as a “Writer and Producer of an online film/publication”. That my friends is when the world shifted. I was no longer a frantic Deaf Mother Blogger desperate for samples. I now had depth and value even though I was still me doing the same thing. At the end of all of my conversation they knew I was a blogger and yet no one offered me a sample. Instead I left with the opportunity to form a relationship out there.
How do you feel about the term Deaf Mother Blogger?
