When questions about BSL are directed at the interpreter, not the Deaf person, it’s sidelining.

Written By Stephanie Todd

Micro-Stories series

Soft, muted photograph of three women sitting around a wooden meeting table in a modern office during a serious discussion. A hearing woman in the centre speaks while gesturing toward an interpreter seated beside her.

I was right there.

Signing.

Present.

The Deaf person in the room.

And yet… they turned to the interpreter and asked them about BSL – my language, my culture, my identity.

A question meant for me was handed to someone else.

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Stephanie Todd
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When Deaf directness is called rude, it’s pathologising.
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When their eyes go to the interpreter, not the Deaf person, it’s erasure.