I'd been talking to some friends about how to learn some basic ASL, and the video series Meet the Bravo Family came up. My friend suggested that the video series was too expensive to actually buy, but that most libraries will order the videos for you because they are considered to be educational.Regardless, I still wanted to check it out. I realized that yeah, it's waaay too expensive for me to buy--but I also started thinking about what the very nature of the media was saying.
To be fair, I realize that much of what a person learns as intro vocabulary deals with family life, and it makes logical sense to therefore have a family going about their daily lives. But it is noteworthy that the product represents heterosexual norms.
While many may not think of such educational videos as "the media" we so commonly refer to, these videos are, in fact, media. And the media is well known to perpetuate certain gender ideals and so-called norms. I'm not saying that the good people over at Sign Enhancers have a secret anti-gay agenda--but I thought it was an interesting and entirely subliminal reflection of our society in a heterosexual view.
Suzy,
ReplyDeleteIt is hilarious to see what people come up with! This is really interesting to see! First, this couple's appearance is outdated and will only target those families who believe in traditional values. Second, I agree with you that one cannot find a clearer stereotype than this white heterosexual family. Great post!