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From: strick@gatech.CSNET (henry strickland)
Newsgroups: net.motss
Subject: Re: Gays, deafness, and problems of Linguistics
Message-ID: <1750@gatech.CSNET>
Date: Mon, 28-Oct-85 22:18:59 EST
Article-I.D.: gatech.1750
Posted: Mon Oct 28 22:18:59 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 30-Oct-85 04:38:49 EST
References: <105@emacs.UUCP> <10761@ucbvax.ARPA>
Reply-To: strick@gatech.UUCP (henry strickland)
Distribution: net
Organization: the clouds project, school of ics, georgia tech
Lines: 44

In article <10761@ucbvax.ARPA> bradr@ingres.UUCP (Brad Rubenstein) writes:
>There are a bunch of signs for homosexuality, though some are
>considered derogatory in certain places, and others are only
>comprehensible in specific contexts (funny, english has the same
>bug/feature).  My source book in such matters (people in netland seem
>to have a passion for references) is "Signs of Sexual Behavior: An
>Introduction to Some Sex-Related Vocabulary in American Sign Language"
>by James Woodward.  It lists signs for "gay", "gay-male", "gay-female,
>lesbian", and "queer, gay".  (I'd show you what they look like, but I
>don't transmit well at 9600 baud).  The names given to the signs are

For those of us who sign, could you describe them (as you describe
the two signs below) ? 

>somewhat arbitrary.  The one I see (and use) most frequently here in
>San Francisco is the last of these, which Woodward says tends to be
>derogatory back East.  The sign is made by touching the thumb and index
>finger (a "g" handshape) to the point of the chin.  "Lesbian" is made
>similarly, but with an "L" hand shape.  I don't think I've ever been
>misunderstood with these signs, nor do I think I've offended anyone who
>wouldn't be offended by the word "gay".
>
>Any comments?  Any Deaf folks out there have an opinion?
>
>	Brad

I've seen the above two signs on the chin used by the son of deaf parents
in Atlanta.   I have a hearing friend from North Carolina who has worked
in the National Theatre of the Deaf for several years.  He was once
telling a story in which he was asked (because he wore an earring)
by a deaf person if he was gay ... the sign David used in this story
is the handshape for "feel" (middle finger bent inside and perpendicular
to the palm -- a common handshape in signs, kind of meaning "sensitive" -- 
it's used in signs for feel, pity, excited, lucky, sparkling (as a
diamond ) -- to be fair, it can also mean empty, or absent ) --
the palm is down, above the head, with the finger just above the 
hair, and it's brought forward as if drawing a mohawk.  Is this
derrogatory?  Used elsewhere?  

-- 
 --  henry strickland  
  --  the clouds project            { akgua allegra hplabs inhp4 }
   --   school of ics / ga tech                         !gatech!strick
    --    atlanta ga 30332