At the Intersection

Hello everyone! I hope everybody enjoyed their summer vacation away from the worries of papers, tests, and academia. This summer I started working at the Women’s Resource Center while taking summer classes. One of the most profound classes I took this summer (or during my entire career at Northern) was in American Sign Language: AHRS 101.

As I jump back into this semester, I do so with a new found determination to appreciate intersecting identities, particularly since they are not always as apparent as everyone thinks they are. The example I’m getting at is Marlee Matlin who is an actor, a writer, and a woman who is Deaf. Not only has she made it in a profession that is very difficult for any individual to succeed in. but she is doing it as a woman with a “disability” (which according to many in the Deaf World isn’t a disability at all, but more on that later).

Recently I was determined to see Matlin in the movie Children of a Lesser God where she became the first Deaf woman to gain an Oscar award for her work as an Actress in a Leading Role. While searching YouTube, I found this incredible clip of Marlee talking about what it means to be a member of society who is seen as “different.”




All in all, I wish everyone could fully accept and appreciate intersecting identities and perseverance as much as Matlin does. Just some food for thought.