Last night was the final episode of Celebrity Apprentice, in which Marlee Matlin faced off against John Rich to win the game. Rich was playing for , which treats children with cancer, and Matlin was playing for the which provides hearing aids to children in the United States and around the globe. Special emphasis was made on Starkey’s work in Africa.
During the telecast, I kept an eye on Twitter, as many friends were also watching. I was surprised to see a number of them express dislike for Starkey, with the general complaint being that they are anti-sign language and anti-Deaf culture. I have to say that I personally support Starkey’s work in Africa, for reasons of cultural relativism. To define that term briefly: Cultural relativism means looking at a culture’s needs through the lens of that culture, without applying another culture’s values to it. For example, many American women feel that the is oppressive. Although there are unquestionably concerns with safety (because the wearer’s peripheral vision is reduced), the actual wearing of the burqa is part of the wearer’s culture. To say that it is oppressive is applying American cultural values to Afghan women, who do not live in American society. (The burqa is worn outside Afghanistan, but is most commonly associated with that country.)
So some Deaf Americans appear to be opposed to Starkey’s work in Africa because they believe African deaf children should have the right to sign language and Deaf culture. But let’s remember: Deaf culture in Africa is not what it is here. Although Andrew Foster’s work, continued today by the , did include sign language education in schools, the fact is that only a small percentage of deaf African children have the opportunity to attend such schools. Poverty, location, family, and a number of other factors combine to keep the majority of deaf African children out of schools. These children are forced to adapt to living in a hearing world. As noted in The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa, such children are sometimes considered useless or a burden by their families and the towns they live in. Now, as Deaf Americans, we know that deafness does not make someone a burden alone. But in Africa, inability to communicate does present a barrier to independence. And that is why I support Starkey’s work in Africa: because they are providing deaf children with the opportunity to improve their communication (remember, they live in non-signing cultures), thereby giving them a path to independence.
I admit that I am not familiar with Starkey’s work outside Africa. Their indicates that they have done substantial work in the United States, Mexico, Caribbean, southeast Asia, and other areas, as well as their extensive work in Africa. But the showcase on Celebrity Apprentice was their work in Africa, so that is what I am addressing. We cannot apply Deaf American cultural lenses to deaf children in Africa.
There was also concern expressed about Starkey claiming that silence is a negative state of being, and that hearing is a gift. Well, yes: they’re a hearing aid company, focusing on deafness as an audiological (medical) model, not a cultural model. I would expect nothing less: they are there to sell hearing aids. For Starkey to say “hearing is optional, it’s okay to live in silence” is to say “it’s okay, you don’t have to buy our products.” So…yeah, they’re going to be pro-hearing. As for an anti-sign language policy, I wasn’t able to find anything on the Starkey Hearing Foundation website referencing language and modes of communication. At no point did they say “speech good, sign bad” or anything else. Their focus seems to be entirely on hearing – that is, the intake of sound – without focus on output of communication. And actually, the Starkey homepage features a scroll of children wearing their new hearing aids…one of whom is a little boy making the “L” handshape, responding to someone who seems to be signing to him.
A final concern expressed over Starkey was the issue of hearing aid batteries. This is a very real concern, and it’s not something I was able to find an answer to on the Starkey website. It’s true, batteries for modern hearing aids are extremely expensive! They need to be replaced, on average, once a week. One approach to solving this issue in Africa is the , a hearing aid that can be recharged using a solar panel, invented a couple of years ago and actually made in Africa. (Unfortunately, the company making them, Godisa, no longer has a working website, so I don’t know if the company is still around.) But to suggest that Starkey is evil for providing hearing aids without batteries is a bit short-sighted. According to in Senior Living Magazine, they do provide a supply of batteries when they provide the aids. I have no idea how much, or if they provide more when those run out, but I hardly think the battery issue is a reason to dislike Starkey.
Once again, we have to apply an African lens to Starkey’s work in Africa. I don’t find them evil at all. Unfortunately, Marlee Matlin didn’t win last night, but she still raised over $1,000,000 for Starkey Hearing Foundation over the course of the season. (And actually, the $250,000 grand prize is chump change compared to what Rich and Matlin raised this season!) I think that if you look at Starkey’s work with cultural relativism in mind, they become much more deserving of praise. I do welcome opposing views in comments, other blogs, etc. – this should be a dialogue.