OPPRESSION in sign language

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." -- Desmond Tutu

ASL sign for OPPRESSION

How to sign "oppression" in American Sign Language (ASL)?

Definition: to keep something down using unjust power or authority; unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power.

Pronunciation/articulation: Dominant B-thumb handshape, palm down (orientation), on top of the passive/non-dominant upright "S" handshape (location), press down once (movement).

Verb (oppress) or noun (oppression), depending on the structure or word order in a sentence.

Vocabulary

For an oppression to form, two elements are PREJUDICE and systemic POWER. This "prejudice + power = ism" definition was based on Patricia Bidol-Padva's work in a 1970 book. Ref

Signed words for -isms: AUDISM, PHONOCENTRISM, LINGUICISM, ORALISM, RACISM, SEXISM, AGEISM, ABLEISM, CLASSISM, HETEROSEXISM/HOMOPHOBIA, ANTI-SEMITISM, XENOPHOBIA, ISLAMOPHOBIA, ELITISM.

More related words: CULTURAL APPROPRIATION, MICROAGGRESSION, DISCRIMINATION, TOKENISM, ABUSE, EXPLOIT.

Opposite: FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, EQUALITY, DIVERSITY.

Related posts: Deaf Resistance against hearing oppression; learn about audism.

Usage/Grammar

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