Elsa Sjunneson, "Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism" (Simon Element, 2021)
As a deafblind woman with partial vision in one eye and bilateral hearing aids, Elsa Sjunneson lives at the crossroads of blindness and sight, hearing and deafness--much to the confusion of the world around her. While she cannot see well enough to operate without a guide dog or cane, she\xa0can\xa0see enough to know when someone is reacting to the visible signs of her blindness and can hear when they're whispering behind her back. And she certainly knows how wrong our one-size-fits-all definitions of disability can be.\nAs a media studies professor, she's also seen the full range of blind and deaf portrayals on film, and here she deconstructs their impact, following common tropes through horror, romance, and everything in between. Part memoir, part cultural criticism, part history of the Deafblind experience,\xa0Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism\xa0(Simon Element, 2021)\xa0explores how our cultural concept of disability is more myth than fact, and the damage it does to us all.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law