‘Falling on deaf ears’: Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown sparks online discussion about ableist language

Brown's friend described his concerns as 'oversensitive'

Karamo Brown's Twitter comment has sparked a valuable online conversation about ableism (Getty )

Karamo Brown has sparked a thought-provoking discussion on Twitter about whether certain everyday idoms are ableist.

The Queer Eye star shared a recent conversation he’d had with a friend who said “I feel like my message is falling on deaf ears.”

Brown commented that the phrase seemed “disrespectful and rude” to the deaf and hard of hearing communities, while his friend dismissed this as being “oversensitive.”

He then asked his followers for their thoughts on the matter, with many appreciating his thoughtfulness.

User @gdimelow said, “I can see that your sensitivity comes from a good place, but I think the intention of the phrase is that the ‘deafness’ is wilful. It’s the same as asking someone refusing to recognise the truth, “How can you be so blind?”

In response, @elfboone said: “I think that’s the problem. It minimizes the actual struggles of disabled people and reduces their deafness to a choice.”

One user said, “I have an auditory processing disorder and I've never liked that saying. It makes me feel like I'm being lumped in with those who intentionally don't listen to others. So I'd say you're totally right!”

@life_laughter said: “Thank you! I don’t like the phrase because it implies that deaf people can’t listen. I put 10x more effort into communicating than hearing people. Thank you for being aware & using your platform to recognize and elevate Deaf/HOH perspectives.”

This isn’t the first time Brown has used his platform to show his support for the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.

In June 2018, Brown pledged to speak directly with Netflix to bring about change in relation to how the show is close captioned.

Fans of the show had complained that subtitles censor profanities or are blatantly inaccurate, which some viewers argued was ableist.

In response, Karamo wrote: “Reading everyone’s comments breaks my heart. I don’t know how much power I have but know, the next time I’m at Netflix I’m going to bring up this issue internally & wont stop until something changes. Deaf & HOH people should have the same experience as everyone else! #TypoFixed”

Ableism, as outlined by StopAbleism.org, ​is defined by "the practices and dominant attitudes in society that devalue and limit the potentials of persons with disabilities".

The organisation explains that this can make people with disabilities feel "inferior" to others.