Forehead Peace Sign is new to the viral scene, but it is stirring up a lot of controversy between two communities none the less.

On Instagram there are a group of people taking selfies of themselves, or of their friends, with the peace sign (the one you make with your fingers) held up to their foreheads. This is causing a lot of commotion in the Deaf community. However, before I touch on that subject, I just want to ask one question. Why are people putting the peace sign on their forehead? What sense does that make? I would understand putting it over lets say, your heart, but what on earth does it mean by putting it on your face? Okay, so more than one question.

With that small rant complete, lets get to the meat in this article.

This is causing a ton of frustration in the Deaf community because this symbol is actually a sign in American Sign Language. Those of you who have taken even a basic ASL (American Sign Language) class, or even know someone who is deaf, will know very well that by putting the peace sign on your forehead it means “stupid”. So essentially, the people in the pictures are either A) calling themselves stupid or B) calling you and I stupid. I’m not going to go as far as to say that choice ‘A’ is correct, because I know that most people have no clue that it is actually a sign that has a meaning, but I will say that once the Instagrammers found out (and believe me, those in the Deaf community, and hearing, have made them fully aware) they should probably change the location of the peace sign, that way they don’t look so silly.

The people in the Deaf community have come a long way fighting for equality and fighting against discrimination. They faced many, many challenges over the years trying to be heard, but us hearing people always thought of them as “deaf and dumb”. In recent days, things have gotten better, but there is still a long way to go to wipe out Audism all together (audism is the term used to describe discrimination against those who are deaf/hard of hearing).

The reactions from the Deaf community have been mixed. Some are laughing as sort of an inside joke that only they, and those who know sign, are privy too, and others are a little appalled and don’t want to see it. The Deaf community are an extremely proud group of people that don’t want to see their language being misrepresented or used inappropriately, and rightfully so.

Personally, I don’t see ‘ForeheadPeaceSign’ breaking the internet like Kim Kardashian’s spread with Paper magazine, but I can’t help but to laugh at the people doing it. It seems to have started out as a way to promote peace in America, but it has done the opposite and since grown into something of a joke. For the sake of those a part of the Deaf community, lets put this to rest and let them have their sign back.

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