10/08/2026
Hey Yāall,
This post is about the Fenway Park signer. The young lady who just recently signed at Fenway Park. I donāt know how many of you are aware of this, but
Things have been happening & getting a little bit heated as some people feel a need to defend her & ļæ¼and many people want to defend the majority of Deaf communityās POV also ..ļæ¼ļæ¼ļæ¼
I wanted to gently share some thoughts as a Deaf person and member of the Deaf community who cares deeply about accurate representation of ASL.
It appears this young woman has been self-teaching for about three months and has drawn heavily from other creatorās works. While a few of the signs are correct, many of the parameters (handshape, movement, location, and non-manual markers) are off, which makes the overall signing unclear and inaccurateāwhether itās intended as ASL, PSE, or SEE.
Performing in front of a large audience (especially one of this size) after only a few months of informal study is a big responsibility. I feel for herāitās easy to imagine how overwhelming or embarrassing that could feel once the feedback starts coming in. We truly want more people to learn ASL and engage with Deaf culture, but itās important that people wait until they have a solid foundation before teaching or performing publicly. Jumping in too early can unintentionally spread incorrect signing and put the learner in a difficult position.
This situation unfortunately reminds me of the āLolaā incident a few years ago, when a teenager misrepresented herself as an interpreter, copied a well-known Deaf performerās rendition (including her style and even her dress), and caused significant frustration within the Deaf community. I hope this young woman can avoid heading down a similar path.
If her goal is genuinely to connect with and support the Deaf community, the kindest and most respectful next step is to pause public performances, seek proper instruction from qualified Deaf teachers or certified programs, and continue learning privately until her skills are stronger. Doing otherwiseāespecially when it appears to generate attention or cloutācan come across as cultural appropriation of a linguistic minority culture.
I say this with care and the hope that she (and others) will keep learning in a way that honors the language and the community.
