At one point in the programme Adam asked if someone was either 'thick or deaf'. I found this comment really offensive. It puts across a view that D/deafness is in the same category as stupidity. To be honest I'm annoyed that the BBC even broadcast such a comment. They should know better.

When did he say that? It is a stupid comment but then again I would never bother writing D/deafness, is that the thing now, seems a bit OTT if I'm honest.

He was referring to one of the other candidates.

In the context of Adam being a colossal twonk and already having said a number of patronising, obnoxious and sexist remarks I don't this that it is intended that anyone would agree with his comment and no offence should be taken.

If the BBC censored everything he said/did which was bigoted, wrong or un-pc I don't think we would have seen anything of him!!

Agreed!

Steady on. He said is she thick (too stupid to credit his words of wisdom) or deaf (unable to hear his words of wisdom). That doesn't imply deaf=stupid. He knew she isn't actually deaf, so the D/deaf in the thread title (which as a hearing person I had to look up) isn't even relevant. I doubt Adam is aware of the difference between "Deaf" and "deaf" either.

People say things like "are you deaf?" to people they know not to be deaf, causing no offence. If they said it to someone they didn't know who actually was deaf it would be incredibly insulting. It's all about context, it's not automatically offensive. Lots of everyday language is potentially offensive to someone. The BBC can't censor it all.

In my opinion and experience it is offensive and it does cause offence. Whether someone is born deaf or becomes deaf it is part of their identity and their being. You pointed out the context in which the comment was made. If the context is 'life according to Adam', it seems that the alternative explanation to the other candidate being stupid would be deafness.

How about 'Are you stupid or blonde?', 'Are you stupid or gay?', 'Are you stupid or female?', 'Are you stupid or dumb?'. These are all offensive in my opinion.

You are right that people do say things like 'are you deaf?' to people and it's not pointed out as being offensive. There are reasons for that - low levels of awareness concerning deafness and a societal tendency to diminish and marginalize minority groups. As you said, as a hearing person you had to look up the term 'D/deafness. No offence to you personally, most people would have to look it up. It's not a universally agreed term amongst D/deaf or hearing people, but a useful term when making distinction between people born deaf and people who become deaf, their experiences and perceptions.

Jade, I believe...

None of these work because being blonde, gay, female or dumb doesn't stop you from hearing what someone is saying.

I don't get where he said deaf=stupid. It was clealy meant as "are you too stupid to understand what I am saying or do you just not hear me?"

with all due respect, the poster who said the BBC can't censor everything was right, you seem like this is your particular issue, which doesn't diminish anything you are saying, but does come across as a bit much. There needs to be a balance between being respectful and knowledgeable but also being sensible regarding throwaway comments, from people like Adam, that I do not believe was malicious. I have never heard anyone use that phrase anyway, I really don't think this is worth getting offended about.

I thought this too, but couldn't be bothered to work out how to express it!

i don't think it's offensive. I didn't see the clip, but if someone wasn't responding to correct orders then he is either a)thick or b)deaf. It doesn't mean deaf people are thick. It means that if he's not deaf THEN he must be thick.

Hear hear. Unfortunately disablist comments don't always get recognised as offensive by the non disabled community. Which is why people still say spazz, and Gervais says mong. yet racist, homophobic and other offensive remarks are now recognised as such.

I don't think there's any reason not to broadcast Adam's comment tho. It just exposes him for the crude, ignorant idiot that he is.

No offence but I think you're taking this too far. I'm not going to memorise all the politically correct terminology for every single minority group (I'm too busy doing that for words for black people, gays, disabled people etc...by the way the "politically correct" word changes every few years making it even harder to keep up). I rely on choosing the right word in the context I deal with that person, i.e. whether it's a friend or a stranger, how well I know them etc. Sometimes I feel certain people are looking for reasons to be offended, which in itself is malicious.

'Cept deaf is the correct word for someone with a hearing impairment. It's not like he's using "mong" as a synonym for "stupid," he's using "deaf" as a synonym for "hearing impaired." Which... it is!

He's not going "deaf people are thick," he's going "deaf people can't hear." Which they can't. I'm not saying it was a smart thing to say, but just 'cos the words "thick" and "deaf" are near each other doesn't mean he was equating them.

Agreed with everything, but especially the bit in bold.

It's not the word, it's the context that matters.

I think you're deliberately missing the point. Do you really think Adam was suggesting Jade had a hearing impairment? Or do you think he was suggesting reasons for what he perceived as stupidity? Looked like the latter to me. If he really thought Jade couldn't hear properly he should be bringing it up & asking how he could support her, did she need him to speak slowly so she could lip read etc? No, Adam was basically saying 'heck this woman is a muppet, what is her problem?' Which is why use of the term deaf was insulting, offensive & inappropriate.

I went to a wedding several years ago, and, before they decided on the numbers for the different meal options, they asked me if I was V/vegetarian or C/carnivorous.

Well, you can imagine my outrage...

Adam is a male chauvinist pig of the first degree, but I don't think he was being intentionally insulting to deaf people.

He was having a problem with Jade and Tom ignoring (quite rightly) his daft suggestions and with jade being in charge of producing the video, he was complaining that she wasn't listening to him and was wondering (unfortunately to the camera) if she was "Thick" ie didn't understand what he was saying, or "deaf" couldn't (wouldn't?) hear what he was saying......

Hands up anyone who hasn't yelled "Are you deaf or what?" at a recalcitrant teenager (or similar) who is ignoring everything said to them???

Like I said, not a smart thing to say. But I think he was suggesting reasons for why Jade wasn't listening to him. He didn't think she actually was deaf, and he was being all too flippant about the whole thing, but what he's frustrated with is his voice not being heard - again he's not using deafness as a synonym for stupidity, but as a reason to not hear things.

Look closely at the sentance. "Thick" and "deaf" are separate categories. He's suggesting reasons she wouldn't be listening, and because she's not deaf - it must be thickness! Binary opposites. Semantically, he's just plain not insulting deaf people. He's being flippant about it, and quite the dinosaur... but I get the sense this is a case of offence being taken, not given.

And I bloody hate Adam, so I wouldn't be deliberately misinterpreting if I thought I could avoid it. Deaf isn't the insult. Thick is. Plenty of things to be offended with about Adam ("thick" among them!), but while it was a totally oafish sentence... deaf's just a word in it.

The only person who could have been offended by what Stephen said was Jade. The remark was directed at her, not at deaf or disabled people in general. As the remark shows Stephen in a bad light (expecting the world to revolve around him and his every word) that is all the more reason for it to be broadcast.

The BBC can't be expected to bleep out every word which might offend someone, can they? That really would be political correctness gone mad (and I never thought I'd type those words). "Deaf" has no negative connotations as a word, unlike "spaz" and "mong" for example. So it isn't a word which is offensive in every context, which might justify it being banned.

That's not how I saw it. I heard it as him saying 'this girl is a nightmare! I mean, is she [insulting word 1] or [insulting word 2]?'

But it sounds like we will have to agree to disagree as you don't see any harm in it.

"are you deaf or what" is meant as a challenge to the other peson to respond since they are not listening to what you have to say

but if you really want to avoid any chance of offense just dont say anything and the program will be a rather boring hour of people doing nothing since everything they do could be considered offensive as even speaking could be considered offensive for those who are unable to speak etc etc etc until the only thing left for some people to complain about is that there is nothing left to complain about

Adam is an idiot but the 'insult' was aimed at Jade as she wasn't listening to him. I don't think that he was intending to mock deaf people. He was clearly annoyed that she chose to ignore him that's all.