Deaf vs. deaf

Deafness is a unique topic with respect to the other conditions herein labelled as disabilities. While being deaf is usually defined as a loss of hearing, contemporary scholars have challenged the idea that deafness is a pathology. It has been argued that deaf individuals do not define themselves in relationship to the norm of hearing: ‘To many in the deaf community, being deaf has nothing to do with “loss” but is, rather, a distinct way of being in the world, one that opens up perceptions, perspectives, and insights that are less common to the majority of hearing persons.’ A collection of essays, published in 2014, Deaf Gain, explores the positive aspects of the lives of those who are deaf, both in terms of individual benefit but also as a healthy part of societal diversity.

Disability critics readily recognize the difference in studies on the deaf where Deaf (written with capital D) represents deafness as a culture, and deaf (written with small-case d) denotes a physical condition. Critics such as Brenda Jo Brueggemann and Nancy Eiesland speak of the deaf in terms of a unique linguistic and cultural minority. Eiesland recognizes that this stance has caused some tensions with others in the disability rights movement. The history of oralism – forcing the deaf to vocalize rather than, or in addition to, sign language – has produced resentment and feelings of oppression among those who do not hear. The imposition of the ‘normalcy’ of speaking and the correlative assumption that orality was necessary for learning, knowledge, and the exercise of power has impacted persons who are deaf and shaped how scholars approach and investigate the experience of deafness.

Deaf culture relies, among other factors, on sharing a common language through signing. While it is true that the use of signs among the deaf dates from ancient times, the standardization of signage only began in the seventeenth century, so it is difficult to know, for the Pre-Modern period, exactly how and to what extent the deaf might be set apart as a separate community, sharing a common language. Dirksen and Bauman insist that the deaf have always sought each other out and formed communities.