Big "D" little "d" oppinions and poll

[Southern]

This kinda became a debate in another thread which was off topic of that thread. I thought I would bring the discussion out of it and create a new thread specifically for this subject. The question of culturally Deaf, (and big “D” as apposed to little “d”) is one I hope you can give your opinions on and maybe a consensus can be reached, at least here on AD. Since AD reaches across the country, and across the world, members in the UK, Germany, and Australia I have seen so far. What is your opinion on being Deaf. Is it only being medically Deaf/HOH or must you know ASL as well. Are those who are medically deaf but are oral only excluded from that but not the deaf community as a whole? Further, if knowledge of ASL and interaction with the Deaf community on an extremely regular basis is the measure by which this is determined can hearing people with no hearing degradation be included in this? Are they part of the Deaf community, such as terps. Or if it isn’t just a job, if you are in the Deaf community non stop and sign on a weekly if not daily basis are you then considered culturally Deaf now, even though you are hearing? Are there certain levels of this, such as CODAs, parents of Deaf children, and hearing spouses of Deaf. Could it be anyone who is in the Deaf community as much if not more than the hearing? Can a hearing person be considered “culturally Deaf”? If so how is that determined and how would this person identify themselves?

 

[Endymion]

I imagine that the views of Deafness differ slightly between people of different countries.

For one example, Paddy Ladd of "Deafhood" fame reminds us that the Americans tend to have a stratification that prizes Deaf-of-Deafs, and that people elsewhere don't share this stratification to as much an extent.

 

[Theseus]

Funny how prejudices begets prejudices. Prejudices taken by deaf people across America are impacted by America's sociocultural values and prejudices.

In HS, I had a hard time making American friends who wanted to know me for the individual I am, not for sign language. I found it was quicker making friends with foreign exchange students, such as was illustrated when I was captain of the swim team; my friend from Rio De Janerio, Brazil, expressed an unusual interest in deaf people and became nearly fluent in SEE (which used to be my mode of sign language) in only three weeks.

There was another HS student on the swim team from South Africa working towards American citizenship and we became quick friends, even though he was just like any other regular person except more open-minded. He and my Brazilian friend were at a tremendous advantage having a multicultural approach to things.

I recently befriended an European girl a few months ago and she was confused by deaf people's harsh reaction towards a hearing person like her. She was trying to be their friend but they were misinterpreting it as her taking advantage of them. While in general this may be true for many hearing people in American society, it has to do with inbred society values/prejudices. I prompted her not to give up on deaf people, and I pointed out the cultural relevance.

She replied by saying I spotted on about the family-oriented affluent locale she grew up in. She proceeded by thanking me for knocking her out of the "America-plugged" climate. In her own words, "My big brat and I grew up in an area where the culture and language differentiate from our already-multicultural cultures and languages. For some years, we, ultimately, learned how to cope and adapt with different languages and cultures. There were some Muslim, visually disabled and handicapped families living proximately next to us and they were way friendlier and more family-oriented than other families. I had considered them as my non-blood relatives. I knew everyone, literally, everyone resided in the locale. I was taught to be tolerant, to be empathetic and to be a receptive person. My papa had an adage, "Don't give someone a stale challah if you don't like to eat a stale challah". That was what I was accustomed to in the whole of my childhood."

The stratification has a cultural relevance, so without social prejudices present, then it does not become such a big issue. Social prejudices by hearing people begets social prejudices by deaf people. Being "culturally" deaf has to do with the culture you grew up in, not the degree of hearing loss.

Hearing people can be culturally deaf, just as a deaf person with deaf parents can become culturally hearing under one instance; if that deaf person was adopted by a hearing family apart from blood relatives. That deaf person born into hearing culture will have absorbed some hearing culture values and behaviors, and therefore become culturally hearing. In the same way, hearing people can become culturally deaf.

 

[Theseus]

"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions."--Einstein

 

[Hear Again]

Southern,

You may have already seen my post in another thread, but I'll post it here again for those who missed it.

"From my understanding (someone please correct me if I'm wrong), the Deaf community does not look at deafness in terms of one's audiogram. Instead, they look at one's knowledge of/willingness to learn sign and a person's association with the community as a whole. For example, I know functionally hard of hearing individuals who identify themselves as big "D" because they've used ASL and have been a part of the Deaf community for many years. While they may not be "deaf" in terms of their hearing loss, they are most certainly Deaf when it comes to the Deaf community and Deaf culture. Therefore, a functionally HoH person who signs and participates in the Deaf community would be considered more "deaf" than someone who is profoundly or totally deaf (small "d") who does not. Degree of hearing has nothing to do with one's identity as being big "D" as opposed to small "d." Even people with normal hearing can be considered big "D."

 

[ismi]

I think some (though not all) oral deaf and HOH identify with disabled culture, rather than Deaf culture. And dis culture is really more of a subculture than a culture, whereas Deaf culture seems a lot more ... self-contained, perhaps?

So from a medical perspective, if you're deaf, you're deaf, that's all there is to it. But one doesn't have to be Deaf to be deaf, and one doesn't have to be deaf to be Deaf.

 

[Theseus]

I agree with you Hear Again, on most things you're saying. Participation / amount of exposure to deaf events/people has a lot to do with consideration when it comes to what defines being culturally Deaf. On the other hand, some deaf people bear elephantline grudges against hearing people, so they include degree of hearing in the definition whereas it really has no relevance.

Based on another person's book review on Patterns of Culture by Ruth Benedict: "I acquired this "insightful idea" : that as we learn our own culture we become a "prisoner" of our ONE culture. We become a prisoner because we only know ONE culture. If we only know ONE culture we have "no choice" but to "live and think" WITHIN that ONE culture. But, if we know two or three or twenty cultures we can then "free" outselves from living and thinking and perceiving in ONE way. We will then have choices BETWEEN more than one way of life, we will have choices between more than one way of thinking and we will have choices between more than one way of perceiving the world. The knowledge of more than one culture gives us "more freedom" of choice. Thus we cease to be "a prisoner of culture"."

Apply this to how hearing and deaf people perceive each other. Fundamentally, they're human beings; but do not understand each other. Hearing people often have difficulty empathizing with deaf people and fail to understand why communication is so important; deaf people, in turn, construct built-in self-defense mechanisms (excluding hearing people) as a way to protect themselves from getting hurt or abused.

Without this difficulty, the importance of being culturally Deaf and having a deaf community would probably be nonexistent.

 

[Hear Again]

Theseus,

Thanks for that explanation!

I found more information from Wikepedia.com about Deaf Culture. It reads as follows:

Deafness
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

International deaf accessibility symbolThe word deaf is most often associated with two meanings:

Notated as deaf with a lowercase d, this refers to either one or many of whom deafness is predominantly an audiological experience[1]. This means someone who is partially or wholly lacking hearing, either when they were born, through pernicious disease early in life, or later in life. The term refers to the idea in the strictest sense: the condition and state of being deaf, nothing more.
The other definition is referred to as Deaf with a capital D - it is any person or persons who "identifies him/herself as a member of the Deaf community, and other members accept that person as a part of the community[2]." Many Deaf perceive their community akin to other language minority communities[1], and share a sense of Deaf Culture.
The global deaf population is roughly estimated to be 0.1% of the total population (1 in 1000) [3]. The figure is likely to be higher in developing countries than developed countries due to restricted access to health care, and, in some cultures, due to the high rate of intrafamilial marriages. The great majority of people with less than average hearing are elderly or developed hearing loss after leaving school[4].

People who are part of Deaf culture use sign language as their primary language and often emphatically see themselves as not disabled, but rather as members of a cultural or language minority[1]. Members of this group use Deaf as a label of cultural identity much more than as an expression of hearing status. Hearing people may also be considered culturally Deaf if they participate in Deaf culture and share Deaf cultural values; this is sometimes referred as 'attitudinal deafness'[2]. For example, children of deaf adults (CODAs) with normal hearing ability may consider themselves, and be considered, culturally Deaf.

Deafness is not limited to humans, but can also occur in other animals.

 

[Southern]

yes hearagain i saw that post which got me thinking and with other posts in that thread decided to create this one.

 

[Endymion]

Theseus, that excerpt touching on imprisonment by culture is just amazingly brilliant. I like it. I wonder how we would extrapolate and apply it further.

One argument (that I disagree with) that appears every once in a while is that the Deaf people aren't really a distinct culture because they share many similar traits with the American culture. The rebuttal I hear to that generally takes the form of "The hearing cultural hegemony that exists suppresses the natural, unique characteristics and trends of the Deaf culture. Parallels between the hearing and the Deaf world are parallels in the same sense that other minority cultures in America exhibit majority culture traits. There is a powerful and unique Deaf culture that has not yet fully manifested due to cultural subjugation." Similar arguments have also been used as an argument for institutional segregationism.

Ignoring the ramifications of that whole debate, we can pick at the "exhibiting majority trends" issue. How does Ruth Benedict's take apply now? Do we have more cultural background and interpretative capacity, assuming Deaf America is caught in a transitive state between a cultural majority and the the unique characteristics that comprise a wholly Deaf identity?

Food for thought?

 

[Southern]

Cultural hemogany aside what are the requirements ,if any,to being culturally Deaf and do they apply to anyone, regardless of hearing ability, or lack there of? Poll update: most that have voted so far seem to feel that hearing can be culturally Deaf, which i find facinating to say the least. Will this trend continue or is it too early to tell????

 

[ismi]

Based on another person's book review on Patterns of Culture by Ruth Benedict: "I acquired this "insightful idea" : that as we learn our own culture we become a "prisoner" of our ONE culture. We become a prisoner because we only know ONE culture. If we only know ONE culture we have "no choice" but to "live and think" WITHIN that ONE culture. But, if we know two or three or twenty cultures we can then "free" outselves from living and thinking and perceiving in ONE way. We will then have choices BETWEEN more than one way of life, we will have choices between more than one way of thinking and we will have choices between more than one way of perceiving the world. The knowledge of more than one culture gives us "more freedom" of choice. Thus we cease to be "a prisoner of culture"."

QFT - pluralism is a beautiful thing.

 

[sr171soars]

... On the other hand, some deaf people bear elephantline grudges against hearing people, so they include degree of hearing in the definition whereas it really has no relevance.

That has been my beef for ages... Especially, as I got lumped with the hearing just for being able to do as the Romans do.

Based on another person's book review on Patterns of Culture by Ruth Benedict: "I acquired this "insightful idea" : that as we learn our own culture we become a "prisoner" of our ONE culture. We become a prisoner because we only know ONE culture. If we only know ONE culture we have "no choice" but to "live and think" WITHIN that ONE culture. But, if we know two or three or twenty cultures we can then "free" outselves from living and thinking and perceiving in ONE way. We will then have choices BETWEEN more than one way of life, we will have choices between more than one way of thinking and we will have choices between more than one way of perceiving the world. The knowledge of more than one culture gives us "more freedom" of choice. Thus we cease to be "a prisoner of culture"."

QFT!!! A great statement! I see the truth of this the longer I live. Not only did I learn to fit in the hearing world but I had (along the way) to adjust to different cultures such as Vietnamese, Chinese, and Indian (India) from a expectation standpoint. Very "eye opening" I will tell you. Learn something everyday. It has really forced me to re-think my own culture especially in terms of relationships (better said as expectations).

Apply this to how hearing and deaf people perceive each other. Fundamentally, they're human beings; but do not understand each other. Hearing people often have difficulty empathizing with deaf people and fail to understand why communication is so important; deaf people, in turn, construct built-in self-defense mechanisms (excluding hearing people) as a way to protect themselves from getting hurt or abused.
...

It is worst when you are trapped between worlds. Nobody fully understands one's own reality except those in the same boat.

 

[Theseus]

I'll do this in Q&A format to keep things simple:

Q: What is the general purpose of deaf communities and deaf culture?
A: To recognize and meet the needs of hearing-impaired people, and give them a voice of their own as well as belonging/acceptance somewhere.

Q: Why are they both important?
A: Because they're a way of fully establishing identity and a feeling of security in the world, whereas many deaf people wouldn't be able to otherwise.

Q: What helps establish identity?
A: Communication. The ability to express oneself and get adequate feedback. The greater the number, the better.

Hearing people in hearing society may hear 500,000 words/day from 250 different people. People who exchange values, beliefs, constructive criticism, etc. From this, it's easier to become socially adept under most circumstances.

But deaf people in non-signing (or signing) hearing society, on the other hand, may only get up to 20,000 words or less/day by reading or lipreading or being around hearing people "willing" to communicate with them.

Hearing people may not give honest or full disclosure of their thoughts, and may give a watered down explanation because sign language is tedious to them. This greatly limits a deaf person's ability to grow and establish identity. Disclaimer: not all hearing people are like this, but most are (from my own experience).

Yet that was only for a single day. Think of how much information and constructive criticism hearing people get in a YEAR compared to deaf people. I made up a quote a while back to illustrate this point to some hearing people: As telepathy (reading each other's minds) is to a hearing person, so is the sense of hearing to a deaf person... in the amount of information you would receive... and the capacity for personal growth that could be gathered from each...

Yet how the information is processed is relative to each person, and some learn while others never learn. Deaf people have different experiences than hearing people, and can learn to process information in a way that could keep up with them.

All this is why the need for deaf communities and deaf culture. They provide deaf people with the basic human need of companionship, including psychological and personal growth and empowerment, as well as higher information exchange. Deaf people very likely won't get all this otherwise.

Deaf culture is a combination of beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior. Those patterns can be picked up later on in life by anyone (including hearing people) through cultural immersion - and it's about understanding deaf people's needs and sharing the same values. Even if one may not be 100% fluent in ASL, I believe it's still possible to be culturally Deaf by regarding their values as your own and being around deaf people very regularly.

Sorry this got too long. Just wanted to point out a number of things.

Endymion, your question is a hard one to answer but I understand what you're saying. Ruth Bendict's take is useful for negotiating purposes. The majority of people out there are not aware of the "ethnocentricity trap", so they hold on to their cultural bias. It is our job to make them (both hearing and deaf) aware of how ONE culture affects how they view the world around them. Strip away their ignorance. Only then can we make them more receptive towards accepting that the needs and beliefs of a certain culture might be different from theirs. And more willing to accommodate to meet those needs.

Even though American culture exhibits characteristics that can be paralleled between hearing culture and Deaf culture, the need for communication is reason enough for a deaf community as an impairment of it is also an impairment to personal growth and all the things I listed earlier. Also, Maslow's hierachy of human needs is reason enough for Deaf culture to exist. Some needs are unfulfilled in hearing culture. Look at the pyramid, especially at self-actualization. It lists "lack of prejudice" as part of a basic human need and this need is a huge issue for Deaf culture.

I would think deaf people in general have more cultural experience because we seem more accepting and receptive towards differences because we know what it's like being different. Also, 90% of deaf children come from hearing parents. They get a taste of the hearing world. But experiences vary from deaf to deaf, some have have much more experience in the hearing world than the deaf world, and vice-versa. What's important is learning how to have an anti-ethnocentric view about the world around you. And understanding that truth is relative.

Our greatest tool may be to educate others using our shared knowledge.

I agree that pluralism is a beautiful thing, ismi, and WOW at your own experiences, sr171soars. I understand how it feels being trapped between worlds and it's a horrible feeling, but the world is a much better place now for deaf people than it used to be.

 

[VamPyroX]

I basically consider myself "deaf". Yep, with the little 'd'.

I think that Deaf (with the big 'D') is something that deafies often abuse as an excuse for things they do. When I'm at a computer lab and there's a couple of deafies signing loudly (noisy gestures and smacking of hands) and using their voices, I'd remind them that they are being loud. They will then say, "I'm Deaf, so I can communicate like this if I want." Another instance would be where a deafie is approached by another deafie. During a conversation between them, the guy says that he won't date her for she isn't Deaf. Apparently, she had hearing parents and hearing friends... and had no right to call herself Deaf.

This is one of the many reasons why Deaf Culture is one of those cultures that's still mis-understood in many aspects.

 

[Tousi]

We won't be a complete culture in the true sense of the word until we have deaf donuts, deaf pies, deaf clothes, deaf vehicles. Lol, carry on; don't mind me.

 

[shel90]

I basically consider myself "deaf". Yep, with the little 'd'.

I think that Deaf (with the big 'D') is something that deafies often abuse as an excuse for things they do. When I'm at a computer lab and there's a couple of deafies signing loudly (noisy gestures and smacking of hands) and using their voices, I'd remind them that they are being loud. They will then say, "I'm Deaf, so I can communicate like this if I want." Another instance would be where a deafie is approached by another deafie. During a conversation between them, the guy says that he won't date her for she isn't Deaf. Apparently, she had hearing parents and hearing friends... and had no right to call herself Deaf.

This is one of the many reasons why Deaf Culture is one of those cultures that's still mis-understood in many aspects.

That is why I have a hard time getting along with some Deaf people cuz our beliefs seems to clash. I do have some friends who are Deaf and get along with them most of the time but I notice if I go on trips with them or spend too much time with them, I end up getting into arguments with them. Like one time, I went with my friend to California last year for the softball tourney. She is strong culturally Deaf. We get along most of the time but after sticking together for more than 2 days, we started bickering at each other about things like deaf issues. One time, we met friends to go to a restaurant and those friends didnt show up. I was pissed off and she said that is the Deaf way. I disagreed and said that was rude and she said I was making a big deal over it and we ended up arguing about it.


About Deaf guys not dating deaf women, I did experience that when I was single and dating. I thought one guy was cute and I told my friend and they said that he wouldnt give me a chance. I was like, why? They told me he prefers a Deaf woman from a deaf family and I just rolled my eyes. I told the guy good luck finding a perfect Deaf woman. He told me "good luck finding a Deaf man." LOL!

 

[jillio]

I'll do this in Q&A format to keep things simple:

Q: What is the general purpose of deaf communities and deaf culture?
A: To recognize and meet the needs of hearing-impaired people, and give them a voice of their own as well as belonging/acceptance somewhere.

Q: Why are they both important?
A: Because they're a way of fully establishing identity and a feeling of security in the world, whereas many deaf people wouldn't be able to otherwise.

Q: What helps establish identity?
A: Communication. The ability to express oneself and get adequate feedback. The greater the number, the better.

Hearing people in hearing society may hear 500,000 words/day from 250 different people. People who exchange values, beliefs, constructive criticism, etc. From this, it's easier to become socially adept under most circumstances.

But deaf people in non-signing (or signing) hearing society, on the other hand, may only get up to 20,000 words or less/day by reading or lipreading or being around hearing people "willing" to communicate with them.

Hearing people may not give honest or full disclosure of their thoughts, and may give a watered down explanation because sign language is tedious to them. This greatly limits a deaf person's ability to grow and establish identity. Disclaimer: not all hearing people are like this, but most are (from my own experience).

Yet that was only for a single day. Think of how much information and constructive criticism hearing people get in a YEAR compared to deaf people. I made up a quote a while back to illustrate this point to some hearing people: As telepathy (reading each other's minds) is to a hearing person, so is the sense of hearing to a deaf person... in the amount of information you would receive... and the capacity for personal growth that could be gathered from each...

Yet how the information is processed is relative to each person, and some learn while others never learn. Deaf people have different experiences than hearing people, and can learn to process information in a way that could keep up with them.

All this is why the need for deaf communities and deaf culture. They provide deaf people with the basic human need of companionship, including psychological and personal growth and empowerment, as well as higher information exchange. Deaf people very likely won't get all this otherwise.

Deaf culture is a combination of beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior. Those patterns can be picked up later on in life by anyone (including hearing people) through cultural immersion - and it's about understanding deaf people's needs and sharing the same values. Even if one may not be 100% fluent in ASL, I believe it's still possible to be culturally Deaf by regarding their values as your own and being around deaf people very regularly.

Sorry this got too long. Just wanted to point out a number of things.

Endymion, your question is a hard one to answer but I understand what you're saying. Ruth Bendict's take is useful for negotiating purposes. The majority of people out there are not aware of the "ethnocentricity trap", so they hold on to their cultural bias. It is our job to make them (both hearing and deaf) aware of how ONE culture affects how they view the world around them. Strip away their ignorance. Only then can we make them more receptive towards accepting that the needs and beliefs of a certain culture might be different from theirs. And more willing to accommodate to meet those needs.

Even though American culture exhibits characteristics that can be paralleled between hearing culture and Deaf culture, the need for communication is reason enough for a deaf community as an impairment of it is also an impairment to personal growth and all the things I listed earlier. Also, Maslow's hierachy of human needs is reason enough for Deaf culture to exist. Some needs are unfulfilled in hearing culture. Look at the pyramid, especially at self-actualization. It lists "lack of prejudice" as part of a basic human need and this need is a huge issue for Deaf culture.

I would think deaf people in general have more cultural experience because we seem more accepting and receptive towards differences because we know what it's like being different. Also, 90% of deaf children come from hearing parents. They get a taste of the hearing world. But experiences vary from deaf to deaf, some have have much more experience in the hearing world than the deaf world, and vice-versa. What's important is learning how to have an anti-ethnocentric view about the world around you. And understanding that truth is relative.

Our greatest tool may be to educate others using our shared knowledge.

I agree that pluralism is a beautiful thing, ismi, and WOW at your own experiences, sr171soars. I understand how it feels being trapped between worlds and it's a horrible feeling, but the world is a much better place now for deaf people than it used to be.

 

[shel90]

I'll do this in Q&A format to keep things simple:


Hearing people in hearing society may hear 500,000 words/day from 250 different people. People who exchange values, beliefs, constructive criticism, etc. From this, it's easier to become socially adept under most circumstances.

But deaf people in non-signing (or signing) hearing society, on the other hand, may only get up to 20,000 words or less/day by reading or lipreading or being around hearing people "willing" to communicate with them.

Hearing people may not give honest or full disclosure of their thoughts, and may give a watered down explanation because sign language is tedious to them. This greatly limits a deaf person's ability to grow and establish identity. Disclaimer: not all hearing people are like this, but most are (from my own experience).

No shit about hearing people not giving a full disclosure of their thoughts or what they are talking about. No wonder I was so socially delayed cuz I grew up with family members and friends saying "I will tell you later" or "Nothing" or "It is not important" and worse of all "We are talking about the weather."

Makes me want to tear my hair out cuz all that language I am missing out on!

My mom did tell me one time that I started behaving like the characters of the books I read. Geez...now it makes sense!

I wish all deaf children can understand the importance of reading but they are too young to understand the implications of that.

Wow..500,000 words a day compared to 20,000 words a day. Geez that is a huge huge huge difference.

 

[deafskeptic]

"Never mind" is prolly the most hated phrase in the Deaf Community. :P