Can hearing people be culturally Deaf?

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stephaniep21

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I have heard varying opinions on this;I have heard that hearing people can assimilate into Deaf culture and become culturally Deaf as long as they understand the culture and language and spend adequate time in the Deaf community. On the other hand, I've heard that hearing people can never achieve cultural deafness because of their hearing. I'm simply looking for opinions on this: do you think hearing people can be culturally Deaf and what do they need to do to achieve that?
 
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CODA & SODA can (and often are) Culturally Deaf.

Otherwise no, they aren't "Culturally Deaf" they're Hearing who are involved in the Deaf community.
 
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I asked a Deaf woman who I follow on Twitter this exact question, and she said that (in her opinion) hearing people could be culturally Deaf.

That said, I'm sure many Deaf people wouldn't fully accept hearing people that aren't CODAs. I'm even more sure that most hearing people wouldn't have the right attitude or ASL fluency to be accepted even by the more inclusive Deaf folks.
 
I can't speak as a member of the Deaf Community, as I'm not Deaf nor a part of the Deaf Community, having no Deaf family members. Later in life, I am trying to learn the language (ASL) but I am HOH. So, I live in a limbo world. I no longer function well in the hearing world, which is often impatient with me and disrespectful and rude. But I am not of the Deaf Community, either, because I grew up & had full hearing until my 40s. I will say, that meeting others from the Deaf Culture in my ASL classes and through the local advocacy agency for both the Deaf and HOH, and going to a few events, I am more accepted in the Deaf Community than I am in the hearing world. But I am not "assimilated" or even close to that.

Maybe that doesn't make sense or doesn't really answer your question. :dunno: It's why I am trying to learn the language, ASL, and am becoming educated through my Deaf friends and the advocate agency. I want to be able to make friends, have social doings and not feel excluded or "humored" because of my hearing loss and need for accommodation.

Otherwise I guess I can stay the hermit I am becoming. :giggle:
 
GrayEagle said:
I can't speak as a member of the Deaf Community, as I'm not Deaf nor a part of the Deaf Community, having no Deaf family members. Later in life, I am trying to learn the language (ASL) but I am HOH. So, I live in a limbo world. I no longer function well in the hearing world, which is often impatient with me and disrespectful and rude. But I am not of the Deaf Community, either, because I grew up & had full hearing until my 40s. I will say, that meeting others from the Deaf Culture in my ASL classes and through the local advocacy agency for both the Deaf and HOH, and going to a few events, I am more accepted in the Deaf Community than I am in the hearing world. But I am not "assimilated" or even close to that.

Maybe that doesn't make sense or doesn't really answer your question. :dunno: It's why I am trying to learn the language, ASL, and am becoming educated through my Deaf friends and the advocate agency. I want to be able to make friends, have social doings and not feel excluded or "humored" because of my hearing loss and need for accommodation.

Otherwise I guess I can stay the hermit I am becoming. :giggle:
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Hoh people can be Culturally Deaf - in fact many are, it's actually very common.
 
Have any of you met Keith Wann? If you've never heard of him and sat down to talk with him, you would never know that he is not deaf, so yes, hearing people can be culturally deaf. Loved chatting with him, he sure knows how to crack me up.
 
green427 said:
Have any of you met Keith Wann? If you've never heard of him and sat down to talk with him, you would never know that he is not deaf, so yes, hearing people can be culturally deaf. Loved chatting with him, he sure knows how to crack me up.
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Yes - Keith Wann is CODA (as is his wife, IIRC)
 
They can be, but it's not likely, aside from CODAs. I was BORN deaf but my mom fell for that whole "Don't let her sign, she'll never get anywhere in life" thing so I was raised culturally hearing against my will. Now that I am an adult, and sign, I still have yet to really be accepted as culturally Deaf by other Deaf. So if me, a fully deaf person, is having difficulty being accepted as culturally Deaf, I can only imagine it's that much harder for a hearing person to do the same thing. It'd take a lot of extenuating circumstances and time.
 
I understand some members of AllDeaf.com claimed to be "cultural deaf" eg Jillio. Harlan Lane?
 
I think CODAs can be for sure, if their parents are culturally Deaf. Just because your parents have a hearing loss though doesn't make you culturally deaf. I know of a CODA whose parents are not actively involved in the community; I would not personally consider him culturally deaf. That being said, if the CODAs parents are involved, their kids are usually culturally deaf.

Long-time interpreters can also be culturally Deaf, I believe. They tend to know almost everyone in the community.
 
is the hearing guy who is in army and had no experience with deaf/Deaf people before. so do you consider that can he be a cultarally deaf when he has a Deaf wife? :ugh3:
 
Frisky Feline said:
is the hearing guy who is in army and had no experience with deaf/Deaf people before. so do you consider that can he be a cultarally deaf when he has a Deaf wife? :ugh3:
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I know a hearing guy here who was married to a Deaf wife for over twenty years.

They got a divorce and then he talked a lot about his bitterness about not really ever being accepted.

He made it a point to tell to tell me that as a public school graduate who is really hoh, no one really accepts me either. :shock:


So maybe some people are less accepted than they wish... :P
 
^ Wow, he sounds bitter about life in general.

I think spouses/partners of culturally Deaf people can become culturally Deaf if they are heavily involved in the community and use Sign. I have known Deaf women whose husbands are hearing and NEVER LEARN TO SIGN! Definitely not culturally Deaf at all. In my mind, not even respectful of your partner's needs.
 
MissLady said:
^ Wow, he sounds bitter about life in general.

I think spouses/partners of culturally Deaf people can become culturally Deaf if they are heavily involved in the community and use Sign. I have known Deaf women whose husbands are hearing and NEVER LEARN TO SIGN! Definitely not culturally Deaf at all. In my mind, not even respectful of your partner's needs.
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He is a very fluent signer. And I think he was pretty bitter about the divorce. :wave:

I think he felt pretty Deaf until he lost all his friends in addition to his wife. :lol:
 
in my opinion yes under the right circumstances hearing people can be culturally deaf. for example i was born deaf to hearing parents and when i started school one of my friends (also deaf) has a hearing sister and she spends more time around us in the our world than with hearing friends. so under the right circumstances i think yes hearing people can be culturally deaf
 
When a person has in a cochlear implant, and they can hear words and sounds ... does that mean they are now hearing and not deaf ??? When they take way the magnet, does that mean they are now deaf and no longer hearing ?? Should blind people hate you because you are seeing ??

Any person can be accepted into any cultural element if the people in the culture do the accepting. How sad it would have been if white people would have never accepted black people and vice versa because they were 'different'.
Pidgin

God Bless the little children while they are still too young to hate. --- Tom T. Hall
 
I firmly believe hearing people can be culturally Deaf. Especially when they have so integrated their lives into the Deaf community. One perfect example is Jillio. She thoroughly meshed herself into the Deaf community and her son's life. And while moving does not make you culturally Deaf, she moved from cities and states to get her son into the best schools for her son. She became proficient in sign language and is very well accepted by the Deaf community. Keith Wann would be another good example, and he is a CODA, so he has full knowledge of what it's like to live in a Deaf life.
 
AlleyCat said:
I firmly believe hearing people can be culturally Deaf. Especially when they have so integrated their lives into the Deaf community. One perfect example is Jillio. She thoroughly meshed herself into the Deaf community and her son's life. And while moving does not make you culturally Deaf, she moved from cities and states to get her son into the best schools for her son. She became proficient in sign language and is very well accepted by the Deaf community. Keith Wann would be another good example, and he is a CODA, so he has full knowledge of what it's like to live in a Deaf life.
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Amen to that. :D
 
Pidgin said:
When a person has in a cochlear implant, and they can hear words and sounds ... does that mean they are now hearing and not deaf ??? When they take way the magnet, does that mean they are now deaf and no longer hearing ??
Pidgin
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Having a CI doesn't change the fact that a person is d/Deaf.
 
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