Oral Deaf Culture ?

[lemontree]

Hi, I got an interesting question from a listserv. I am wondering if any of you have encountered this question and what are your thoughts or opinions about an oral deaf culture?

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kelly
Date: May 9, 2007 6:16 PM
Subject: Oral Deaf Culture - Responses Needed

Hi Everyone!

I have a small favor to ask of you on behalf of my mother (and because
I am curious!). She is working with a small group of professionals and
parents to write a 'Best Practice Assessment Guide for Deaf or Hard of
Hearing Children' for dissemination to the local school districts
within our county. This particular county leans strongly towards ASL
and the majority of the members of this group reflect that bias. One
of the subtopics of our Best Practice Guide is "Resources for the
local district about cultural issues related to deaf individuals".
This section addresses "Deaf culture" and other related items. A
description of "Deaf culture" is given as people who share a common
heritage . . . and language.

Another paragraph speaks about the oral deaf culture. My mom informed
the group that there is NO oral deaf culture; that oral deaf people
are totally assimilated into normal, typical society. She told them
that oral deaf people share a common experience similar to any focus
group, such as, people who survive a disaster, etc. The other members
of the small group chastised her for these comments. The group leader
then informed her that some oral deaf people have a culture of their
own, and that because her three children (my siblings and I) don't
identify with a separate and distinct culture doesn't mean one doesn't
exist.

Will you please give me your perspective as a member of the Deaf and
Hard of Hearing Section about this topic? Do you identify with an ORAL
DEAF CULTURE? Please be prompt as the group meets again this coming
Tues., April 15th to finalize the language of this topic. My mother
wishes to express the opinion of a large and highly respected group of
oral deaf and hard of hearing people (YOU!).

Thank you in advance for your thoughts on this intriguing topic! I
will compile all responses and give to my mother to share with the
group making the guide. If you want to be anonymous, just let me know.
Your reponses will not be published or distributed, only shared as a
way to make a point, unless my mom and I are incorrect in stating that
there is no such thing as an oral deaf culture.

 

[Tousi]

Well, your'e outta luck; today's May 12th.

 

[lemontree]

Well, your'e outta luck; today's May 12th.

Yes, today is May 12. What does that mean?

 

[shel90]

Wow..oral deaf culture...

First of all, let me start out that I don't think there is such a thing since oral deaf people who do not know sign language are using the language that is used by hearing people and from my experience and others, many oral deaf people are lucky to meet other deaf people meaning they usually grow up not having met another deaf person so how can a culture be established?

I was close to another oral deaf girl growing up and we were totally assimilated in the hearing culture until we started learning ASL in our 20s and now we r very involved in Deaf culture meaning the signing community. We never experienced being involved in an oral deaf community if there is one?

I guess with more deaf babies being implanted, maybe that will grow. Who knows? Only problem I have with that is it would separate deaf people from each other. I would hate to see that.

 

[sr171soars]

...
Only problem I have with that is it would separate deaf people from each other. I would hate to see that.

Er...the deaf of all stripes have been splintered for quite some time now.

 

[shel90]

Er...the deaf of all stripes have been splintered for quite some time now.

Yea..oh well.

 

[Tousi]

Yes, today is May 12. What does that mean?

Because you mentioned a deadline of April 12th.

 

[jillio]

There is no such thing as an oral deaf culture. Oralists are members of the hearing culture. If anything, it would be a subculture, not a true culture. Stop and think, why do deaf individuals become oralists? Because they or their parents/guardians decided that was the way for them to fit into the hearing culture.

 

[Cheri]

There is no such thing as an oral deaf culture. Oralists are members of the hearing culture. If anything, it would be a subculture, not a true culture. Stop and think, why do deaf individuals become oralists? Because they or their parents/guardians decided that was the way for them to fit into the hearing culture.

That's exactly correct.

 

[deafdyke]

There is no such thing as an oral deaf culture. Oralists are members of the hearing culture. If anything, it would be a subculture, not a true culture. Stop and think, why do deaf individuals become oralists? Because they or their parents/guardians decided that was the way for them to fit into the hearing culture.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Angel]

There is no such thing as an oral deaf culture. Oralists are members of the hearing culture. If anything, it would be a subculture, not a true culture. Stop and think, why do deaf individuals become oralists? Because they or their parents/guardians decided that was the way for them to fit into the hearing culture.

Bingo!

 

[deafskeptic]

They're right. There is no such thing as an Oral Deaf culture. I was raised the Oral way as a child. It wasn't till I went to the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind that I met any deaf adults.

 

[Ariakkas]

a person could...and has argued that deaf culture can be labelled as a sub-culture. simply having your own language does not make you a culture.....mexican-americans are a subculture that speaks spanish.



wether there is a "culture" or a "subculture" or not, oral deaf to have a strong affinity for one another, being both outcast in the hearing and deaf world has led them to bind together whenever they meet another oral deaf.

 

[Seattle.guy]

There is no such thing as an oral deaf culture. Oralists are members of the hearing culture. If anything, it would be a subculture, not a true culture. Stop and think, why do deaf individuals become oralists? Because they or their parents/guardians decided that was the way for them to fit into the hearing culture.

That's very true!!

 

[shel90]

a person could...and has argued that deaf culture can be labelled as a sub-culture. simply having your own language does not make you a culture.....mexican-americans are a subculture that speaks spanish.



wether there is a "culture" or a "subculture" or not, oral deaf to have a strong affinity for one another, being both outcast in the hearing and deaf world has led them to bind together whenever they meet another oral deaf.

Having your own language doesn't make the group a culture? What do u mean by that?

Anyways, true about oral deaf people feeling more of a connection with each other than with deaf people who grew up fully involved in deaf culture. My brother has been culturally Deaf since he was 5 years old and he has no idea of what it is like to go thru what I went thru. Only my oral deaf drriends understand that. However, the irony is, that I met all of them except for 1 (who is my best friend since 1 year old) thru the signing deaf community. How is that for kicks? If it wasn't for the deaf community, we all probably would have never met each other so that's one of the reasons I value the deaf community and culture very much. I tried to explain that to the parents the importance of exposing their children to the deaf community but instead I offended them. Oh well.

 

[lemontree]

Because you mentioned a deadline of April 12th.

No, the deadline is Tuesday April 15.

Hey, thanks everyone for your responses! Lots of different opinions, but it looks like the consensus is there's really no "oral deaf culture." When I first read that question on the other listserv I was like I've never thought of an "oral deaf" culture. Is there such a thing?

I can tell you as someone that is totally deaf and has been since birth, was mainstreamed in the education system (never went to a school for the deaf), and communicates by speaking and lipreading I most certainly am not totally assimilated into "normal, typical society." I did not belong to any such community as I was the only person that was deaf all the way through K-12, and it was not until I got to college that I met fellow deaf students.

I think Kelly's mother is right that "oral deaf" do share a common experience. Who among us haven't immediately felt "at home" within a group of oral deaf people that we have never met before but all have lived the same sort of life experiences?

However, to call this shared experience a culture like in the Signing Deaf community that is ASL-centered is unknown to me. I remember when I found out I was not the only deaf person on campus. When I met the other deaf college students I really connected with them. It didn't matter whether we signed or not.

We all had the same life experiences being people with no hearing. What does that mean? Is that a culture or just simply "shared experiences?" I think it is the latter. Are oral deaf life experiences the same as those who call themselves signing deaf? I don't think so.

 

[shel90]

Are oral deaf life experiences the same as those who call themselves signing deaf? I don't think so.

I agree with u but not in a way that my oral upbringing is superiror. In fact, I envy my brother and my Deaf co workers for the experiences they had growing up in the deaf community. They sure sounded they had a blast. No, their lives werent perfect but the connection was there. I don't feel that way about my oral-upbringing due to being isolated and left out all the time. The only connection I felt was thru sports . That's why I wished I had both instead of just an oral only upbringing.

I agree with u about oral deaf people feeling more of the connection with each than hearing people or Culturally Deaf people.

 

[lemontree]

...I agree with u about oral deaf people feeling more of the connection with each than hearing people or Culturally Deaf people...

Yeah, me too. I often don't feel connected with hearing people. They don't know what it is like being deaf.

I do sometimes feel connected with signing deaf people, but because I don't have the ASL experience even though we all have no hearing I do not always feel connected with signing deaf people.

You know, the strange thing is while I do feel connected most with oral deaf, there are times I do not feel connected with them because many now have cochlear implants, and they kind of "look down" on me because I do not want a c.i.

sr171soars is right that the deaf of all stripes have been splintered for quite some time now. Even though we all have the common factor of no hearing, it is how we live with the hearing loss that splinters us into identities such as singing deaf, oral deaf, implanted deaf.

Can't we all just get along?

 

[shel90]

Yeah, me too. I often don't feel connected with hearing people. They don't know what it is like being deaf.

I do sometimes feel connected with signing deaf people, but because I don't have the ASL experience even though we all have no hearing I do not always feel connected with signing deaf people.

You know, the strange thing is while I do feel connected most with oral deaf, there are times I do not feel connected with them because many now have cochlear implants, and they kind of "look down" on me because I do not want a c.i.

sr171soars is right that the deaf of all stripes have been splintered for quite some time now. Even though we all have the common factor of no hearing, it is how we live with the hearing loss that splinters us into identities such as singing deaf, oral deaf, implanted deaf.

Can't we all just get along?

Do those oral deaf people with CIs know sign language?

I used to look down on deaf people who didn't have oral skills or used ASL as their means of communication. Looking back, I am the stupid one!! That's why I suggested or encouraged the parents of oral deaf children to expose their children to deaf culture and deaf signers but things became all twisted and people ended up bashing each other. oh well..

I would rather deaf people to be splintered by personality differences than by the communication method they use. Like I could have had more deaf friends growing up if I was exposed to sign language but because I couldn't communicate with many of kids that went to my brother's school, that opportunity was lost. I am sure I wouldn't become close to all of them since everyone has different personalities but I am sure there were few I probably would have enjoyed getting to know. Oh well..

 

[Interpretrator]

However, to call this shared experience a culture like in the Signing Deaf community that is ASL-centered is unknown to me.

A shared experience is not the same thing as a culture. A culture is a system of knowledge, beliefs, morals, customs, etc. that is transmitted from generation to generation by a shared language. (That's only one definition, of course.)

I personally share the experience of having certain health problems with many other people. We have very very similar experiences as people with "invisible disabilities" and there is a sense of closeness that comes from that. However, this is not a culture.

I hope I'm being clear; I'm a little fuzzy-headed today.