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Deaf identity Fitting in | The 'Deaf ghetto' | A question of understanding Links | Books | Organisations Many deaf people believe that to be part of the Deaf community you have to involve yourself in it politically and culturally. However, most deaf people are brought up in a hearing family and 90% of deaf children now go to a mainstream school. So how important is communication through BSL in defining an individual's deaf identity? And is there a risk that deaf children who don't sign will be caught in 'no man's land', fully accepted neither by the hearing world nor by the Deaf community? VEE-TV hosted a discussion on the subject with Mat White, Elaine Bush, Steve Tyler and Louise Mudie. Mat is a successful digital media programmer and his girlfriend Elaine is a student. Both were brought up using oral communication but later learned BSL. Mat wears a hearing aid and enjoys music. He has good lip-reading skills but, he says, 'Speech, telephone, radio and even my parents' voices come through as a stream of unintelligible rubbish to me. For this reason I embrace BSL and the Deaf community. Deaf people see me as I truly am. Fitting in'I don't like being in a group of hearing people for more than 10 minutes, simply because I can't understand anybody so I can't join in. Before I learnt BSL I didn't feel I could fit into the Deaf world either because I couldn't sign. And so I became really, really keen to sign because I saw people just like me who could sign. They fitted in very well with the group, and they enjoyed themselves and had a great time. I felt I wanted that, but I've also maintained my relationship with my closest hearing friends through other activities.' Elaine agrees that many deaf people feel more comfortable with others who are deaf. 'The main difference between being in the hearing and the deaf community is that a lot of deaf people in a hearing environment will find it difficult, with communication problems. But in the Deaf community everyone's the same. Everyone wants to make themselves understood, so they try hard. 'But I don't think there's one correct group that a deaf person has to fit into because there are different degrees of deafness and different personalities. I believe that anyone who can see themselves as a deaf person and be proud of it can say that they belong to the Deaf community.' Both Steve and Louise were born into hearing families and brought up using oral communication. However, while Louise later learned BSL and regards herself as having a strong Deaf identity, Steve continues to use speech and regards himself as having no Deaf identity. The 'Deaf ghetto'Says Steve: 'I chose not to learn sign language because I was brought up in a hearing world and I didn't know any deaf people. I do not think I have a Deaf identity and I don't feel as if I belong anywhere – I'm an outsider to both the hearing and the Deaf worlds. Hearing people get cross when they have to repeat everything they say and most Deaf people switch off when I tell them I can't sign. 'I feel being oral is important and a great advantage to deaf people. In an ideal world everyone, deaf and hearing, would be taught sign language from an early age, but from a practical point of view I'm not sure if that is possible. The fact is we are all in a hearing world, so we should adapt as best we can to that world. 'Sign language is fine for the deaf to communicate with each other but they should be oral to communicate with the hearing. They shouldn't shut themselves away in a "deaf ghetto" lifestyle.' A question of understandingLouise attended a mainstream school where sign language was banned. 'If pupils were found using sign language they would have to write lines saying "I must not use sign language at school,"' she says. 'I didn't know that I was labelled as disabled until I was 15 and filling in the application form for Doncaster College. One question asked if I was disabled in any way and I was about to put "no" when my mum stopped me and explained that deafness counts as disabled. I knew I was different from hearing people but honestly I didn't have a clue I was classed as disabled, never mind being aware of Deaf identity. 'It wasn't until I got to Doncaster College that I finally realised what Deaf identity is. It's as if I opened up to myself and discovered what was missing. From there I never looked back and I really love being in the Deaf community and us being together like a family. 'I'm not saying my hearing parents don't understand me – they are brilliant and supportive – but understanding is more important and I get that from the Deaf community. It was such a shame my Deaf identity was hidden until I was 16 years old.' If you'd like to join in the debate on Deaf identity, check out the message board. LinksAbout
Deafness Baby
Signing in The UK British
Sign Language Info Web BSL Alphabet
BSL Now Cued
Speech Deaf
Books Deaf
Club Deaf
Mall Deaf
Sign Deafbase Hearing
Exchange Jim Cromwell Lipreading
Teacher Oral
Deaf Education Royal
Association for Deaf people (RAD) BooksLet's
Sign: BSL Building Blocks Tutor by Cath Smith (Illustrator) (Co-Sign
Communications, 2001) £19.99. Let's
Sign: BSL Building Blocks Student Primer by Cath Smith (Illustrator)
(Co-Sign Communications, 2001) £4.99. Linguistics
of British Sign Language: An introduction by R Sutton-Spence and B
Woll (Cambridge University Press, 1999) £16.95. Sign Language
Link: A Pocket Dictionary of Signs by Cath Smith (Co-Sign Communications,
1999) £5.99. Sign Language
Link: Desk Edition by Cath Smith (Co-Sign Communications, 1999) £8.99. Signs
Make Sense by Cath Smith (Souvenir Press, 1990) £9.99. Start
to Sign! by Richard Magill, Anne Hodgson (Royal National Institute
for Deaf People, 2000) £13. Sign Language
Companion by Cath Smith (Souvenir Press Ltd, 1996) £10.99. The Lady
In Green by Anthony J Boyce & Elaine Lavery (British Deaf History
Society Publications, 2001) £16.95. OrganisationsSee Find out more for all the main organisations run by or for deaf people. British
Deaf Association (BDA) The Federation
of Deaf People
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