Deaf culture

Like other human associations, Deaf culture reflects a common identity among a group of people who share a language, history, values, and artistic traditions. Many deaf people prefer the company of others like themselves, where they can freely speak and be understood through American Sign Language (ASL). Because their world is so strongly visual, deaf people have developed specific values and behaviors that support their needs. Yet, deaf people also must function in the majority culture of the hearing. To do so, they must be not only bilingual, reading and understanding both English and ASL, but also bicultural, aware of the values of the majority hearing community.

Overview

Although about 13 percent of people in the United States older than eleven experience hearing loss in both ears, many have partial hearing, develop deafness late in life, or choose to use hearing aids. They are generally not part of the Deaf culture, which comprises individuals with substantial hearing loss who communicate through ASL. While hearing people often consider deafness a disability, most members of the Deaf culture do not see themselves that way. Instead, they embrace ASL and may feel closer to friends in the Deaf community than to their hearing family members.

Deaf people suffered from mistreatment and prejudice for centuries before they were offered appropriate education at residential schools, where communication through ASL built close relationships among the students. Through their experiences, they developed a set of values, behaviors, and artistic traditions that evolved into a unique Deaf culture. In time, deaf people organized various social, athletic, religious, and political organizations to meet the needs of their community. While to some extent technology and better communication have reduced the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds, Deaf culture remains a strong social system for those who cannot hear.

History

In early times, most deaf people were treated badly because they were believed to lack intelligence. The ancient Greeks thought deaf people could not learn, and a son of King Croesus of Lydia was reportedly denied his inheritance because he was deaf. Through the ages, a few deaf individuals received education and learned to speak or sign, while others took up painting as a means of expressing and supporting themselves. With the Renaissance came attempts to develop education for deaf people, and in 1620 Juan Pablo Bonet wrote the first important book of alphabet signs.

For much of early Western history, children with disabilities, including deafness, were institutionalized—shut away and given minimal care and no education. However, some were raised by their families and in many cases learned to communicate through signs. From the late seventeenth century until the mid-1800s, communities on the New England island of Martha's Vineyard were composed of families in which congenital deafness occurred with some regularity. The island residents developed a system of sign language that was used by both deaf and hearing residents. Many of the signs were later absorbed into ALS as it gained recognition and popularity.

A turning point came when Dr. Mason Fitch Cogswell, who had a deaf daughter, and his neighbor Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet decided to establish a school for deaf children. Gallaudet traveled to France to study French Sign Language (LSF) and Deaf education. He returned with Laurent Clerc, an instructor from the French school, and in 1817 they founded the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. They taught deaf students LSF and integrated the signs used on Martha's Vineyard. Now, deaf students had not only a language, but also a community and a developing culture.

Social Beliefs

An important aspect of the Deaf culture is that it removes the individual from a society in which the person is considered disabled. Many medical professionals and members of the hearing community believe a deaf person's impairment should be corrected to allow assimilation into the hearing community. But learning lip-reading, vocalizing words they can't hear, and adjusting to imperfect amplification devices is difficult, time-consuming, and often frustrating. It is especially discouraging if the results are isolation and the inability to be understood. In contrast, the Deaf culture, with a mutual language and shared experiences, offers comfort and acceptance.

Deaf Americans may identify with the national culture and some subcultures, but feel most at home in the Deaf culture. For example, touching is far more acceptable among deaf friends and acquaintances than it is in the hearing world, partly because of the need to draw attention inaudibly. The Deaf culture also values making decisions as a group over independence, and sharing experiences and ideas for navigating new situations.

Behaviors

Because the Deaf culture depends on visual experiences, much of the behavior of deaf people revolves around what they see. ASL is a visual language, so when people converse, they look at each other the entire time. Facial expressions, head and body movements, and use of physical space and body language are as important as words. Touching is an important part of greeting and leave-taking.

Another dominant trait among deaf people is collectivism. Deaf people have a strong sense of community and value their shared history and connections. They identify themselves not only by name, but also by their Deaf community and the residential school they attended. In Deaf culture, open communication and involvement in social interaction are important. Deaf people have their own customs for meeting and departing from others. For example, a person leaving a dinner is expected to stop and say goodbye to each group or individual.

Art

While deaf artists may express themselves in many ways, those who engage in visual fine arts that express the Deaf experience are creating De'VIA. De'VIA includes drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, and other media. Deaf artists often use contrast, texture, intense colors, and exaggeration of features to express their ideas and also tend to emphasize the hands and the face, particularly the eyes, mouth, and ears. For example, "Chat on the Balcony," a brightly colored painting by Uzi Buzgalo, depicts two chairs on which rest vases from which long stems reach, each supporting a dynamic, hand-shaped flower.

The most famous deaf artists are known for their art; the fact that they were deaf was not a factor in their success. One such artist was Granville Redmond (1871–1935), who lost his hearing as a young child. He attended the California School for the Deaf, where he was encouraged to study art. He won awards at the California School of Design and went on to study in Paris, where, in 1895, his painting Matin d'hiver was accepted at the Paris Salon. Back in California, he painted landscapes of the coast in an impressionist style similar to Monet and Pissaro. His powerful use of color and depth brought energy to his paintings.

Another successful deaf artist was Joseph Henry Sharp (1859–1953). As a boy, Sharp was fascinated by stories of Indigenous Americans. A chance encounter with a group of Indigenous people at a railroad station gave him a lifelong devotion to the culture of the people. A fall into a river at age twelve resulted in ear infections and Sharp's lifelong deafness. Sharp studied portraiture in Antwerp, Belgium, before settling in Taos, New Mexico. He painted thousands of portraits of Indigenous people and recorded their way of life in sharp, clear colors.

Literary Traditions

Deaf culture has developed its own literary traditions, which reflect not only the Deaf experience, but also multisensory expressions that combine ASL with the tradition of oral literature. Stories and poems told in ASL involve the creative use of signs, facial expressions, and body language. Because stories are told in ASL, which has no written equivalent, they are preserved through sharing and repetition. Literature is also documented and distributed through video recording. Deaf children are taught ASL stories and poems to enrich their vocabularies and develop their creativity, as well as to provide entertainment.

Literature favored in Deaf culture includes handshape storytelling, which uses ASL letter signs without spelling out words. Examples are ABC and number stories, in which the shape of a letter or number serves as a symbol that helps tell the story. For example, because the letter A resembles a fist, many ABC stories start with a knock on a door. Number stories are similar, using the handshapes for each number in order. The storytellers maintain ASL grammar and organization in presenting the tales. Another type is the handshape story, which presents different ideas using a single handshape.

Deaf stories and poems also use classifiers, in which a letter or modified sign stands for a more general concept. For example, the classifier for the sign for B, which is a flat, open hand, can represent a flat surface, such as a table or a piece of paper. C, which is curved, or O, which is round, can describe things of those shapes. These elements all contribute to a more complete language that extends beyond the spelling of words.

Deaf poetry told through ASL uses meter, rhythm, and rhyme, just as English poetry does. Poets often use description and emotion to share experiences, but are less likely to use narrative. The poetry also offers levels of meaning, some of which might be apparent to deaf audiences more than hearing people. When Deaf poems are performed or seen on video, the audience can appreciate the poet's use of rhythm, repetition, and handshapes. For example, "Liberation," by the famous ASL poet Patrick Graybill, expresses the experience of a deaf person being forced to lip-read and speak, rather than sign, until ASL allows him to freely communicate. The poem also reflects the experiences of others and the history of Deaf education and communication in America. Videotape of the poet performing "Liberation" reveals the careful construction and craftsmanship of the poem. Most Deaf poems are not translated into English because they reflect Deaf culture in a way that is difficult to translate and because they are a legitimate form of expression as they are.

Two of the most revered poets in Deaf culture are Clayton Valli and Ella Mae Lentz. Valli wrote "Dandelion," a favorite in the Deaf community that has been translated into English. It describes the efforts of a gardener to destroy the dandelion, which in the end reseeds and survives. Lentz wrote "Eye Music," a poem performed in one minute that visually captures the rhythms and performance of music.

Shared Institutions

The origins of Deaf culture are found in the close relationships developed in residential schools for the deaf. Beginning in the 1800s, Deaf schools provided not only education, but also a social network that led to lifelong friendships. The community was separated from mainstream society by a language gap and began to develop its own organizations for political support, art, sports, and religion. Social clubs developed rapidly and attracted deaf people who had found themselves marginalized in the hearing community.

Deaf members of various religions have formed groups to provide signed services and study or prayer groups. Smaller groups meet in space provided by hearing churches or temples, while some large deaf congregations are able to support their own facilities. Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Jewish, and other faiths have deaf associations.

Deaf athletes compete in international sports organizations such as the USA Deaf Sports Federation and the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, both of which sponsor events such as the Deaflympics and the World Deaf Championships. Deaf associations for surfing, bowling, flag football, and team sports have also been established.

Since many deaf children are now mainstreamed into public schools and technology has made communication easier, fewer Deaf clubs exist in the twenty-first century. However, groups still arrange meetings in homes, bars, restaurants, and cafés for socialization. A large online Deaf community exists as well, organized through social media and other platforms.

Bibliography

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"Deaf Art/Deaf Artists." RIT National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology, deaf-art.org/artists/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

"A History of Deaf Rights, Culture, and Language." Independent Lens, PBS, 12 Aug. 2015, www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/deaf-jam‗timeline-html/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Holcomb, Thomas K. "The Vibrant Deaf Community." Introduction to American Deaf Culture. Oxford UP, 2013, pp. 223–28.

"Joseph Henry Sharp (1859–1953)." Joseph Henry Sharp Paintings, jhsharp.com. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Law, Spencer. "Deaf History and Culture in the United States." Virginia Public Media, 30 Mar. 2021, www.vpm.org/2021-03-30/deaf-history-and-culture-in-the-united-states. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

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