Deaf Culture
and Deaf Community
The deaf have both a community and a culture. While the idea that the deaf have a culture and community is news to many hearing people, it has existed for a long time. The Deaf culture has characterisitcs identifiable to that of other subcultures or ethnic groups. It is born out of shared experiences (life in residential schools) and a shared language, American Sign Language. The Deaf community has its own regional, state, and national organizations. They have events ranging from athletic events and community picnics to Deaf Miss America and theatrical performances. There are deaf religious congregations and deaf intramarriage is common. All of these things schools, language and organizations have brought together people with low-incidence disabilities that otherwise would have been isolated in their hometowns. However, because the majority of deaf children are born to hearing parents, the passing on or transmission of Deaf culture is not familial but from contact with other deaf people in the community.
Here are some examples of Deaf Cultural Behaviors as compared to the Hearing counterparts:
Cultural Behaviors
|
Deaf |
Hearing |
|
attention getting devices: flicker the lights, stomping feet, and throwing things |
"Hey!" |
|
party guests tend to congregate in the kitchen (better lighting, easier to see everyone signing) |
living room |
|
long introduction rituals: where from? schools? parents? etc... |
"nice to meet you" |
|
conversation regulators: head nods and specific gestures |
"hmmm and uh-huh" |
|
eye contact |
ear contact |
|
facial expressions |
"poker face" |
|
pointing permitted (pronouns!) |
pointing considered rude |
|
hugging after introductions is common |
shaking hands |
|
overstaying/long good-byes |
short stays/short good-byes |
|
can "talk" with mouth full of food |
considered rude |
|
misbehaving children cover eyes |
misbehaving children cover ears |
Some of the many other resources that offer information regarding Deaf history, culture, and the deaf experience may be found in the following books:
Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries, 1988.
The Deaf Community and the Culture of Deaf People by Carol Padden, 1980.
Deaf Heritage: a Narrative History of Deaf America by Jack R. Gannon.
The Week the World Heard Gallaudet by Jack R. Gannon.
A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community by John V. Van Cleve and Barry A.Crouch.
The Other Side of Silence: Sign Language and the Deaf Community in America by Arden Neisser
Outsiders in a Hearing World by Paul C. Higgins
Hometown Heroes: Successful Deaf Youth in America by Diane Robinette
American Deaf Culture by Sherman WIlcox--Editor
At Home Among Strangers by Jerome D. Schein
Dancing Without Music by Beryl Lieff Benderly
