Essay about Deaf Culture - 1561 Words

Deaf Culture I may not be considered part of the hearing culture due to my severe to profound hearing loss, but some people might be surprised to hear that I am not considered a part of the Deaf culture. A majority of the Deaf culture is very critical of those who assimilate with hearing people and accept hearing culture as their majority culture. I believe that every hearing impaired and deaf person is an individual and needs to do what is best for them instead of being worried about following the rules of the Deaf culture. The members of Deaf culture have many different levels of hearing that range from profoundly deaf to slightly hard of hearing (Halpern). However, none of the members of the Deaf culture consider themselves†¦show more content†¦The Deaf community is a community where they can feel like they actually belong and feel accepted. Deaf culture tends to be critical of deaf people who embrace hearing culture. They consider these people traitors. One of the reasons why the Deaf community looks down at someone who rejects their Deaf identity is because they feel that the person is leaving behind a rich culture, not a disability (Halpern). Deaf culture has a sign for hearing that is done in front of the mouth. When they want to make an insult to deaf or hearing impaired people whom accept their own majority culture as the hearing culture they make the same motion for hearing in front of the forehead instead of the mouth. This is supposed to mean who ever they are talking about is hearing in the head (Halpern). This sign is meant to be an insult to those people who associate with hearing culture. It is easy to see why Deaf culture is so critical of those who assimilate with hearing culture because the Deaf have had a history of struggle and discrimination. Hearing culture has been critical of what Deaf people are able to do and have denied their existence. In the past American deaf people have been denied the right to vote, to marry, and to raise children (Halpern). Deaf children often were denied education, grew up illiterate, or grew up with no real language because at one point in time sign language was not allowed (Halpern).Show MoreRelatedDeaf Culture1589 Words   |  7 PagesDeaf Culture In mainstream American society, we tend to approach deafness as a defect. Helen Keller is alleged to have said, Blindness cuts people off from things; deafness cuts people off from people. (rnib.org) This seems a very accurate description of what Kellers world must have been. We as hearing people tend to pity deaf people, or, if they succeed in the hearing world, admire them for overcoming a severe handicap. We tend to look at signing as an inferior substitute for real communicationRead MoreDeaf Culture2444 Words   |  10 Pageshearing are classified as deaf. There are many deaf people in the world, it can range from 5 million to 40 million people. 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There are three sub-questions that will assist in answering the major question: (1) What constitutes Deaf culture? (2) How has American Sign Language impacted the Deaf community? (3) What are the major issues that are being addressed in Deaf culture today? With