These past few weeks, I have been learning about Deaf Gain because it is the overarching theoretical framework for my dissertation. If you are not familiar, Deaf Gain challenges the concept of ‘normalcy’ and seeing deaf people through a deficit lens. Under Deaf Gain, deaf is viewed as visual and cognitive diversity, as offering linguistic, cultural, and creative contributions to humanity. It forces one to think of all the good deaf people have done and will do in society, and to end thinking of deaf people as in need of fixing, of remediation.
One quote is notable and is one that we all in deaf education and in society at large need to reflect on and embrace.
"'Hearing loss' refers to the loss that hearing people experience by not being open to the benefits, contributions, and advances that arise through deaf ways of being." (Bauman & Murray, 2014, p. xxxvii)
Just think about this quote.
Often, the term hearing loss is used as a PC way to identify a deaf person. However, it asserts that a deaf person has lost something, lost the ability to hear. It assumes that being able to hear is ‘normal’. Why? Who decides what is normal?
In the mid-1800s, scientists decided to categorize humans by their physical attributes using a bell curve. All those within the curve were considered normal. Everyone else…you get the point. This concept of normalcy is ingrained in our education system and in society.
Over the centuries, deaf people have been labeled by hearing society using deficit terms: deaf and dumb, deaf-mute, hearing impaired, hearing loss. ‘Deaf’ is even used derogatorily in many English phrases: fall on deaf ears, turned a deaf ear, etc.
It is us, hearing society, who embrace ‘hearing loss’ when we do not acknowledge deaf ways of being, Deaf culture, sign languages, deaf world. As a society, we need end impairing ourselves.
Instead of continuing to marginalize deaf people, let’s embrace them as whole beings, as humans without any deficits. They are diverse people who have a value equal to every hearing person on the planet.
We all need to embrace Deaf Gain in our education system, in our diversity, equity, and inclusion work, in how we discuss intersectionality, in how we try to end discrimination.
We need to give deaf people a seat at the table.
Better yet, let’s give the Deaf community the seat at the head of the table!
(Yes, in this post I use ‘deaf’ as an umbrella term to refer to and respect all deaf individuals regardless of hearing levels, language and communication preferences, and cultural differences)
