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Identifying with Deaf PeopleThe ease with which people "join" is directly related to whether they have Deaf parents themselves. In a study of children, Harris and Stirling(1986) found that those with Deaf parents were much more certain of their Deaf identity and tended to predict their status as Deaf adults. Those from hearing families were more likely to believe that they would become hearing or hard-of-hearing and more likely to have internalised the educators'(and their parents') goals of speech and involvement in the hearing society. At the point where Community membership is considered by these young people, they begin to talk of "coming to terms with their Deafness" but it usually comes at the end of a long struggle both with themselves and with others in hearing settings. Robinson(1989) educated in an oral framework and in integrated schools describes her first steps: "It was when I started sixth form college and made friends with another Deaf girl that I finally began to learn to accept my Deafness. I began to go to classes in BSL with my mum and my sister. Through the teacher I began to understand Deaf culture. Recently I went to a Deaf Club. I was really at ease and felt that I did not have to put on a front as with hearing people. It's helped me to gain confidence........" Always having been in hearing schools I have never actually belonged to the Deaf community. Now I want to discover my roots by finding out more about what it means to me to be Deaf and how it affects other people...." (ECRS Journal, July 1989, p. 7) In this discovery she is not alone - Lawson(1981) has described them as the "latecomers" to the Community. Young(1989) in his response to the statement by Robinson illustrates how pleased the Deaf Community is when Deaf people begin to discover their identity. "I congratulate Joanne on her victory. She has become part of the Deaf community with its own language, values and heritage. The pride and confidence which she now feels is an important element in the struggle which Deaf people face in gaining equality." (ECRS Journal, July 1989, p 7) Resigning from the communityIt is difficult for Deaf people to stop being members of the community - it would be very difficult to switch off the Deaf part and identify more with hearing people. There are situations where this is possible to some extent - a mixed marriage is an example where a deaf person may feel more drawn to the hearing society of the spouse and may forsake Deaf company. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that the person's identity as a Deaf person changes. People living in isolated parts of the country would still be considered as part of the Community even if they are very rarely seen by others. It is sometimes felt by some deaf people that although they wish to be part of the community other deaf people tend to reject them. In this case attempts to join are thwarted by some perceived flaw either in their past experiences(in dealing with other deaf people) or in their current status in relation to the hearing world. Perhaps the most difficult situations are where an individual breaks the rules of the Community in some way. These can be directly in the case of Deaf Club rules which often carry penalties such as lifetime bans, or less directly when the individual offends against the social norms. In these circumstances, the individual may find himself or herself ostracised by the others. Attendance at Deaf Clubs may be declining on account of the other attractions of homelife such as subtitled television and the use of Minicoms to keep in contact by telephone, but these reductions in face-to-face contact do not constitute resignation from the Community. While Baker and Cokely(1980) felt that the American Deaf Clubs were declining in importance the Community is still alive. |
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