Rebecca Pless
8/20/2012
The Gay and Deaf Communities
There are some intriguing
similarities between the Deaf and hard of hearing and Gay
communities. They share the important characteristic that what makes
them a minority is not passed down through families like other
minorities such as race or religion. Members of the Deaf and Gay
communities lack structure and common ground as minority groups
supported by families and communities. Both groups’ struggles for
civil rights have had similar paths as the communities fought to
develop their own history, culture, and mobilize their individual
populations (Healy). Both the Deaf and Gay communities have their
own obstacles and stigmas, and the people at the intersection of the
two groups inherited the challenges of both communities.
These two minority groups
had to fight similar social stigmas. These stigmas were based on
intolerance and ignorance. Deafness was and continues to be seen as
a disability. Because deaf children could not speak, people assumed
they would grow up with "mental retardation" (Healy). People doubted
their ability to drive, be a part of the work force, or even raise
children. Members of the Gay community also fought stigmas and low
social standing. People also doubted their ability to be a part of
society and healthy families. Another struggle many deaf and gay
members of society faced was that they did not entirely fit into
either community. “Tom Shakespeare (1999) conducted interviews with
disabled LGB people in Britain and found that one of their most
distressing concerns was the hostility that they faced in either or
both the LGB and disability communities” (Harper).
In addition, members of
both the Deaf and Gay communities are disproportionally affected by
HIV infection. One possible cause for this imbalance is that
preventative measures are developed in and for the hearing
community. Communication is essential in the education and
prevention of HIV and AIDS. The numerous methods of communication
within the Deaf and hard of hearing community are very different
from each other and can cause a language barrier within the
community. There is a strong correlation between substance abuse and
the spread of HIV. The gay deaf community has a 40% higher rate of
substance abuse than the hearing community, fueling the the higher
rate of HIV (Glenn 2008).
Although there are many
challenges for both groups, members the Deaf and Gay communities
belong to two communities of pride. Both communities’ pride started
with major incidents of resistance. In 1969, the Gay community had
the Stonewall raid of the New York gay bar and in 1988, the Deaf
community had the incident at the Gallaudet University in which the
students and staff protested the appointment of a hearing president
of the university over two well qualified deaf candidates (Healy).
Despite an early lack of
tolerance, the Deaf community has made considerable progress in the
support of Gay rights. Before the Deaf community advocated for LGBTQ
rights, gay people had to hide in the Deaf community as non deaf
gays did in the hearing community. In the 1980’s to conceal their
sexual identity from the straight Deaf and hard of hearing
community, some gay and lesbian men and women even created a set of
signs used only by the Deaf Gay community (Harper). Recently the
National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Board of Directors came out
in support of gay marriage. It was once commonly believed that two
Deaf adults should not be allowed to marry and become parents based
on the fact they cannot hear. This history with marriage inequality
led the Deaf community to support the fight for same sex marriage (Polaski
2012). Although the announcement of this support was an important
step for the Deaf and Gay community, it was made in response to an
unpopular and controversial decision made by the NAD. The NAD
invited Dennis Daugaard the South Dakota Governor who supported the
constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man
and a women to speak at the Biennial Conference (Renteria 2012).
While there is still progress to be made, the Deaf and Gay
communities are now political allies and advocates.
The Gay and Deaf community
is prominent socially as well as politically. The first Deaf Queer
social networking sites appeared as soon as the technology was
readily available. Ever since then there have been social media
sites, resources centers, and alliance groups for, by and about the
Deaf Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer communities.
These sites find and connect people, provide accurate and available
information, and promote Deaf Gay pride (The Gay Alliance of
Genesee).
While the Gay and Deaf
communities are not passed down through families like other minority
traits, both communities are thriving in the United States. The
intersection of these two groups led to a strong political and
social support that made it possible for the Deaf Gay community to
have it’s own culture and pride.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Glenn.
“Lessons Learned From More Than Two Decades of HIV/AIDS
Prevention Efforts: Implications for People Who Are Deaf or Hard of
Hearing” 2008. The National Center for Biotechnology Information.
Aug 17, 2012 <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2728086/
>
Harper, Gary. “A
Journey Toward Liberation: Confronting Heterosexism and the
Oppression of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered
People.” University of Miami. Aug 17, 2012 < http://www.education.miami.edu/isaac/public_web/
chapnineteen.htm >
Healy, Catherine.
“Living on the Edge: Parallels Between the Deaf and Gay Communities
in the United States.” Swarthmore. Aug 17, 2012 <
http:// www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/Linguistics/Papers/2007/healy_catherine.pdf
>
Polaski, Adam.
“National association of the Deaf Supports the Freedom to Marry.”
July 20, 2012. Freedom to Marry. Aug 17, 2012 < http://www.freedomtomarry.org/blog/entry/national-association-of-the-deaf-supports-the-freedom-to-marry/
>
Renteria, Dragonsani.
“Beyond the One-Dimension: An Open Letter to NAD.” May 30, 2012.
Deaf Queer News. Aug 17, 2012 < http://news.deafqueer.org/
>
The Gay Alliance of
Genesee Valley. “Deaf Queer Resource Center.” 2011. Gay Alliance.
Aug 17, 2012 < http://www.gayalliance.org/directory/deaf-queer-resource-center-dqrc.html
>
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