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Understanding Deafhood: In Search of Its Meanings

Article  in  American Annals of the Deaf · March 2013

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Kusters, A., & De Meulder, M. (2013). Understanding Deafhood: In search of its meanings. American Annals of the
Deaf, 158(5), 428–438.

UNDERSTANDING DEAFHOOD: IN SEARCH

OF ITS MEANINGS

T
argue that Deafhood (a term coined by Dr. Paddy Ladd)
H E AU T H O R S
is an open-ended concept with an essentialist core. They describe how
deaf people who have attended their Deafhood lectures and workshops
have perceived different aspects of the Deafhood concept, and compare
the basic tenets of Deafhood and criticisms on Deafhood to theories and
criticisms on feminist essentialisms. The authors find that the vagueness
and wideness of the Deafhood concept is one of its strengths, though
they also find that it is in some respects problematic to combine and
unite ontology and liberation theory in one concept. They further sug-
gest that the ontological aspects of Deafhood need to be foregrounded.
The question of essentialism inherent in the Deafhood concept is also
briefly discussed with regard to hearing people, the use of spoken lan-
guage, and the use of amplification technology and cochlear implants.

ANNELIES KUSTERS AND Keywords: Deafhood, essentialism, (see http://shop.gehoerlosen-jugend

MAARTJE DE MEULDER feminism, ontology, liberation .de/). The concept has been used in
political meetings and activism, and has
Deafhood is a concept that aims to been an inspiration for yoga (see
KUSTERS RECEIVED A PHD IN DEAF STUDIES
disrupt medically oriented and op- http://www.deafhoodyoga.com/), plays
(WITH COMMENDATION) IN 2012 FROM THE
pressive discourses, by offering a deaf- (see http://www.deafhoodmonologues
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL (ENGLAND). SHE
constructed model that grows out of .com/), and a charitable organization,
CURRENTLY RESIDES IN MUMBAI, INDIA. DE
deaf people’s own ontologies (i.e., deaf the Deafhood Foundation (http://www
MEULDER IS A DOCTORAL STUDENT IN THE
ways of being in the world), emphasiz- .deafhoodfoundation.org/Deafhood/
SIGN LANGUAGE CENTRE, DEPARTMENT OF
ing positive, experience-oriented views Home.html). There are (or have been)
LANGUAGES, UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ
of deaf people (Ladd, 2003).1 After the Deafhood workshops, courses, confer-
(FINLAND). SHE INVESTIGATES SIGN LANGUAGE
publication in 2003 of Paddy Ladd’s ences,2 reading groups, online discus-
RECOGNITION LEGISLATION. BOTH AUTHORS
book Understanding Deaf Culture: In sion groups (e.g., http://www.deafhood
ARE BELGIANS.
Search of Deafhood, the term became discourses.com/ ), and innumerable
a “buzzword” that appeared to touch vlogs (e.g., http://www.deafhooddis
many deaf people. It was immortalized courses.com/) and blogs.
in tattoos on deaf peoples’ arms and However, the Deafhood concept is
feet and commercialized with Deaf- not free from criticism. The present
hood cups, T-shirts, bags, and buttons article is based on discussions during

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Deafhood presentations and work- feminism. Like Deafhood, feminist the authoring of deaf ontologies is
shops during which it became clear theories and ontologies have been inspired solely by resistance to op-
that many participants struggled with powerful, moving people toward self- pression. However, the ontological
questions linked to the nature of this exploration and activism. Our course dimensions have proved to be most
concept. Since 2008 we have taught participants also have found that pub- appealing to workshop participants.
Deafhood, combining lecturing with lished explorations of the Deafhood Hence, we suggest that the ontological
workshops, to small groups of up to 25 concept (either academic or nonacad- aspects of Deafhood need to be situ-
people (with a few exceptions) in Fin- emic) have been minimal and that ated in the foreground (recognizing
land (invited by the Finnish Deaf Asso- Ladd’s own explanations are dispersed that this is liberatory in itself), rather
ciation) and Denmark (invited by the over several texts and often difficult to than the liberatory effect of “over-
Danish Deaf Association and the Fron- digest. The present article thus stems coming (mental) colonialism.” Finally,
trunners international deaf youth lead- from a consideration of the partici- workshop participants have expressed
ership training program), giving basic pants’ feedback and concerns, and, as strong concerns about concrete appli-
and advanced Deafhood courses of 1 such, aims to offer an account of the cations of the Deafhood concept. We
to 3 days. We also have taught Deaf- lived experience of Deafhood as a con- discuss the question of essentialism
hood to larger groups (up to 60 peo- cept, in itself and in comparison to inherent in the Deafhood concept
ple) during camps organized by the feminist theories. below, with regard to concrete, every-
World Federation of the Deaf Youth We start the present article by trac- day issues in Deaf communities such
Section and the European Union of ing the Deafhood concept back to Dr. as the relationship with hearing peo-
Deaf Youth. In Flanders—which we Paddy Ladd (whom we introduce later ple, the use of spoken language, and
both are from—we have been teaching in the text), arguing that Deafhood is the use of technologies such as ampli-
in a Deafhood consciousness-raising an open-ended concept with an essen- fication and cochlear implants.
course, organized yearly by Fevlado tialist core, the core being the belief
(the Flemish Deaf Association) since that sign language learning and knowl- Deafhood: Emergence
2009, taught by deaf people and aimed edge and deaf socialization should be and Adoption
at deaf people only. It is a course available to—and pursued by—every The Deafhood concept was first artic-
organized on two levels (basic and deaf person. We then describe how ulated in 1993 by the British Deaf
advanced), spread over 10 months. deaf people have perceived different activist and academic Dr. Paddy Ladd
While the Deafhood concept is the pri- aspects of the Deafhood concept. Sub- (1993b) in a chapter he contributed to
mary starting point and is used as a sequently, the basic tenets of Deaf- a National Association of the Deaf pub-
connecting thread throughout the hood are compared to theories of lication (Ladd, 1993b); the chapter was
course, the course takes on diverging feminist essentialisms. We set out republished, under a different title, in
subjects such as Deaf history, sign lan- which strands of feminism we are the proceedings of the Deaf Studies III
guage, Deaf culture, Deaf art, and the referring to, describe criticisms of conference (Ladd, 1993a). He further
future of the Deaf community, all Deafhood based on the workshops, developed the concept in a disserta-
taught by deaf teachers. Signing deaf and compare and contrast these criti- tion on Deaf culture (Ladd, 1998) he
people of all ages and backgrounds cisms with criticisms of certain femi- wrote as part of his PhD program at
have registered for this course, which nist theories that address the issue of the University of Bristol, in England.
has significantly affected these peo- essentialism. We argue that the vague- Worldwide dissemination of the Deaf-
ple’s self-image, as we discuss in the ness and breadth of the Deafhood con- hood concept came with Ladd’s 2003
present article. cept is one of its strengths, although textbook Understanding Deaf Cul-
During these short courses, partic- we also find that it is in some respects ture: In Search of Deafhood, which
ipants have appeared to struggle with problematic to combine and unite was based on his dissertation. In this
the rather vague articulation of the ontology and liberation theory in one book, Ladd actually argues for the val-
Deafhood concept and with its ab- concept. This is because, first, it leads idation of the Deaf culture concept
stract nature. Therefore, we have often to confusion about what Deafhood (even though Understanding Deaf
compared Deafhood with “feminism,” actually (and primarily) “means,” and Culture is—misleadingly—known as
a comparison that has helped us artic- second, because it gives the impres- “the Deafhood book”). Still, the Deaf-
ulate what Deafhood means, in com- sion that Deafhood is merely or mainly hood concept became a buzzword in
parison to and in contrast with a reactionary concept, implying that both the academic and lay communi-

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UNDERSTANDING DEAFHOOD

ties immediately after the book’s pub- contexts in different European coun- sities in the United States (Furman,
lication. While the Deafhood concept tries since 2008, combining lectures Goldberg, & Lusin, 2007); many hear-
came into existence as an academic with workshops. ing people register for sign language
concept and frames academic pro- courses out of sheer interest, and
grams such as the MSc in Deafhood Ladd’s Explanation many of them are fond of this new lan-
studies at the University of Bristol and of Deafhood guage. Research also suggests that the
summer courses at Ohlone College in Ladd (2003, 2005, 2006) explains Deaf- cognitive, linguistic, emotional, and
California, it has been, as we mention hood in several different ways; hence, intellectual development of hearing
in the introductory section of the pres- there is no one clear definition of what children can be improved by the early
ent article, inspiring and compelling to Deafhood is. One of Ladd’s explana- use of sign language (i.e., “baby signs”)
deaf people from many different back- tions is that Deafhood is an English between parents and their infants (Gar-
grounds. term to counter other (negative) Eng- cia, 1999).
Between 2007 and 2011, Ladd’s book lish terms—such as hearing impaired Another way the Deafhood concept
was translated into Japanese, German, and deafness—that describe deaf peo- is used is as a “deconstructive tool for
and Spanish; a Portuguese translation ple within a pathological, medical more efficient analysis of oppression”
is forthcoming. Attempts to translate model, implying that being deaf is a (P. Ladd, personal communication,
the book into sign languages have loss and that deaf people therefore are November 23, 2010). Ladd (2003) per-
been delayed for years due to lack of deficient beings in need of a cure. The ceives deaf people and their communi-
funding, but it has been in the process Deafhood concept, on the contrary, ties as, among other things, victims of
of being translated into American Sign aims to disrupt these medically ori- a colonization process that, through
Language (ASL) since 2011 (see the ented and oppressive discourses, by the policy of “pure oralism,” has had
website “Deafhood Discussions,” offering a deaf-constructed model that huge consequences for deaf individual
www.deafhood.us/wp). However, in grows out of deaf people’s own on- and collective lives. Because of this
addition to the (written) language, tologies. The concept does this by educational policy, deaf people have
the academic and encyclopedic style emphasizing positive, experience-ori- experienced high levels of internalized
of writing in the book is a hurdle to ented views of deaf people and by oppression leading to a rate of acquired
many deaf people, for which Ladd has emphasizing deaf people’s possibili- mental illness double that of the hear-
been criticized. Ladd himself has said ties, to ultimately identify their “larger ing population (Hindley & Kitson,
that he understands the frustrations, Deaf selves” (Ladd, 2005, 2006). 2000). The damage to deaf people’s
but that the prime aim of his PhD dis- This idea is also taken up by Bau- collective lives has been just as bad
sertation (and the resulting publica- man and Murray (2010) as part of their (Ladd, 2003, 2005): delayed entry into
tion) was to “hit” the hearing academic “Deaf-gain” concept. What Deaf peo- community life, delayed and reduced
world and to “prove” the existence of ple gain are enhanced cognitive skills exposure to Deaf cultural heritage,
Deaf culture (personal communica- such as increased peripheral recogni- damage to traditional cultures and art
tion, September 12, 2008). When he tion (Bavelier et al., 2000), increased forms (Mirzoeff, 1995).
learned about the success of the facial recognition (Bettger, Emmorey, Ladd has stated that, as a result,
Deafhood concept, he started work- McCullough, & Bellugi, 1997), increased there are destructive patterns that are
ing on a website, the launching of spatial cognition (Bellugi et al., 1989), deeply rooted in Deaf cultures, such as
which has been delayed for many visual alertness, and proficiency in not knowing or realizing positive mean-
years—again due to a lack of funding visual learning and in the use of visual ings of being deaf, not realizing that sign
and personnel. languages that are rich in “metaphoric languages are genuine languages, hav-
Because Ladd felt overwhelmed iconicity” (Taub, 2001). In addition to ing a general suspicion or dislike of
by the heavy demand for Deafhood these intrinsic arguments, there are hearing people, and having a deeply
courses and workshops, he started to also extrinsic arguments that demon- ingrained tendency to criticize rather
delegate this work to people who had strate the contribution of deaf people than praise each other (Ladd, 2003).
experienced his academic training and and their language “for the greater About these patterns, Ladd (2006) has
supervision, among whom are our- good of humanity” (Bauman & Mur- written,
selves. Since being his students at the ray, 2010, p. 215). ASL is the second
University of Bristol, we have been most frequently taught non-English How does one break through the pat-
teaching about Deafhood in different language in 4-year colleges and univer- terns? One step is to realize that they

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are patterns. The next step is to draw ing, we felt that, for many participants, ipants told us that the course had
a line under Deaf culture as it is Deafhood was a very compelling term made him feel free, had given him
presently understood and say, “Yes, that seems to address them in their wings.
these are the Deaf traditions we have deepest being. (In the United States, However, at the same time, our
inherited following colonization. We this aspect has even led to Deafhood course and workshop participants
respect them but we must also con- yoga courses; see http://www.deaf have repeatedly told us that they think
tinue to aim to realize a larger Deaf hoodyoga.com/). A workshop tech- Deafhood is too broad, too vague, and
self.” (pp. 247–248) nique we used at the end of our teach- too hard to summarize, let alone
ing sessions in Flanders was to place explain to other people. If our partici-
According to Ladd, the Deafhood con- a chair in the middle of the classroom, pants try to explicate the concept,
cept, then, can help deaf people “to state that the chair represented Deaf- most of the time they discuss the onto-
have a grasp of what we are aspiring hood, and ask people how they would logical aspect, the gut feeling, connect-
towards and help that process along” position themselves in relation to ing the recognition of this experience
(Ladd, 1993a, p. 211). The concept is this chair.4 Their answers were re - to the above-mentioned feeling of free-
thus not only designed as an ontology vealing: dom. On the other hand, some hear-
emphasizing “gain” but also as “a con- ing people who have been working
sciousness-raising strategy through • The chair as luggage, to take with with the Deaf community for a long
which SLPs [Sign Language Peoples3] you on your life journey time, and some deaf people who have
can examine their own experiences, • The chair as the seat of a car: not been enrolled in the course (yet),
re-empower themselves, and thus Deafhood as a way to start on the have told us (indirectly) that they feel
engage in the work of community path of self-exploration that the course is a sort of breeding
regeneration” (P. Ladd, personal com- • Looking at the chair from a dis- ground for deaf activism and even
munication, November 23, 2010). tance and moving toward it: Deaf- extremism. For them, the liberatory
Deafhood is thus a very broad con- hood as a process—“I’ve found aspects of the concept have come to
cept, entailing ontology as well as a lib- my way, I know where to go.” the fore, and these have been per-
erating, empowering philosophy and a • The chair as a campfire to give us ceived as militant. This is an example
counternarrative in response to hege- warmth of how the vagueness and wideness of
monic oralist and colonizing dis- • The chair to stand on, to widen the concept’s meaning have the poten-
courses. While one of the strengths of your horizon tial to cause misunderstandings.
the Deafhood concept seems to be • Sitting “under” the chair: Deaf-
that it recognizes and validates deaf hood as a second skin Deafhood and Essentialism,
people’s ontologies and epistemolo- • Sitting on the chair: “I’ve found and Feminist Essentialisms
gies, the fact that it serves as a kind of my place, I feel good here.” To summarize the previous sections, it
umbrella concept can be confusing as appears that Deafhood is a very broad
well, and the inherent essentialism has These answers point to the fact that concept implying deaf ontologies and
proved to be controversial. These two thinking about Deafhood offered the deaf epistemologies as well as being a
issues are addressed in the sections participants opportunities for self- liberating, empowering philosophy
below, starting with a description of reflection: It opened the way to and a counternarrative toward hege-
our workshops. explore their lives and histories. Par- monic structures and discourses. As
ticipants also said the Deafhood such, the Deafhood concept has a lot
The Workshops and course increased their self-determina- of similarities with feminisms.5 Be-
Deafhood as Ontology tion and their consciousness about cause deaf people can in several
As the Flemish course was taught 10 being deaf in this world, and made respects be compared to women, in
times over 10 months, and linked to them more tolerant toward, for exam- that they are “overpowered” by socie-
various themes, participants had the ple, incomprehension from hearing tal structures that are not produced by
time to link the philosophy behind the people. Recognizing a shared gut feel- them or for them, and since they pro-
Deafhood concept to their daily lives. ing and shared ontologies also gener- duce their own, different spaces,
As such, Deafhood became a kind of ated a feeling of unity. Last but not authoring their own ontologies and
ontological framework that returned least, the course caused a feeling of lib- epistemologies (Kemp & Squires,
throughout the course. While teach- eration. For example, one of the partic- 1997), we believe that a comparison

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UNDERSTANDING DEAFHOOD

might help us to understand and artic- ration of its meaning is part of the femininity and masculinity. Both the
ulate the specific nature of Deafhood meaning of the Deafhood concept Deafhood concept and the performa-
and its inherent essentialism. itself: “What Deafhood might mean tivity concept are poststructuralist the-
In the present article, we are not so within and to different sectors of the ories, but Singhellou noted that, while
much looking at feminism from its community is a valid cultural process Ladd’s concept has an essentialist core,
classical liberal rights perspective or at in itself ” (Ladd, 2003, p. 408). Butler’s theory can be described as
feminist activism, but rather at femi- Deafhood seems to imply the possi- anti-essentialist. Both concepts imply a
nist trends in the 1980s and 1990s bility of multiple pathways, but in fact process of becoming, but unlike But-
“to denounce totalizing theories, to is commencing from an essentialist ler, Ladd emphasizes that this con-
celebrate difference, recognize ‘other- core: “Deafhood comes from main- struction “not only ‘permits’ a belief in
ness,’ and acknowledge the multiplic- taining a clear focus on the seed itself ” cultural change but actually suggests
ity of feminisms” (Kemp & Squires, (Ladd, 2003, p. 407). More specifically, directions towards which that change
1997, p. 4). We focus on the debate Deafhood is a certain ontological expe- might orientate itself ” (Ladd, 2003, p.
between social constructivist and rience that relates to being biologically 409, our emphasis). Also, while Butler
essentialist theories regarding femi- deaf. Such a focus on a “core” or a speaks about “gender” in general,
nisms, citing leading feminists who “seed” has also been maintained in encompassing both male and female,
have commented on the tension feminist essentialisms: for example, by Ladd’s conception of Deafhood is as a
between the assertion of the existence subjugating all women to a common process meant for deaf people only.
of an essential “Womanness” and di- essence, stating that there are proper- Butler’s becoming is an open-ended
verse, fluctuating subjectivities. ties shared by all women, such as being process that is not to be categorized
When, during our presentations “carers,” “passive,” “subjected,” “emo- into a binary opposition such as
and workshops, participants have tional.” There are different kinds of male/female (and thus is anti-essential-
asked us questions about Deafhood, feminist essentialisms—for instance, ist), while Ladd’s Deafhood concept is,
these questions have almost always biological essentialism (as manifested, as suggested by Singhellou, an open-
been framed within an essentialist for example, by women’s possession ended deaf becoming.
rhetoric: a way of thinking character- of a womb and their child-bearing The suggested direction in which to
ized by questions such as “Who can capacity). Other forms of feminisms move onward from this seed—the
have/can’t have Deafhood?” and “Who have been sociological, for example, “deaf becoming”—is the “actualiza-
can experience/can’t experience Deaf- the belief that all women share similar tion” of the deaf biological state, by the
hood?” or “What do you need to do/to social conditions or characteristics use of sign language and socialization
be to experience Deafhood?” Many such as “domestic” or “nurturing” with other deaf people. The number
participants have been in search of the (Stone, 2004). Summarizing, Fuss of potential choices of different ways
core of the Deafhood concept, formu- (1989/1997) wrote that, as such, essen- to experience Deafhood is thereby
lated as a set of characteristics or rules, tialism in feminist theories “appeals to reduced. When we explained this
and thus have thought in essentialist a pure or original femininity, a female dimension of the Deafhood concept
ways. For Ladd, when he was devising essence, outside the boundaries of the in our courses, a number of partici-
the concept, the primary commitment social and thereby untainted (though pants felt that the Deafhood concept
was to those who considered them- perhaps repressed) by a patriarchal could be exclusive and divisional and
selves members of Deaf communities order” (pp. 250–251). There is a paral- therefore oppressive in a way that is
and used sign language already; thus, lel here with the Deafhood concept not much different from the d/D cate-
the concept originally did not set out and the fact that the articulation of gorization, which is exactly a catego-
to clarify the above-mentioned ques- deaf people’s own ontologies and epis- rization that the Deafhood concept
tions (P. Ladd, personal communica- temologies has been repressed by seeks to transcend. After all, our par-
tion, September 12, 2008). Still, our colonialist structures (Ladd, 2003). ticipants stated, because Deafhood
participants have expressed the belief Singhellou (2007) compared Deaf- implies being biologically deaf, it
that it is important to think about hood to the “performativity” concept potentially excludes Codas (children
those topics with regard to Deafhood, of the well-known feminist Judith But- of deaf adults) and possibly people
following Ladd’s suggestion that the ler, who has argued (Butler, 1990) that with only a slight hearing loss; and
concept is not “finished” and that— gender is not natural but habitual and because it implies the use of sign lan-
perhaps paradoxically—the explo- learned, based on cultural norms of guage, it potentially excludes all those

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deaf people who do not (yet) know or ing) people can or cannot experience Deafness is our lifeline. You know,
use sign language. Deafhood, but, more radically, to draw when you’re born, they cut the umbil-
When Ladd (2005) states that all people’s attention to hearing people ical cord and you’re a separate per-
deaf people can experience Deafhood, such as Codas. If people with a sud- son. Well, with deafness you can never
he implies that those deaf people who den or light hearing loss would be able cut the umbilical cord. Those of us
do not know sign language could (and to experience Deafhood, so she claims, who were raised in it, we can never
should), in order to develop their why would it be the case that people leave it behind. (Preston, 1994, p. 235)
Deafhood, learn sign language and with no hearing loss at all—but who
socialize within the Deaf community: grew up in a deaf environment—could As a result of such experiences and the
not experience Deafhood? Does the fact that some Codas never feel fully
One learns to become a member of mere fact of being deaf have the poten- understood or accepted by either
a culture, and in a similar way a child tial to automatically create a certain hearing or deaf people, it happens that
born deaf, even to deaf parents, has consciousness, something one cannot Codas feel left out or excluded:
to learn to become “deaf,” that is, to experience when one is hearing?
become a responsible sign lan- Some participants in our work- Ten years ago I think that deaf people
guage–using member of a national shops have felt threatened by the tried to push me out. . . . But I got to
community. (p. 14) thought that hearing people could the point where I started saying, “Wait
experience Deafhood, and we have a minute! You can’t get rid of your
Ladd means that this is not just an repeatedly received comments from kids, and you can’t get rid of people
option, but indeed the preferred path them such as “There are hearing peo- that are part of Deaf culture. We are as
to follow, and the path that deaf peo- ple who know or learn our language, much a part of Deaf culture. We’re
ple would follow were they not ham- and who are included in our culture not a hearing person coming in and
pered in the development of their and community; that is fine, but the telling you what to do. We’re your
inherent potential (as is so often the Deafhood experience? That’s ours kids! We grew up in the same house-
case). In the next section, this Deaf- only.” But at the same time, some par- hold. You cannot deny me that.”
hood “requirement” of “being/becom- ticipants have indicated that they are (Preston, 1994, p. 217)
ing a signing deaf person” is discussed especially concerned about Codas,
in depth. whom they associate with Deaf com- Two of the quotes from Preston em-
munities, cultures, and even identities, phasize the natural, biological connec-
(Hard of) Hearing so we decided to look closer at Pre- tion between Codas and their deaf
People and Deafhood ston’s 1994 book about the experi- parents; this leads to the question of
Hirons (2009) believes that if one has ences of Codas, Mother Father Deaf: whether the possibility of experienc-
to be audiologically deaf to experience Living Between Sound and Silence. ing Deafhood can be seen as poten-
Deafhood, this means that the concept Participants have been impressed and tially inherent in the situation in which
is based on—or relies on—a medical sometimes even baffled by the Codas grow up. The question, then, is
deficiency model of deafness, while excerpts from the book that we shared which dimension of Deafhood consti-
the Deafhood concept was coined to with them. It appears that some Codas tutes the core of the concept: the fact
mean exactly the opposite. We believe do not emphasize hearing or bicultural of experiencing and overcoming bar-
that the medical model is confused identities but see their deaf identity as riers and oppression connected with
with a purely biological viewpoint their “real identity”: being deaf—that is, the liberatory
here: Instead of being understood as a dimension—or the visuo-gestural-tac-
“loss,” deafness could be regarded as a When I’m sitting in a room or walking tile skills that are also emphasized by
product of biodiversity. Hirons, how- down the street, people look at me the Deaf-gain concept (Bauman &
ever, makes a point when wondering and they see this hearing person. Murray, 2010)—that is, the ontological
about the point at which someone is That’s all they see. But just beneath dimension? This is a difficult issue
“deaf enough” to be able to experience the surface, there’s this deaf person. because, as we have already men-
Deafhood. While it could be said that I’m not talking about hearing loss, tioned, the Deafhood concept incor-
there could be a “continuum with flex- I’m talking about a whole way of porates both elements. Oppression
ible ends,” Hirons’s aim is in fact not to being. The real me is Deaf. (Preston, experienced by Codas is partially simi-
discuss which deaf (or hard of hear- 1994, p. 216) lar to and partially different from

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oppression experienced by deaf peo- nist cause, so if Deafhood were seen as Strategic Essentialism
ple (Preston, 1994). Regarding the a “deaf analogue to feminist activism,” The warnings from Hirons (2009)
“ontological” aspects of Deafhood, a hearing person would indeed be able about the potential divisiveness of the
Codas—when given the opportunity to experience a personal Deafhood Deafhood concept concur with those
to develop their visuo-gestural skills— process. But the question whether a of Moi (1989/1997), who stated that
also have abilities such as well-devel- man can experience (essential) wom- essentialism in feminism is oppressive,
oped spatial thinking and nativelike anhood/womanness is much trickier as it “always plays into the hands of
command of sign languages (Emmorey, and more difficult to answer, especially those who want women to conform to
Kosslyn, & Bellugi, 1993; Emmorey when the experiences of transvestites predefined patterns of femininity” (p.
et al., 2005). and transsexuals are considered. We 247). “The ‘feminist subject’ has been
A suggestion that has often oc- contend that the ontological experi- seen to be just as ethnocentric and
curred during workshops is that Codas ence should not become a “secondary exclusive, just as imperialist and bour-
perhaps experience a kind of “Coda- prerequisite” to experiencing Deaf- geois, as her male counterpart in
hood,” which could then partially over- hood, but that it is central to it. The claiming to speak on behalf of all
lap with Deafhood. It has also been sign for Deafhood in British Sign Lan- women” (Gunew, 1988/1997, p. 239).
suggested that Codas can have a kind guage (made on the stomach) seems Spelman (1988/1997) explained a fur-
of “Deafhood seed” as a potential to imply an emphasis on ontology: ther danger of essentialism: “If there is
inherent in the situation in which they Deafhood is not signed as “Deaf an essential womanness that all
grow up, that they can or cannot emancipation” or “Deaf process,” but women have and have always had,
develop, just like deaf people who did seems to indicate a “gut feeling.” We then we needn’t know anything about
not learn sign language during child- therefore concur with Gulliver (2009), any woman in particular” (p. 236). The
hood. Hirons (2009) has more boldly who criticized Ladd’s conceptu- particularities of each woman’s indi-
concluded that hearing people (not alization of Deafhood as an explicitly vidual life become unimportant, and
just Codas) have the potential to expe- contestatory concept, as a “coun- thus unessential to the definition of
rience Deafhood if they support “the ternarrative,” and as such problema- womanhood. Differences between
deaf cause”: tizes the fact that ontology as well as women are obscured and made subor-
emancipation are brought together in dinate to similarities between them.
Fundamentally, if Deafhood is inter- one concept. Gunew (1988/1997) suggested that
preted as a wider struggle for human To clarify our position: Although we women’s accounts should not be
dignity and empowerment, there understand our workshop partici- regarded as “a chorus of women’s
seems to be little ideological justifica- pants’ concerns about hearing people voices blended in undifferentiated sis-
tion for excluding hard of hearing and and Deafhood and the potential divi- terhood” (p. 241). Summarizing the
what Ladd terms “hearing allies” from siveness of the concept, we believe essentialist and anti-essentialist strands
the Deafhood process. If Deafhood that Deafhood is not an appropriate in feminism, Riley (1988/1997) stated
is interpreted so as to only include term to use in analyzing the position of that feminism has oscillated between
audiologically deaf persons within its Codas and other hearing people in over-feminization and under-feminiza-
experience, Deafhood philosophy Deaf communities. Other concepts tion, between transcendence and
will simply perpetuate the divisive- such as Sign Language Peoples (Bat- deconstruction, between women as
ness and exclusion found within terbury, 2012; Batterbury et al., 2007) having fluctuating identities or sharing
some sectors of the Deaf community and viittomakielinen, “Sign Language an essential “womanness.”
at present. (p. 4) Persons” ( Jokinen, 2001), have the Very similar concerns have been
potential to be more useful for doing raised by our workshop participants:
When arguing why to include hearing this. Moreover, it has never been There is enormous diversity among
people, Hirons thus puts the emphasis Ladd’s intention to devise an all- deaf people, especially with regard to
on the empowerment or liberation encompassing concept to include language use and language back-
aspects of Deafhood (rather than the hearing people’s experiences. The pri- ground, hearing status and use of hear-
ontological aspects). If a comparison mary focus of the Deafhood concept is ing technologies, and educational
may be made with feminist activism, it on deaf people, and it was devised as background. The Deafhood theory
is imaginable that men could be femi- a tool for their individual and collective says, though, that deaf people are in
nists when they supported the femi- self-exploration. essence more visually oriented than

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hearing people, and therefore should position themselves as a counter-nar- held up for celebration, and to sort out
be sign language–using people. Disre- rative to White or Hearing supremacy just what would be the political rami-
garding or ironing out inter-individual . . . their discourses risk being dis- fications of such a move” (p. 293, our
differences between deaf people, how- missed along with the Grand Narra- emphasis). She also warned that it is
ever, seems to threaten this diversity. tives themselves! (p. 80) important to distinguish between “an
Hirons (2009) thus rightfully pointed inherent feminine essence” and “the
out the dangers of essentialism in Ladd furthermore argues that people direct results of social marginalization
Deafhood theory. of color or women are in further stages and intolerable sexual visibility” (p.
However, we regard Hirons’s (2009) of redefining themselves, “whereas 293). Kanneh criticized those feminists
argument that hearing people can Deaf communities are still either who find women incarcerated in the
experience a Deafhood process as caught up in it or just embarking on kitchen and therefore sing the
extremely anti-essentialist. Similarly, resolving it” (p. 418). kitchen’s praise. These remarks highly
Soper (1990/1997) argued that al - With regard to feminist theories, correspond with what Ladd explains as
though great care should be taken Fuss (1989/1997) argued that a dis- being the difference between Deaf cul-
with essentialism in feminism, the dan- tinction should be made between ture(s) and Deafhood. Ladd found that
ger of anti-essentialism is extreme par- “ ‘deploying’ or ‘activating’ essential- destructive consequences of oppres-
ticularism and hyper-individualism. ism and ‘falling into’ or ‘lapsing into’ sion in Deaf cultures are justified or
Soper stated that politics is a group essentialism” (p. 257), explaining that explained away as being part of “the
affair, and that without a common the “danger” of using the concept Deaf way,” “the Deaf culture” (Ladd,
cause, feminist political movements depends on “who is utilizing it, how it 2003). With his Deafhood concept,
collapse. Similarly, extreme anti-essen- is deployed, and where its effects are Ladd wants to move away from this
tialism would be disastrous for Deaf concentrated” (p. 267, emphasis in way of thinking, allowing and encour-
communities, as they are still fighting original). This corresponds with Spi- aging Deaf cultures to change, rather
discrimination in the workplace, social vak’s “strategic essentialism,” deployed than formulating a deaf analogue to
welfare systems, the media, and else- by Ladd in the creation of his “Deaf- “singing the kitchen’s praise.” Hence,
where, and are still defending their hood” concept. Ladd emphasizes that while the Deaf culture and Deafhood
right to use sign languages in a wide he is “mindful of the dangers of falling concepts both can be seen as essential-
range of contexts, the right to educa- into essentialism” but defends the ist, interpretations of Deaf culture
tion in sign language, and the right not essentialism inherent in the Deafhood (such as “the Deaf way”) are often
to choose hearing technology such as concept as being “at the least strategi- close ended and static, while Deaf-
cochlear implants (Ladd, 2003). Also, cally viable for the foreseeable future” hood aims at being open ended and
in oralist educational systems, deaf (Ladd, 2003, p. 217). He mentions that dynamic. In the next section of the
people are divided according to skills he hopes that “others may be able to present article, we consider what this
in speaking and hearing, and an essen- develop readings which refine and ‘de- flexibility on the part of Deafhood
tialist concept such as “Deafhood” rep- essentialize’ this one” (p. 81). Hirons could entail.
resents an effort to try to unify them (2009) takes it even further:
(again). Spoken Language, Hearing
Therefore, Ladd (2003) poses the When applied to collectivist cultures, Aids, Cochlear Implants,
idea that the rejection of essentialism essentialism should not in fact be only Music: Taboos?
is “unfortunate for groups like Deaf strategically deployed when no other Ladd’s interpretation of Deafhood as
communities who are still struggling option is available, but used as a valid an open-ended concept with an essen-
to conceptualize their postcolonial way of understanding a culture tialist core can be summarized thus:
identity.” (p. 217). According to him, through explicitly acknowledging and Deaf people’s lives should commence
the timing of anti-essentialist dis- valuing its collectivist basis. (p. 10) from their “Deafhood seed” (i.e. using
courses (i.e., their occurrence during sign language and developing deaf
the postmodernist era) is ironic: Regarding the need to be careful with sociality), and from there can develop
essentialism in feminism, Kanneh in multiple ways, much like a tree with
At the very moment when the dis- (1992/1997) emphasized that it is multiple roots and branches, which
course of oppressed groups at last highly important “to determine which grows from a single seed. There
becomes visible and they are able to aspects of this femininity should be remain many questions as to the

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UNDERSTANDING DEAFHOOD

implementation of this interpretation ily or partner is not the same as using are liable to different interpretations. As
in everyday life, particularly in the areas spoken language in all-deaf contexts, Ladd so often emphasizes, exploring
of communication and technology. Dur- for example, with the aim of “showing the meaning of the Deafhood concept
ing our courses, we have received the off ” speech skills. is a valid cultural process in itself, since
following questions: “Does Deafhood In essence, the discussion about this exploration leads us to attempts to
mean that you should sign in every con- taboos focuses on the question of if (better) articulate our ontological ex-
text and should not speak?” “Does Deaf- and how certain proclaimed “hearing periences as deaf persons. Until now,
hood mean that you could/should not things” can get a place in a person’s no other concept has proved to have
enjoy listening to music?” “Does Deaf- articulation as a deaf person. An impor- the same potential.
hood mean that you should not use tant question, then, is, Why do we con- The present article has offered a
hearing aids or a cochlear implant?” We sider whether these things “fit” with tentative starting point in beginning to
believe these issues could be seen—at being deaf? Is it because many deaf grasp the origins and meanings of the
least in some situations and by some people tend to focus on one aspect of Deafhood concept. To deepen the
people—as referring to “taboos” within who they are (i.e., their being deaf), Deafhood concept, it is necessary to
the Deaf community. During our work- and treat this as separate from other identify, investigate, and consolidate
shops, they have often been the sub- facets of who they are (mainstreamed, deaf epistemologies and ontologies.
jects of heated debate. a woman, Black, Muslim, gay, Belgian, There is a need for further in-depth
Following Ladd’s suggestion that it socialist, a teacher, etc.)? According to exploration and analysis of the way the
is part of the Deafhood process to Hirons (2009), “It is arguable that the concept is used and understood, and
explore destructive or damaging re- Deafhood process appears to entail of its individual, social, academic and
sults of discrimination and oppression, actualizing the ‘Deaf ’ elements of political implications. For example, it is
we argue that these “taboos” could be one’s personality over other aspects” necessary to understand how the con-
added to the list of such negative influ- (p. 5). We do not believe that the cept is used and understood in aca-
ences, that is, that they are remnants of essentialism inherent in Deafhood demic discourses, by deaf social and
feelings of oppression: Through abu- takes such an overarching form, and political organizations, and by individ-
sive speech training and forced use of do not think that the Deafhood phi- ual deaf people with different back-
hearing aids, speech and hearing de- losophy is implying that constant pri- grounds (with respect to family,
vices became associated with oppres- ority should be given to articulating education, work environment, deaf
sion. Ladd’s implementation of the one’s “Deaf identity.” socialization, use of signed and spoken
Deafhood concept seems to suggest languages, and use of hearing tech-
an open-ended essentialism with room Conclusion nologies). A better understanding of
for spoken language, hearing aids, The Deafhood concept is a comprehen- the concept will foster individual and
cochlear implants, and the experience sive philosophy encompassing ontol- collective self-determination among
of music as individual choices that ogy, epistemology, empowerment, and Deaf communities and will enhance
should be respected. Ladd seems to resistance. It could be argued that Deaf- academic discourses not only in Deaf
believe that the focus of activism hood attempts to embody too many dif- studies but in other social sciences.
should be on oppressive systems rather ferent ideas or dimensions within a With regard to the latter, further
than on these individual choices. For single concept, leading to confusion research is needed into the parallels
example, using spoken language could about its very ontologistic or liberatory between the Deafhood concept and
be regarded as just using another lan- character. We argue that although the other liberatory and ontological con-
guage, rather than a betrayal of Deaf philosophy behind the Deafhood con- cepts and worldviews, not only femi-
communities or even of the Deafhood cept has clearly been perceived as nism but also, for example, Black
concept. The Deafhood philosophy liberating, the ontological aspects of consciousness, LGBT (lesbian, gay,
emphasizes the importance of reflec- Deafhood need to be foregrounded, bisexual, and transgender) pride, and
tion on one’s acts and attitudes. The rather than its emancipatory and activist the worldviews of people from other
contexts are more important than dimensions; we also argue that Deaf- linguistic and cultural minorities.
what one actually does: Our course hood is a concept primarily aimed at
participants often agreed with each the individual and collective self-explo- Notes
other that using spoken language to ration of deaf people. On the other 1. We use the capital “D” only when
communicate with one’s hearing fam- hand, many compelling philosophies referring to theoretical concepts such

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as “Deaf studies,” “Deafhood,” “Deaf References autonomous, located, and disabled in 18th-
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many questions over the past few years Visual imagery and visual-spatial language: Ladd, P. (2006). What is Deafhood and why is it
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