Megan Stahlhut

ASL 1

October 5, 2014

I recently read the article “Out of the Deafie: Stepping Up for Deaf Identity” (url http://www.deaf-culture-online.com/deaf-identity.html). Written by Mark of Deaf Culture Online, this article is a call-to-arms for the Deaf community to be comfortable in their Deaf identity.

Mark is asking the readers of Deaf Culture Online to submit articles describing their experiences being Deaf in a hearing world. Specifically, he is looking for stories about when Deaf people stand up for their rights as people. However, he also welcomes stories from those who feel too pressured by the hearing world to be comfortable in their Deaf identity.

As of October 5, six articles were published on the page.

The first article was written by Eddie Runyon. He grew up hard-of-hearing, but with a hearing aid was able to communicate well during high school. However, he eventually needed surgery and was unable to use his hearing aid while he healed. While sitting in class one day, every student stood up to leave, so Runyon grabbed his things and walked into the hallway. Nobody was there; there were still ten minutes of school remaining. His class had pulled a mean-spirited prank on him. Everybody was laughing except Runyon; he marched to the front of the class and exclaimed:

“This is who I am now. I may never be able to hear again. I'll never know until my ear has had a chance to heal from this surgery. But if I remain completely deaf from this point on, I am still me and I think every one of you suck for playing this joke.”

The second article is a link to Karen Putz’s story “Calling Our Bluff: Using Communication Strategies in Social Situations” on the Hands and Voices website. Putz describes how the Deaf and hard-of-hearing are experts at “social bluffing.” Social bluffing is the act of “faking” your way through of conversation: nodding, excusing yourself, etc.

The third submission is by A.R., who is hard-of-hearing. Titled Still in the Closet, A.R. is slowly becoming more vocal about her identity. However, she is appalled at how hearing people treat her with disdain.

The fourth submission by Kelsie Darcy describes a young Deaf girl who attended the North Carolina School for the Deaf. At eight years old, Darcy got the cochlear implant and was able to hear. However, her Deaf friends thought it was “gross,” so she rarely used in in middle and high school. When she went to a hearing college, she was often able to understand people through their actions, although she had never learned to speak and could not answer them. She learned

how to put on a fake smile during conversations. Now Darcy is relearning how to show her emotions.

Tyla Campbell wrote the fifth article, Here’s to the World of Silence. Campbell is hard-of-hearing, raised with hearing aids by a hearing family. She knows no sign, and is not involved with the local Deaf community at all. However, she wants to experience what it’s like to be a Deaf woman.

The sixth and final article is Reality Check by Mark Hanawalt. To be honest, I cannot truly summarize this article. Hanawalt is a 62-year-old Deaf man suffering from ptsd. After losing his hearing from scarlet fever when he was two, his parents treated him like he didn’t deserve to live anymore. The rest of Hanawalt’s life has been filled with confusion and oppression.

I highly recommend ASL students read these short articles. It’s very sobering to realize how America, the land of equal opportunity, is still filled with segregation between the hearing and Deaf population.