This document summarizes a presentation about deaf identity and intersectionality. It discusses conceptual frameworks for understanding deaf identity development, including processes like nigrescence that describe becoming culturally enculturated. It also covers concepts like audism, which refers to societal prejudices that consider hearing and speech as superior to signing. The presentation emphasizes that identities are complex and intersectional, shaped by membership in multiple diverse groups. It promotes a paradigm shift toward views of deafness as a cultural identity rather than solely a medical condition.

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Deaf Identity 102
Intersectionality and D/deaf experiences for
higher education professionals
Olugbenga Aina, MSW
Genie Gertz, Ph.D.
Judy Mounty Ed.D., MSW
Edgar Palmer, M.Ed, MS
NCORE 2016: Session 4421
Introductions
• ’Bunmi
• Genie
• Judy
Session goals
• Conceptual framework
• Deaf identities
• Intersectionality
• Paradigm shift
• Implications for higher education
Conceptual framework
• Understanding Deaf identity development
and experiences as related to:
– Nigrescence
– Audism
– Empowerment
– Consciousness
Nigrescence
• The process of becoming Black
• Negro-to-Black conversion experience
• Involves identity development in which one
becomes more enculturated in the Black
experience
• Adapted to describe comparable experience
of deaf and hard of hearing individuals
Cross, W. E. (1991). Shades of black: Diversity in African-American identity. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Nigrescence development stages:
Cyclical process

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Cross, W. E. (1991). Shades of black: Diversity in African-American identity. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
5. Internalization-Commitment
4. Internalization
3. Immersion-Emersion
2. Encounter
1. Pre-Encounter
ISMs
Prejudice + Power (Privilege) = “ISM”
Share about your experiences with multiple forms of
oppression like racism, sexism, homophobia, audism
and transphobia while you interact with different
communities. How do you navigate this journey?
VIDEO
Audism
• Term coined in 1975 by Tom Humphries, a Deaf
scholar
• The prejudice and power/privilege of the larger
hearing society espouses the beliefs that:
– being hearing is superior to being deaf
– spoken languages are superior to signed languages
– intelligence and achievement by deaf and hard of
hearing people is equated with spoken language
ability
Audism
The meaning of audism as being attached to
institutionalized prejudices and biases that
perpetuate discrimination based on the idea of the
superiority of auditory and speech competency
over ASL. People who have an attitude of
superiority perceive hearing and speech as the
developmental norm for humans; conversely, they
consider signing development as deficient.
Tom Humphries
Humphries,
T.
(1975).
The
Making
of
Word:
Audism.
Unpublished
Manuscript.

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Because of audism…
• Deaf people have systematically been deprived
of the power to:
• Communicate freely
• Receive quality education in a fully accessible
language
• Gain respect for their language and culture
• Possess voice in shaping policies and
practices of institutions serving them
Examples of audism
• “The deaf must learn English (forget ASL) because when they
grow up they will have to function in the hearing society and
need it to find good jobs, find happiness, and have full and
useful lives.”
• “We want to hire more deaf people but there just are not any
deaf Ph.D.s.”
• “He/she is nice and very intelligent but his/her English is
terrible.”
• “Oh! You have such beautiful speech. What is your hearing
loss?”
• “But we don’t need TTY. There are no deaf people in this
office.”
Dysconscious audism
…a form of audism that tacitly accepts
dominant hearing norms and privileges. It
is not the absence of consciousness but an
impaired consciousness or distorted way of
thinking about Deaf consciousness.
Genie Gertz
VIDEO
Paradigm shift VIDEO

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Empowerment theories
• Focus on assets rather than problems
• Strengths perspective, concept of resiliency,
and principle of self- determination at
community level
• Problems and internal conflicts can provide
opportunities for positive change and growth
VIDEO
Consciousness
A state of in-depth understanding about the
world and resulting freedom from oppression.
Paulo Freire
Consciousness
• Awareness of self
• Awareness of culture and attitudes
• Critical reflection of community
• Ability to perceive social, political oppression
• Ability to analyze one’s beliefs and behaviors
• Ability to analyze and take action against oppressive
elements for social justice
Construction of deaf consciousness
• Awareness of oppression
• Rejection of audism
• Positive language attitudes toward ASL
• Deaf cultural behaviors
• Deaf identity
• Cultural acceptance of Deaf living
Paradigm shift – Deafhood
• Deaf people are visually oriented in dealing with the environment and
feel most at ease using a signed language rather than a spoken
language. The degree of your hearing or speaking ability is
irrelevant. Each person’s search for Deafhood occurs on all levels:
physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, cultural and linguistic. And
through that search, each Deaf person is linked to the amazing
collective experience called the Deaf community and culture.
• Deafhood is a journey that we undertake to discover our true identity
and purpose as a Deaf person. This journey is for anybody who is
what George Veditz calls “first and foremost, people of the eye”.

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Paradigm shift – Deaf Gain
“Deaf Gain” is a positive counter to the negative “hearing loss”
and encompasses the myriad ways that both deaf people and
society at large have benefited from the existence of deaf people
and sign language throughout recorded human history. The
notion of Deaf Gain asks the question: is the world better off with
Deaf people and their signed languages, or should they be
diminished to the point of extinction? Is the audiological status of
deafness worth preserving or should it be eradicated? What
would society lose if it were to do away with hearing loss?
Intersectionality
• Individuals are complex and can be members of or
identify with overlapping diverse groups
• Identity not easily defined, not unidimensional or binary
(i.e., only X or only Y, not “X” plus “Y”)
• Can’t separate out the elements of a person’s identity
• Oppression can be experienced on multiple levels at the
same time; or a person may have privilege in some
domains and not others
Intersectionality
Intersectionality is an analytic sensibility, a way of thinking about identity
and its relationship to power. The term brought to light the invisibility of
many constituents within groups that claim them as members, but often
fail to represent them. Intersectional erasures include People of color
within LGBTQ movements; girls of color in the fight against the school-
to-prison pipeline; women within immigration movements; trans women
within feminist movements; and people with disabilities fighting police
abuse — all face vulnerabilities that reflect the intersections of racism,
sexism, class oppression, transphobia, able-ism and more.
Intersectionality has given many advocates a way to frame their
circumstances and to fight for their visibility and inclusion.
Kimberlé Crenshaw
VIDEO
How has your identity developed and
evolved over the years before and since
coming to Gallaudet?
VIDEO

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With the identities you have discussed, what
is it like to be a college student at Gallaudet,
a Predominantly White University (PWU)?
Belonging
...in Deaf communities, with their strong
belief in cultural collectivism, attitude is, or
can be, all.
Paddy Ladd
VIDEO
References
Bauman, H.-D. L., & Murray, J. J. (Eds.) (2014). Deaf Gain: Raising the stakes for human diversity. Minneapolis, MN:
University of Minnesota Press.
Crenshaw, K. (2015, September 24). Why intersectionality can’t wait. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://
www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2015/09/24/why-intersectionality-cant-wait/
Cross, W. E. (1991). Shades of black: Diversity in African-American identity. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Gertz, G. (2003). Dysconscious audism and critical deaf studies: Deaf crit’s analysis of unconscious internalization of
hegemony within the deaf community. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles,
California.
Humphries, T. (1975). The Making of Word: Audism. Unpublished manuscript.
Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2014). Human Behavior in the Macro Social Environment: An Empowerment Approach to
Understanding Communities, Organizations, and Groups (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Ladd, P. (2003). Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search of Deafhood. Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters.
Thank you!
Olugbenga Aina
olugbenga.aina@gallaudet.edu
Genie Gertz
genie.gertz@gallaudet.edu
Judy Mounty
judith.mounty@gallaudet.edu