Book Review

Inside Deaf Culture

N Engl J Med 2005; 353:436July 28, 2005

Article

Inside Deaf Culture
By Carol Padden and Tom Humphries. 208 pp. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 2005. $22.95. ISBN: 0-674-01506-1

This well-organized and clearly written book provides a fascinating inside look at the development of Deaf culture. As noted in the introduction to the book, the authors use the convention of capitalizing Deaf when referring to members of a distinct culture — people who share features of a community within a community, most notably their fluency in sign language. When the word “deaf” is used more broadly to denote the condition of hearing loss, it is lowercased. This history of the development of the language and mores of Deaf people provides a basis for understanding the current climate in the Deaf world. Padden and Humphries expose the conflicts and discrimination the Deaf have faced over the years and the approaches they have used to surmount obstacles and survive as a community. The authors provide the historical background not only for its intrinsic value and interest, but also as a means to explore avenues that could ensure the future of the Deaf as they confront perceived threats to their culture, language, and way of life.

Young Women Learning Sign Language at a School for the Deaf, 1930s.

It is in addressing these threats that the authors — either unwittingly or with forethought — malign parents of children who are deaf and physicians and scientists in the hearing world who advocate cochlear implantation. The danger of extinction may indeed be real to those who live strictly within the Deaf community; however, the solutions to preserving that culture may also reside within the community, particularly in how the Deaf respond to the challenge of others with hearing loss who choose to live in the hearing world. The professionals in the field of cochlear implantation are not making choices; they are providing options for an alternative way of life.

It is no easy task to convince the majority populace that deafness is a culture, considering the fact that hearing is one of the five senses. The message of “different but equal and together” is critical to the goals set forth in this book, but allowing people to choose a lifestyle is equally compelling. Padden and Humphries's presentation of these marvelous insights into the history and development of the language and beliefs of the Deaf should be viewed as a welcome step in the quest to inform the hearing world of the rich and fertile culture of the authors' beloved community. The facts are powerful and can stand alone as a reminder of the Deaf community's right to exist and be recognized; they should not be weakened by the indictment of members of the hearing world.

Susan Waltzman, Ph.D.
New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016