Shattering deaf and hearing dualism through a Deaf-Latinx epistemology lens

Abstract

The intersectional identities and lived experiences of Signing Latinx^1,2 are insufficiently documented. Reflecting on my own lived experiences, I began to question traditional research paradigms that often neglected the stories shared by individuals from different communities within the larger Signing Latinx community.³ As I was introduced to Critical Race Theory, I was drawn to Deaf Critical Theory and Latinx Critical Theory. However, after analyzing both frameworks I recognized how many unique Deaf-Latinx related issues were overlooked. Deaf-Latinx ways of being and knowing need to be considered when working with Deaf-Latinx, especially in the classroom. I am pleased to share how my Deaf Chicana⁴ consciousness awakening has led me to propose a new theoretical framework, Deaf-Latinx Critical Theory (Deaf-LatCrit) with four interlocking tenets and their associated benefits. This unifying model may be a force to strengthen and solidify this unique community through the voices of Deaf-Latinx and their families.

Keywords:

• DeafLatCrit Theory
• intersectionality
• Deaf
• Latinx

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 I recognize not everyone in the community accepts the term Latinx since it deviates from traditional grammar and some find it difficult to pronounce. Deaf-Latina/o (Deaf-Lat) was the term originally used in my dissertation. However, my thinking has changed over time. I now choose to use ‘x’ to neutralize the gendered Spanish language and to break gender binaries. At the time of this writing, Latine is being proposed as an ideal term. Language is known to be fluid and ever-changing and so is this term. For this article, I will use Latinx.

2 Signing Latinx consists of individuals who descend from Latin American, Central American, and Mexican heritage or the Caribbean Islands with AfroLatinx and/or Indigenous roots, and who identify as DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Late-Deafened, and communicate using sign language or a pro-tactile sign language. When discussing Latinxs in the U.S., we need to consider different groups: colonized and voluntary im/migrants, refugees and U.S. born with a very complicated history of colonialism.

3 While some Latinx individuals who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing speak orally without signing, the main focus of this article is on the Signing Latinx community in the United States.

4 My gender pronouns are she, her, or hers. Therefore, I indicate my identity with the letter ending with ‘a.’ My identification as Mexicana, Latina, Chicana, or Xicana depends on the space I find myself in.

5 Signed language is often misunderstood as gestures that are part of a communication system, that it is universal, or expressed in the exact word order as written or spoken languages. Signed language possesses its own unique rules of grammar and syntax, legitimizing it as a language, and those rules also differ among various cultural, racial, or national groups.

6 In the Signing community, this term, hearing, (or hearing people), is used to refer to a dominantly privileged group who use their ears and mouth to obtain or share world knowledge.

7 Audism is known as “a notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who hears” (Humphries, 1977, p. 12).

8 This statement promotes hearing ways of communicating and could be said to be part of assimilation in education. Some Deaf children who rely on sign language to acquire world knowledge were prohibited from signing and forced to speak orally. If they were caught signing, they faced harsh punishment. See https://www.gazettenet.com/Clarke-School-alumni-detail-abuse-they-suffered-19985099

9 Initially, I used the term color-blindness but have since learned it is considered an ableist statement. Searching for a better word I finally encountered the work of Annamma et al. (2017).

10 I use the broader term linguicism as opposed to the more restrictive term audism which applies to sign language only. Signing Latinx and their families face significant oppression, such as raciolinguistic, relative to multilingualism (multiple spoken and sign languages).

11 Nonetheless, this statistic may be misleading since (a) not all schools participated in the survey, and (b) due to nativism, families (particularly undocumented immigrant families) are not always willing to disclose full information to schools.

12 The Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth has not been conducted since 2014. This is extremely concerning since we are losing important data especially if we want to monitor the academic success of historically marginalized DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing students of color.

13 It is reported that 9 out of 58 teacher preparation programs prepare their students for bilingual education settings (Deaf Education, (2017). However, none of the bilingual education settings are invested in incorporating home languages as part of language resources in the classrooms.

14 In his history related book chapter, “Savage and Deaf-Mutes”: Evolutionary Theory and the Campaign Against Sign Language in the Nineteenth Century, Baynton identified a connection between oralism and racism in the work among oralists.

15 Skutnabb-Kangas 2014) believed audism has a role in linguicism. Further, I prefer to use the term linguicism since the experiences of signing Latinx individuals typically involve multiple spoken languages and signed languages.

16 Interpreters who use two completely different languages during translation: American Sign Language and English.

17 The trenza has been used as a conceptual metaphor to discuss braided identities, analytical tools, or theoretical frameworks (see Delgado Bernal, 2008; Gonzalez, 1998; Montoya, 1994).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Carla García-Fernández

Carla García-Fernández is an assistant professor in the Deaf Studies Department at California State University, Northridge. Carla's research interest focuses on Deaf Chicanx, Latinx, and Indigenous communities and Ethnic Studies.