Deafness, community and culture in Britain: leisure and cohesion 1945–1995

Deafness, Community and Culture in Britain provides an insightful account of deaf communal identity and culture, drawing on data derived from an analysis of British Deaf Times and British Deaf News. This book provides a thought-provoking survey of the contribution of deaf clubs to deaf socialisation (2) and advocacy (161–163 and 175). Although membership of such clubs is now on the decline, their legacy in fostering more positive self-identities and facilitating political activism is evident in both the greater confidence of younger generations and the increased opportunities available to them. Such affirmation counteracts the privileging of the medical model of deafness as disability.

Deaf community and culture

Atherton notes the distinction between the physicality of deafness and social perceptions of deafness. He contends that the ratio of deafened people in the British population is likely to be as high as one in seven (14). Of these there is a sub-group that through necessity communicates in a ‘visual-gestural’ mode (15) and for whom the attitudes of audist society can be a significant ‘disabling factor’ (17). Deafness, Community and Culture in Britain focuses on communities of deaf people, people who have chosen to socialise together based on communal experiences and interests occasioned by their deafness; deafness which could be congenital or have onset latterly.

Deaf clubs

Historically the development of deaf clubs can be traced back to the Poor Law of 1834, under which three categories of paupers could be placed in workhouses (the able, the old and unwell, and those deemed to have mental impairments). Many deaf people were forced to enter these establishments because of their hearing impairment. Soon after this legislation entered the statute books, organised networks of deaf welfare societies sprang up. Small independent societies had been in existence since the end of the eighteenth century, motivated by religious fervour, self-help and charity. In 1890 the British Deaf and Dumb Association, which later became the British Deaf Association, was founded. This was an organisation for deaf people led by deaf people and most deaf clubs became affiliated to it. As these clubs evolved, their outlook and the leisure opportunities they afforded was working class in ethos (51). In addition they provided a vital mechanism for people to maintain the friendships and ties they had formed whilst attending deaf schools in the days before digital media made it easy for people to communicate with those not living nearby.

Leisure and sport

Appropriating Bishop and Hoggett (1995), Atherton suggests that involvement in deaf clubs facilitates ‘social exchange’, with its rich psychological and emotional benefits. Deaf clubs afforded their members the means to gain ‘social capital’ (Peillon 1998), fostering and maintaining bonds, a sense of belonging and communal identity, as Deafness, Community and Culture in Britain sees it. The chief means of communication for these clubs was a series of newspapers culminating in British Deaf News, which was founded in 1955 when British Deaf Times and Deaf News merged. Drawing upon the quantitative data in British Deaf Times and British Deaf News documenting the social activities of deaf clubs and deaf sport, it is possible to see that deaf people enjoyed a diverse range of leisure pursuits from choirs to golf, dispelling many stereotypes attributed to them.

Although these publications only provide a window onto deaf leisure and culture, the amount of data available is still quite considerable. In light of this, Atherton uses north-west England as a case study to illustrate the factors involved. One defining feature is the level of enjoyment gained from visiting and being visited by other deaf people, a pleasure which set the tone for many club-based events (127), ranging from hosted visits to communal holidays and trips. Fundraising activities, such as fashion shows (137) and the provision of educational and self-help opportunities (140), are likewise prominent.

In terms of sporting endeavour, 11 sports hold sway (football, cricket, athletics, bowls, dominoes, snooker/billiards/pool, darts, chess, badminton, table tennis and swimming), and sport was for the most part enjoyed indoors (143–144). Atherton concludes from analysis of the leisure and sporting pursuits of deaf communities and clubs that most appear similar to those enjoyed by other social groupings, with one minor exception – a slightly less diverse range of sporting choices. The drive behind the recreations seems to be the pleasure in engaging in them with those who shared their interests, their deaf culture.

Impact

Although the focus of Deafness, Community and Culture in Britain is on deaf communities, clubs and leisure pursuits, the book’s thorough account of the diverse issues involved in community identity and the development of clubs and the impact of modern digital communication will be of interest to those engaged with social and cultural history, disability studies and the provision of community services more widely. The contextualisation of the results from quantitative analysis of the data from deaf newspapers provides an alternative perspective for examining hearing-related difficulties and interventions.

Bonnie Millar
NIHR Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit,
Otology and Hearing Group, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
[email protected]
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4535-4828
© 2017 Bonnie Millar
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2017.1283839