Deaf migration through an intersectionality lens

Abstract

This article is based on an empirical research study of deaf migration, using an intersectional lens. The study of migration and the lens of intersectionality are increasingly being deployed in academic circles but both are very recent when it comes to the study of deaf people. Our key reason for using the lens of intersectionality is twofold. Firstly, we believe that it enables us to highlight the experiences of people who tend to be neglected in the scholarly literature -in this article, our focus will a case study of two Black deaf African migrants. Secondly, we want to encourage the reader not merely to 'add' migration as an identity/experience of the lives of a community of deaf peoples but to examine and explore the interlocking relations of power that they experience. We believe intersectionality is an ideal lens through which to do so. Points of interest• In the literature on the study of disabled people when many identities are being examined it is not always clear if deaf migrants are included; in this article we do so. • We studied interviews that had been held covering the life experience of two deaf migrants, which were undertaken within a larger research project. • We found it useful to look at deaf migrants' different experiences within institutions such as education and the Home Office, in relation to their identities such as ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class or religion • We found that while deaf migrants experience discrimination and racism from deaf and hearing people alike, they also find means of solidarity and support from different hearing and deaf people and groups. • It is suggested that social policymakers and deaf communities can miss or neglect deaf migrants' wide range of life experiences -these need to be identified and included when forming policy.

Representation and diversity in the sign language translation and interpreting profession in the United Kingdom

“…Issues of intersectional identity, inclusion and representation in deaf communities have taken on new significance (see, for example, Chapple et al, 2021; Emery & Iyer, 2022; Leigh & O’Brien, 2020; Obasi, 2022), and as such also in the SLTI profession (Parkins-Maliko, 2022; Sikder, 2019). Developing an evidence base is vital to our understanding of representation within the SLTI profession (Obasi, 2013).…”

Neuro-Abilities and a Good Life

“…Disability studies students are very aware that the ability to have a good life is even more hindered if the "disability" intersects with other marginalized characteristics, which make one disadvantaged. Intersectionality is a big topic within disability studies [124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132].…”

The Role of Modality in L2 Learning: The Importance of Learners Acquiring a Second Sign Language (M2L2 and M1L2 Learners)

“…Finally, expanding sign language acquisition research to include M1L2 signers also invites serious analysis of rich multilingual practices that have been overlooked under the native‐signer paradigm that places high value on monolingualism, or at least the use of one language at a time. An emerging literature on deaf migrants (e.g., Emery & Iyer, 2021) addresses languaging strategies of mobile deaf populations as they encounter new language environments, bringing with them both their initial systems and any languages they learned subsequently. Their linguistic developmental trajectories and those of their children may well differ from “typical” L1 patterns (Harrelson, 2019; Swanwick et al., 2021) and raise questions about how to analyze semantic, morphosyntactic, and phonological aspects of multilingual–multimodal languaging, and how it affects ultimate acquisition across generations.…”