When Being Deaf is Centered: d/Deaf Women of Color’s Experiences With Racial/Ethnic and d/Deaf Identities in College

Abstract

Approximately 30% of d/Deaf students are successfully completing college; the reasons for such a low graduation rate is unknown (Destler & Buckly, 2011). Most research on d/Deaf college students lack racial/ethnic diversity within the study; thus, it is unclear how d/Deaf Students of Color are faring in higher education or what experiences they are having. It is no longer appropriate or socially just to conduct research that does not intentionally seek out the voices of d/Deaf Students of Color. Using a fundamental descriptive qualitative methodology, this paper sheds light on a population of students, d/Deaf Women of Color, who are often invisible within the mainstream higher education literature and expands our understand of the types of experiences they are having related to their racial/ethnic and d/Deaf identity while attending college.

To Deaf or not to deaf: That is the Question

“…In her article, Burch (1997) felt it necessary to add emphasis when she defined the usage of deaf versus Deaf, "for the sake of efficiency and clarity…" (p. 1). Additionally, Stapleton (2015) added a footnote in her article defining d/Deaf to make it consistent with all of the arguments and perspectives mentioned above. She emphasized, "In this study, d/Deaf is used because the differences are not always clearly identified in the literature or among the participants" (2015, p. 570).…”

Blessing or A Curse? Exploring the Identity and Lived Experiences of Australian, Lebanese-Muslim Women with Hearing Impairment

“…The experiences of individuals with hearing impairment, as well as research on the 'Deaf' community, is stereotyped to mean "White or White people, and this must change [1]". Only a small body of research explores the "minority within a minority [2]" or individuals who do not fit in the dominant 'Deaf' community, due to their ethnic and cultural background.…”

“…Terms like 'hearing impaired' and 'hearing impairment' are commonly used to describe the audiological deficiency or condition [6] and Najarian [4] suggests that identifying someone as 'hearing impaired' may have negative connotations, so 'hard of hearing' is sometimes used instead. This paper will use the term 'd/Deaf' because identity terms are fluid and not always clear [1,5].…”

“…While Najarian [4] focused on women, they did not explore how d/Deaf women negotiate cultural and ethnic identities. Stapleton [1] explored women who were the "only d/Deaf people in their hearing families and were negotiating racial and ethnic identities" while Foster & Kinuthia [2] who coined the term "minority within a minority" where individuals experience challenges due to both their deafness and ethnicity, concluded that an individual is a "constellation of many parts, some of which are stronger than others". The limitations of both studies [1,2] included a focus on American college students and with no participant who identified as Muslim or from a Middle Eastern background.…”

“…Stapleton [1] explored women who were the "only d/Deaf people in their hearing families and were negotiating racial and ethnic identities" while Foster & Kinuthia [2] who coined the term "minority within a minority" where individuals experience challenges due to both their deafness and ethnicity, concluded that an individual is a "constellation of many parts, some of which are stronger than others". The limitations of both studies [1,2] included a focus on American college students and with no participant who identified as Muslim or from a Middle Eastern background. Willoughby [7] revealed that over 300 d/Deaf Australians from different migrant backgrounds, who lived in the state of Victoria, experienced challenges integrating into the Deaf community and accessing support services, but no comparable research has been conducted in the Australian state of New South Wales, specifically the city of Sydney, (where the author is resident) or included women with hearing loss from a Lebanese-Muslim background.…”