Deafhood – reconceptualisation of the concept of deafness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26485/PS/2025/74.2/9Keywords:
deafhood, deafness, cultural identity, oppression, decolonization, Deaf community, sign languageAbstract
This article addresses the concept of deafhood, which redefines the understanding of deafness by moving away from the medical model that views deafness as a deficit, toward a cultural perspective where deafness is an integral part of identity. The authors present the development of this concept, initiated by Paddy Ladd, who introduced deafhood as a term that better reflects the full experience of Deaf individuals. This concept emphasises self-realisation and cultural affirmation, opposing the colonisation by hearing people and the pathologisation of deafness. The process of deafhood is described as a journey toward emancipation, with stages including oppression, awareness of oppression, resilience, and decolonisation. The article also discusses research perspectives for the Polish context, proposing empirical studies on the Polish Deaf community in order to better understand their cultural and linguistic identity. The authors suggest introducing the term “Głuchość” as the Polish equivalent of deafhood, to clearly distinguish between the medical and cultural approaches to deafness, highlighting the distinctiveness of Deaf culture and identity
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