Outsiders in a Hearing World: A Book Still Relevant Today

Abstract

Outsiders in a Hearing World: A Book Still Relevant Today Outsiders in a Hearing World: A Sociology of Deafness. Paul C. Higgins. Sage, 1980. 208 pages. $82.00 (paperback).In Outsiders in a Hearing World: A Sociology of Deafness (1980), Paul Higgins was among first to explore sociology of Deaf1 from Deaf perspective. He drew on his personal experiences as a child of Deaf adults (CODA), a teacher in a school for Deaf, and spouse of a teacher of deaf children, as well interviews with D/deaf persons. As a child, Higgins had been immersed in Deaf world and its culture; his first language was American Sign Language (ASL); English was his second. One of his key observations was that deaf persons are (deviants) in a hearing world. Many authors have corroborated his findings and added detail to his descriptions (e.g., Bauman, 2008; Horejes, 2012; Ladd, 2003, Lane, 1992).Higgins adopted term from work of sociologist Howard Becker (1963), who used it to describe a minority group that is somehow different from and stigmatized by larger society in which it exists. He made several observations as to why deaf people were considered outsiders. In this book review, a description of two of Higgins's observations will be presented. First, he noted that deaf people live in a world dominated by sounds (e.g., traffic, weather, conversation), and that those who can hear depend on sounds to participate in that world. He argued that because deaf people cannot hear, they literally live in a world of their own, in silence; thus, they are outsiders. Second, concept explained that while society at large makes assumptions and even creates realities about various minority groups, especially those with disabilities, process is a complex one, as society's perceptions of deaf continue to be developed and promulgated by those who can hear. Yet often, hearing people are unaware of experiences, culture, and language of Deaf people, or how they navigate hearing world. This ignorance and lack of empathy enables hearing people to treat deaf persons as outsiders.In order to reveal how little has changed for deaf people, a sizeable and nearly invisible segment of American society, this book review will examine Higgins's findings and connect them with more recent literature about deafness. Specifically, review will illuminate some misconceptions held by hearing people, and how those misconceptions contribute to deviant or outsider status of deaf persons. And review will show relevance of Higgins's contribution, 36 years later.Outsiders in a Hearing WorldHiggins provided a compelling analogy describing how we are all outsiders in some way. He argued that the poor have had to deal with a world run by those who are not poor. The disabled are in a nondisabled world.... [and] blacks are in a world where color matters (p. 28). Adam (1978, cited by Higgins) described blacks, Jews, and gays as inferiorized people. This term, when applied to Deaf people and Deaf community, does not mean that Deaf people are inherently inferior to hearing society; it portrays how Deaf people have been relegated to an inferior position within hearing society. For some Deaf people, inclusion in Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) perpetuated inferiorization of Deaf people, sup- porting disability model of deafness while excluding cultural model. The disability identification denied Deaf people cultural perspective (Fleischer & Zames, 2011). Yet Deaf people realized that if they were to have access (ASL interpreters, closed and open captioning, etc.), they would have to accept ADA framework (Baynton, Gannon, & Bergey, 2007; Christiansen & Barnartt, 1995).One of key points Higgins (1980) made was that often hearing people consider Deaf people as outsiders; similarly, Deaf people view larger hearing world as strange or different. …