Emily Howlett: The debate about big D and little d

Who are you?

That’s a pretty big question to open with, I know. But it can be both incredibly difficult and incredibly easy to answer. 

I could say, “I’m Emily Howlett”, and that’s an end to it. A simple answer. But it doesn’t tell you much about me. 

I could say, “I’m Emily Howlett and I am fairly obsessed with tea, I eat too many crisps, I have a dog called George who doesn’t eat any crisps but really wishes he could.” That tells you a bit more about me, but, actually, I could write two pages about myself and you still wouldn’t necessarily know who I am. 

It’s tricky isn’t it? Who we are is so huge and nuanced, and also changes from day to day. 

Yesterday I was a grumpy bag of frustrations, but today I’m much more positive. 

Yesterday, I would have said I am BLOODY DEAF AND CANNOT UNDERSTAND YOU IF YOU DON’T SIGN, IDIOT. Today I’m more “deaf, but can lip-read well so am sure we will be able to communicate just fine”.

So, it becomes difficult to label my deafness, just as it is ultimately difficult to label anything. I’m a parent, but I’m probably not the exact same kind of mother you had. I’m a director, but I’m not exactly like any of the other directors out there.

What I’m saying is, labels are useful, but they aren’t always helpful. A single label can’t take into account the huge variety which comes under it. 

It’s widely accepted now to use ‘LGBTQ+’ rather than ‘gay’, because we know there is such a wide range of different identities under what was previously the ‘gay’ label. Admittedly, many people think ‘LGBTQ+’ isn’t perfect, but it’s a step in the right (more inclusive) direction.

Which brings me to the ‘d/Deaf’ label. 

Mainstream companies and individuals seem to be finally using this label, when the deaf community themselves are moving away from it as divisive. So the companies who think they are progressive and inclusive are maybe… not. 

But as a community, the general feeling is that d/Deaf is outdated. There’s been call for just ’deaf’ or just ‘Deaf’, because it is the split ‘d/D’ that feels divisive.

If we were to adopt only the lower case ‘deaf’, then it would allow people from every part of the community, from Hard of Hearing to ‘grassroots’ deaf, to self-identify under that label. But it would potentially remove all the hard work done to recognise the ‘big D’ community and associated culture.

If we were to adopt only the ‘big D’ Deaf label then it would give power to the label, and allow the history of the Deaf community (and our struggles) to stay centre stage. But it alienates a huge number of deaf people who do not feel part of that community.

Many people belong to both communities, or neither, or something not yet clearly defined. The medical term ‘deafness’ covers an absolutely huge range of hearing ability or inability, and the social term ‘deaf’ is no less complex.

Recently I learned that there is the possibility for a many-lettered version of ‘deaf labelling’ , along the same lines at LGBTQ+. I have to admit finding that more inclusive than any d/Deaf variant, but that’s just my personal opinion. I’m also aware that multi-lettered labels are still labels, and still require people to self-identify within the label.

I think this is an ongoing conversation. It is only in recent years that the divisive nature of the d/Deaf label has been examined – previously it has been considered a useful tool to distinguish between ‘grassroots, BSL Deaf’ and ‘lip-reading, non-BSL deaf’ – but our community is not binary, and neither should our labels be. 

For me, I do think we need to either reclaim or redesign our community label, or description, so that is includes everyone.  We need to embrace everyone who is part of the spectrum, and then leave space for them to define who they are within it. And we also need to respect how much, or how little, they want to share about their deaf identity with the rest of us. 

It’s tricky. After all, who we are is so huge and nuanced, and also changes from day to day.

But d/Deaf doesn’t work. We need a new label, one where you don’t have to meet an expectation, or prove where you sit along the line.

We need to allow people to belong. 

Allow people to be. 

Emily Howlett is a profoundly Deaf actress, writer and teacher. She makes an awful lot of tea. And mess. She now has not one, but four grey eyebrow hairs. C’est la vie. She tweets as @ehowlett