Rebecca A Withey: Why I feel Deaf Clubs are still so important to the deaf community (BSL)

A friend and I were recently discussing the relevance of deaf clubs in todays modern world. Whilst we both reminisced about the wonderfully fun times we had in deaf clubs growing up, she felt that deaf clubs were now too ‘old fashioned’ to be of importance to the ‘modern deaf person.’

“Most teenagers prefer to be at home with their electronic devices,” she went on. “And everyone knows we all go to normal pubs nowadays for meet ups, like Wetherspoons! Isn’t it better to mix in front of other hearing people not hide away in a room of our own?”

Those were interesting and valid points. Yet from personal experience and also videos I have seen online, I still feel that the presence of a deaf club is undeniably powerful – both to a deaf person’s life and how it shapes a deaf persons identity.

Going to Walsall Deaf Club growing up, it was the one place where I didn’t have to fall in line with the hearing ‘societal norms.’ I didn’t have to keep my voice down and I could laugh as loud as I wanted. I could be as animated and expressive as I liked. I could order a drink at the bar using sign language and I could chat to just about anyone who came into the centre.

Attending a deaf club, you don’t have to worry about being judged or attracting abuse from hearing people who may mock you or pretend to do fake signing. It’s a complete safe space. You’re free to express yourself as clearly as you want to and it was actually in a deaf club where I enjoyed so many stories and jokes told by elder deaf members.

It was also at the deaf club that I learnt most of my signing as a child. I didn’t go to classes or have deaf parents so it was the influence of these people around me that enabled me to learn the language. It was authentic, grassroots BSL and perhaps the best place for anyone to learn to sign!

I have also been one of the many people who have enjoyed the videos shared online by the Jewish Deaf Association. Their videos are fun accounts of what their deaf members get up to together; detailing day trips out, visits from local fire fighters and even simple games that they play together. The videos are so much fun to watch and the individual characters we see are hilariously filled with personality.

What the Jewish Deaf Association have done here is encapsulate the wholesome feeling you get when you visit a Deaf Centre. Everyone has their own personality, there’s feistiness and silliness but ultimately it feels like one big family that you belong to.

I felt that for myself too when I recently attended a Deaf Quiz Night. The event had been organised to raise money for a local deaf school in memory of a local deaf man who died. As there is no longer a physical deaf centre in our town it was heart warming to see so many of us turn up for this event at a regular community centre.

At the quiz night there were deaf people of all ages – from young to old – and there were refreshments, hot food, a raffle, the quiz and plenty of time to chat to others. Before we began the quiz we all stood up and bowed our heads for one minute in silence to remember three deaf people who had all recently died.

This simple act of gathering as a community to pay our respects felt so heartwarming that it reminded me of why the deaf clubs really are so important.

As safe spaces, they allow you to express who you really are. They also enable you to come together with others, to socialise and communicate in your preferred language. They also encourage you to engage in activities that don’t involve technology – quizzes, games and so on. All of these things are so important for our overall wellbeing.

My own time at the deaf club shaped my views on the world growing up. I came to see deaf people as funny, welcoming and lots of fun. As a result I embraced that part of myself that loved a laugh and a comical story. Sure, you can have a nice meal at Wetherspoons but it isn’t really the same as the homemade sandwiches, cake and cups of tea served at a local deaf club, is it?

I also feel that having your own space to come together is an important aspect of any culture, one that allows you to preserve and celebrate the language and all the other cultural aspects of a community.

My local deaf club was the first place that I came to love my deafness. And even now whenever I gather with other deaf people for charity events or sporting occasions and so on, I am always reminded of the uniqueness of our community and how powerful coming together in person really feels.

Technology can never replace social interaction and as great as pubs and clubs are for integration, there’s nowhere that’s quite like The Deaf Club for me.

Rebecca Anne Withey is a freelance writer with a background in Performing Arts & Holistic health. She is also profoundly deaf, a sign language user and pretty great lipreader. She writes on varied topics close to her heart in the hope that they may serve to inspire others.