*Note that "Deaf" is capitalized when it refers to the cultural minority of those who live in America, primarily value ASL as their native/fluent language, adhere to ASL and Deaf norms, pass down such cultural values and beliefs to future generations, and take pride in their wholeness/humanity/self-reliance as Deaf individuals making their way through a majority hearing world. This is similar to the convention of capitalizing "African-American" or "Italian-American" or "Chinese-American", as proper nouns for distinct cultural groups.

There is a huge conversation regarding "D"eaf and 'd'eaf. The most basic differentiation and categorization is that "deaf" (lowercase 'd') indicates a physical impairment or lack of the sense of hearing (from mild, to moderate, to severe/profound). It's a general medical and legal term that describes anatomy and injury. This term doesn't focus on the entire person, but more so prioritizes a broken feature, or something that is abnormal and needs to be fixed. It is deficit-focused.

Those who are "Deaf", on the other hand, as stated in the first paragraph above, revel in a feeling of community, culture, language, and shared history/future with like-minded and connected individuals, especially in America.

They focus on community and “ties that bind:

• Shared common language, ASL;

• Collectivist culture and similar experiences (visual-gestural perspective and daily experiences);

• Supportive of each other regardless of hearing ability/loss; core group—Deaf of Deaf (of Deaf...);

• Common schooling experiences and friendships: state school for the Deaf, local public school “Deaf Education Programs”, and/or college/university (Gallaudet, NTID, etc.)

Recognizing that a visual-gestural language is a filter through which they all experience the hearing world may be a huge perspective shift for you as you read this! Consider that Deaf people are forced to interact with their surroundings and the public, attempting to cross that communication bridge fully in order to access daily life. But the world is set up for hearing/sighted/speaking people, not Deaf/signing individuals (statistically there are fewer Deaf/signing than hearing/speaking individuals, so this is just a stark reality).

Most people who grew up hearing (and then lost their hearing later in life) will prefer to still maintain their "hearing" status and identity. They might choose "Hard of Hearing" or "deaf". But unless they learn ASL, go to social events with signing Deaf people, subscribe to Deaf norms and approaches, they won't accept "Deaf" (capital "D") as their identity. This is true for grandparents and older family members whose first language is a spoken language.

Q: What about me? I'm learning ASL...will I be accepted into the Deaf Community?

A: There are multiple avenues into the Deaf Community: Audiological, Linguistic, Social, and Cultural.

1. The first and most obvious—Audiological—would be to have a hearing loss that affected how you went about your everyday life (one or both ears, to a profound extent.

2. Linguistic—learning ASL! This can apply to YOU, or to friends/family that want to be able to communicate with their Deaf children and/or Deaf family members.

3. A third way, would be Social—attending and supporting Deaf Community-led events and organizations.

4. Finally, Cultural—you would be a loud and proud proponent/ally of the causes that Deaf People in America are currently championing:

   • Bilingual/Bicultural education in Pre-K through 12th Grades;

   • Early Hearing and Detection Screening/Intervention in hospitals for newborns, along with a team of qualified/trained Deaf Community representatives who can meet parents and provide a more balanced explanation/introduction to ASL, Deaf World, Deaf Community, etc.;

   • Deaf actors getting priority representation in media and films (instead of hearing "signers" being hired for "Deaf"/signing characters);

   • ASL being formally recognized as a language of the United States;

   • ASL being offered in K-12 education settings as a bona fide and acceptable "foreign language" option; etc.

In many ways, a hearing/signing person in America can join the American Deaf Community from at least 3 different avenues. But there will always be one barrier—audiologically being deaf.

(There are many other identities and avenues to connect with the multi-cultural American Deaf Community as well.)

*For some in the Deaf Community, deaf is part of idiomatic phrases—"deaf as a doornail", "deaf and dumb", "deafmute", or "falls on deaf ears". In all of these colloquial phrases, "deaf" indicates impairment and inability. (These phrases are now currently considered non-politically correct amongst Deaf ASL users. There is a small movement to get such insensitive remarks and phrases removed from daily communication, social media postings, and writings, as they represent micro-aggressions and oppression/discrimination, intended or not.) [Hint: "deafmute" and "deaf and dumb" are considered insulting, oppressive, and politically incorrect, as being able to speak/emit vocalizations has no connection to the sense of hearing. Many Deaf can speak and communicate verbally, but choose not to, as they cannot access the spoken responses from others! Why would they set themselves up to not have access to 1/2 of the conversation?]

"deaf or Deaf?" - Deaf Health Charity - Sign Health (UK)

The Difference between d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing - AI Media

NAD Resources - "deaf", "Deaf", "Hard of Hearing"?