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BREDA CARTY hat is identity? How do we, as Deaf people, define identity? Australian Sign Language does not have a single sign that corresponds to this English word. Identity is a very complicated concept, and most sign languages have signs for different aspects of it. For example, the sign for "identifying with a group" is often an emphasized form of JOIN. Many of the terms Deaf people in Australia use to describe themselves and others are about identity rather than about hearing level. Examples include DEAF, STRONG-DEAF, ORAL, THINK-HEARING, HEARING, etc. For the purposes of this paper, identity will be defined as "the condition of being oneself ... and not another" (The Macquarie Dictionary, 1985) and as "the subjective sense of his own situation and his own continuity and character that an individual comes to obtain as a result of his various social experiences" (Goffman, 1963, p. 129). The search for identity is the search for answers to the questions "Who am I?" and "Where do I belong?" According to Erikson (1968), a sense of identity develops as a person learns to resolve internal conflicts. These conflicts must be resolved in order for one to develop fully. One of the major conflicts to be resolved during adolescence is that of identity versus confusion, and the resolution of this conflict results in a sense of one's own identity . The sense of identity is considered crucial for the satisfactory resolution of further crises in a person's life, such as the ability to form relationships and to become a mature, productive, self-accepting adult. Some social scientists (e.g., Goffman, 1963) have proposed two types of identitypersonal identity and social identity. In their view, one realizes personal identity within a sometimes restrictive social milieu. Other researchers, such as Laing (1965), and existentialist philosophers also propose dual identities-the true self and the false selfand they warn of a danger of alienation if there is too much discrepancy between the two. So it seems the central question of "Who am I?" almost always involves some conflict between the individual and society. Lack of resolution of the conflict is generally agreed to have serious consequences in a person's life. We Deaf people, like everyone else, must develop a sense of identity that enables us to function effectively as whole persons throughout our lives. If asked, "How important is deafness in this identity development?" any Deaf person will answer that it is crucial. Both as individuals and as members of a community, Deaf people have developed an identity based on their deafness. Some of the characteristics of Deaf identity include: The Development of Deaf Identity 1. embracing deafness as an essential, positive part of oneself, 2. recognizing and participating in Deaf culture, particularly through Sign Language ,and 3. interpreting the surrounding world in a way that is compatible with one's experience as a deaf person. Studying how Deaf identity develops is especially challenging because 90 percent of Deaf people do not learn the essential characteristics of this identity from their families, and because the development of this identity is actively discouraged by the educational system most Deaf people grow up in. A further difficulty in exploring the development of this identity is that many Deaf people have effectively blocked out some of the painful experiences that have shaped their identities. Recalling these experiences may be seen as risking loss of acceptance by the larger Deaf community. The following description of Deaf identity from an Australian perspective is based on discussions at Deaf studies workshops around Australia. These groups consisted of Deaf people from both Deaf and hearing families, as well as children of Deaf adults (CODAs), hearing professionals, and hearing people with no connection with the Deaf community. Two starting points for discussing Deaf identity emerged from these workshops: 1. "I thought everyone in the world was deaf." 2. "I thought I was the only deaf person in the world." The first statement is obviously from Deaf people with Deaf parents and/or siblings . Essentially, what these people are saying is, "I thought I was normal; I thought everyone was like me because those closest to me were like me. I was not aware of being 'deaf' in any sense." The experiences of these Deaf people are of great importance in studying the development of Deaf identity, because they are the only Deaf people who learn language, culture, and the beginnings of identity from their parents. They become the bearers or...

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