Belonging

Available for over a year

A five-part series of essays that explores what it is like to be deaf in 21st-century Britain. Each essayist has their own personal experience and take on what being part of the deaf community means to them. Some share the little-known divisions and politics of the deaf community and others share what makes the community so special and unique to the point where some deaf people consider themselves as a linguistic minority rather than disabled. Sannah Gulamani, a research assistant at University College London, shares with us how the existence of deafness can actually be seen as a positive, and not a negative, because of inventions such as subtitles and video calls. Sannah, because of navigating through a world of ‘can’ts’, decided to study music at university. But her love of music is often questioned by those who believe that music is the preserve of those with a ‘good ear’. Sannah delves deeper to discuss how her intersectional identities are often misunderstood, and what identity means in terms of belonging. Within this exploration, she examines her interest in the linguists of British Sign Language and what propelled the career shift from music to sign language linguistics. Finally, Sannah asks whether it can be claimed that the deaf community is a space that is welcoming and safe for all deaf individuals. She looks into how racist and offensive signs are still being used as a result of white fragility and privilege. My Deaf World is produced by Camilla Arnold and Sophie Allen with Mark Rickards as Executive Producer. It is a Flashing Lights Media production for BBC Radio 3. A British Sign Language version was filmed, edited and subtitled by Fifi Garfield.