About The Survey
This survey is aimed at people who identify as D/deaf, Hard of Hearing/ Hearing Impaired - and who are Queer/ Gay/ Lesbian/ Bisexual/ Transgender/ Transvestite - "GLBT" for short. It seeks the views of people who do not identify with any "heterosexual norm" in regard to sexual identity, diversity, culture and what it means to have a "sensory impairment", as well as any exclusion from society experienced.
There is a 'gap' in published research concerning sexual diversity, participation and belonging to various sub-cultures based on differing notions of sexual identity, culture and what it means to have sensory impairment, and the role of advocacy and service organisations in the Australian context. Australian citizens continue to experience lifetime exclusion because they are unrepresented and marginalized.
The Queer and Deaf cultures do not appear to be well informed about each other, yet it could be said there are similarities. That perhaps 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents may have similarities to how gay children grow up in heterosexual families. Under some conditions, they could be "outsiders" - if parents try to force their children to be "normal", insisting they learn to speak and cutting them off from any Deaf Culture. Feelings of "being lesser" and less deserving of love can contribute to isolation.
Apparently Australia has the highest rate of mainstreaming for Deaf children, with a minority of parents opting to have their children taught at special schools. Prof Merv Hyde, director of the Centre for Applied Studies in Deafness at Griffith University said (2004) "what you've got is an inclusive educational experience that can be an excluding social experience".
In the USA there are Deaf Gay cultures with some visibility through the spectra of Gay Cultures. There is an extensive Deaf Gay scene. Evidence of this includes the Deaf Gay and Lesbian Centre in San Francisco and the Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf, which is a social and political club of more than 500 Deaf Gay/ Lesbian/ Bisexual/ Transgender persons. There is also a Deaf Queer Resource Centre, and reportedly over 10,000 subscribers to a Deaf Gay E-mail list. A World Deaf AIDS Day is observed on December 4; there is an annual Mr. International Deaf Leather competition, as well as internet sites devoted to matters of interest to persons Deaf and Queer.
The Deaf Gay activist President of the USA's Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf says there is "a lot happening that most people don't know about - It's our own world." But GLBT persons generally do not know how to include and interact with the sub-cultures of Deaf and Ho/HI populations. There are communication challenges to contact and mutual embrace, let alone integration.
In Australia, there is evidence that three associations of and for GLBT Deaf persons existed. In the recent past, a group called ADGLA (Australian Deaf Gay and Lesbian Association) existed briefly, and described itself as the national body of the Deaf Gay and Lesbian community in Australia. That organization previously had a website and phone numbers in Sydney, but seems not to exist any longer. The Australian Deaf Gay Lesbian Association (ADGLA) [was] the national body of the Deaf Gay and Lesbian community in Australia. ADGLA [intended to hold] a national conference for members every two years, with branches in Sydney, NSW; Prahran Vic and North Perth, WA.
What are the benefits of the research to you?
This research could be of benefit in the provision of advocacy and services, contribute to reduced exclusion, enhance stakeholder lifestyles and organizational credibility. Improved circumstances and relationships between service organization stakeholders is a goal.
What are the risks to you?
It is proposed that interviews be conducted on the basis of Protected Anonymity, unless respondents elect otherwise. Under these conditions, data collected is de-identified if not already anonymous. The data will be destroyed one year after presentation of the final work.
Where there may be identification by inference or by election to disclose, sensitive issues can be treated in an appropriate manner or those aspects de-identified by devices such as "A viewpoint expressed during the gathering of data", with the viewpoints being incorporated elsewhere in the narrative.
This research has no pre-conceived notions in regard to advocacy or service organizations, their stakeholders or the sub-cultures within them. Publicly available materials suggest attempts by special interest groups to establish connection and voice in service organization environments. Exclusion of sub-cultures from access to information and participation has been a cause of discontent over centuries, and this research seeks only to add to the store of human co-operation and contentment, not quarrel and division.
Who am I?
My name is Warwick Abrahams and I am a mature age (62yrs) PhD research student candidate at Griffith University, Logan Campus, in the School of Human Services, Socio-Legal Research Centre. My PhD research is concerned with sub-cultural groups within organization contexts. I have had a history of vision impairment and degenerative eye problems since infancy. As a queer man with vision impairment I wondered if D/deaf culture allowed the creation of organizations catering for persons who are of diverse sexualities, more than seemed possible for people who are Blind.
I'm interested in the conditions that help sub-cultural groups survive to cater for the needs of persons who are of diverse sexualities. I also want the advocacy and service organizations to survive, fulfill their missions, and represent stakeholder interests. The research is basically two case studies: one being of circumstances for persons who are blind and vision impaired who might seek advocacy and services from various organisations/groups. The other case study is about conditions for D/deaf persons who also might seek advocacy and services from various organisations/groups.
Working Title of the Research Project
Organizations and sexual diversity: sensory impairment, sub-cultures and representation.
The Research Team are all at the School of Human Services, Griffith University, Logan Campus, University Drive, Meadowbrook, Queensland, 4131.
| Student researcher: | Warwick Abrahams warwick.abrahams@student.griffith.edu.au |
| Supervisor: | Dr. Fiona Kumari Campbell fiona.campbell@griffith.edu.au |
| Associate supervisor: | Dr. Jane Fowler j.fowler@griffith.edu.au |