SURDOPHOBIA. My new word of the week. Any guesses? Well, it is the hostility, intolerance or fear against Deaf people, deaf culture and the Deaf Community. Is it a thing? I’ll you decide!

Let me tell you a story a Deaf vicar told me. She was in the supermarket one day paying for her weekly shopping when she felt that someone was staring at her.

She steered her trolley to the car park and felt a tap on the shoulder. Looking around, she saw a smiling lady. “Are you Deaf?” the lady asked. “I am a Christian and I would like to pray for healing to get your hearing.”

My friend had been on this road before. She patiently and politely explained that she had no wish to hear. That she was Deaf and not ill.

“But won’t your parents be so proud when you turn up with your hearing fixed?” the lady asked. “No,” said my friend, “my mother and father are both Deaf!”

At this point the lady’s smile changed to a scowl and with anger she said: “You and your family are cursed.”

My friend got back to the car shaking with rage, terror and frustration. But Surdophobia doesn’t only come in those guises. It can be subtle. I can be a suspicion of sign language. Or, as I saw the other day, that look of shock and bewilderment on peoples’ faces when a Deaf person asks them something in sign language.

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My guess is that the same facial expressions wouldn’t happen if the person was speaking French or Urdu.

And remember Deaf people are the human exemplars of reading facial expression so imagine how they felt when faced with this reaction to a simple question. The Deaf comedian and poet, John Smith, has an amazing video poem about reactions to Deaf people.

Just Google “John Smith Surdophobia” and you will get the message. It is funny, informative, poignant and accessible to you even if you don’t know any BSL.

So is fear of Deaf people a thing? I think so. Perhaps it is best to remember that our common humanity is what counts.