Being and belonging as Deaf South Africans: Multiple identities in SASL poetry

Abstract

This article explores the theme of identity in terms of ‘being and belonging’ in South African Sign Language (SASL) poetry through the close reading of five SASL poems. Previous studies on the literature of other sign languages almost exclusively focus on the construction of an essentialised Deaf identity and the discovery of ‘Deafhood’. The notion of a transnational Deaf identity based on the shared experience of oppression in the hearing-dominant society has been prioritised in the discussion of sign language poetry.However, we claim that, due to the impact of apartheid, Deaf South African poets tend to identify themselves as belonging to both their Deaf and their local hearing communities. Being Deaf is not necessarily their primary concern, and Deaf poets actively seek allies with hearing people in difficult situations resulting from apartheid such as forced removals and living in segregated townships. We also highlight the importance of a physical, geographical sense of ‘home’ in SASL poetry. While the majority of the signed poems studied abroad revolve around the search for an imaginary Deaf land, South African Deaf poets show a strong sense of attachment to the immediate surroundings. We conclude that the identities that emerge in sign language poetry can be constructed not only in terms of a global Deaf identity, but also in terms of the history and politics specific to each country.