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Voices of Deafness Transcript
Steph Sforza, 31, Teacher's Aide, Lexington School for the Deaf
"Is there such a thing as deaf culture? Yes. It is the most important thing. I value it. I live with it every day ... Most hearing people do not realize ... hearing people have their own culture, but they don't recognize it as their culture. How do I define deaf culture? For example, I would say if a deaf person went over to another deaf person's house and they got into a conversation, they would instantly recognize the same things about life. For example, they would need to have a bright room because they would have to depend on their visual stimuli. And they would walk into the kitchen, because the kitchen is usually the brightest room of all, and they would stand and talk in the kitchen. And hearing people always wonder why are you in the kitchen, why don't you sit in the living room? Because the kitchen is brighter. This is something that deaf people would just naturally aggregate to ... to a room that has the brightest light ... If I had the opportunity to hear, I would not want that. I was already born as deaf. Why would I change that? ... I value being a deaf person because I ... as a deaf person, I know everything is a challenge for me. I know I would have a harder time to communicate with a person in a bank, in a store. When somebody asks me a question, that's a challenge for me. That's something I face every day. That's something I value as a deaf person. I'm not ashamed to be deaf. I was born and I was raised as a deaf person. There's nothing wrong about it."
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