Rachel Shenton Quotes

We have our own culture, our own community. A lot of people don't realize that. They just assume that deaf people are very unfortunate, very disabled, but no.

The deaf community is hungry to see itself in the most positive way.

There are two worlds: the deaf world and the hearing world. There are some people in the deaf community that feel that hearing people look down on us.

I just have a connection with sign language. I always thought the deaf community was a different community to be a part of. In high school, me and my friend took sign language.

Since I knew my deaf identity since birth, it wasn't hard for me to be comfortable, confident, and independent in a hearing world.

Raising awareness about the Deaf culture is a huge cause that I advocate. Because both of my parents are deaf, I am passionate about it in an entirely different way.

If someone says: "I don't want to have a cochlear implant, because I want my child to grow up with a rich sense of deaf culture," he must acknowledge that the deaf culture that exists in the world today has a different scale than the deaf culture that's likely to exist in the world 50 years from now.

I am fourth-generation deaf, which means everyone in my immediate family is deaf. So I grew up always having 100 percent accessibility to language and communication, which was wonderful and something so many deaf people don't have.

In the deaf community, in order to play a role of someone with a hearing loss... you have to have hearing loss.

In the deaf community, there are different types of people who have different philosophies. Some believe that they should only sign. Some believe they should only speak. Some people say you should use cued speech. Some say you should use cochlear implants. Some say you shouldn't sign. Some people say you should sign.

Growing up, I was always involved in the deaf community.

I'm happy being deaf. I'm happy with my life and my family.

I've been involved in the deaf community for years, and my friends in the community that are actors or performers get very frustrated when they see hearing people portraying a deaf role.

I am one hundred percent ready to be a spokesperson for the deaf community.

I am the fourth generation of being deaf.

I had never thought about what it might mean to be deaf, to be deprived of language, or to have a remarkable language (and community and culture) of one’s own. Up to this point, I had mostly thought and written about the problems of individuals–here I was to encounter an entire community.

Let your deafness no longer be a secret - even in art.

It was intimidating to play a deaf character. There's a whole culture in the deaf community and I really wanted to know a lot about that and honor it in the work.

Say what you want about the deaf.

And I found out about the wonderful world of sign language. I suddenly realized: If we as a society recognize Jewish culture, gay culture and Latino culture, we must recognize that this is a coherent culture, too. I think deafness is a disability for social constructionist reasons.

Deaf people can do anything, except hear.

Sign language was a great experience. I have a deaf aunt that I am able to communicate with because of that class.

I know deaf people. I have discussed the issues with them I've also thought about them a lot so I have some insights that go a little further than people who haven't had contact with the deaf community.

I know what it's like to be growing up, called 'deaf and mute' and 'deaf and dumb.' They're words that are very degrading and demeaning to people who are deaf and hard of hearing. It's almost... it's almost libelous, if you want to say that.

The deaf community and the hearing community, there's not always a ton of interaction.