ABSTRACT
The biomedical view sees deafness as a physiological loss of audition and the deaf as individuals with an organic abnormality to be corrected; healthcare interventions support this perception. This study sought to understand deafness from the standpoint of the deaf, in order to identify elements for public policies addressed to them in the context of the ethical dimension of care. The research adopted the qualitative approach (focus groups) and 9 members of a deaf community in Fortaleza (Ceará-Brazil), all fluent in Brazilian Sign Language-LIBRAS, took part. The results show deafness is perceived as a way of being based on day-to-day experiences of visual interaction with nature and society, giving the deaf a different identity in terms of culture (being deaf) and linguistics (LIBRAS). Some public policies for oral training and technological interventions, like cochlear implants, are seen as a setback by the deaf, as it negates their status in the world and involves a loss of identity for the deaf. It is necessary to consider the deaf from a socio-historic, symbolic and cultural standpoint where different discourses co-exist, over and above the physiological dimension.
Subject(s)
Deafness/psychology , Persons With Hearing Impairments , Sign Language , Social Identification , Brazil , HumansABSTRACT
A visão biomédica concebe a surdez como perda fisiológica da audição e o surdo como portador de anomalia orgânica a ser corrigida; intervenções de saúde revestem-se, correspondentemente, de tal representação. Objetivamos compreender as representações sobre surdez entre surdos, com o propósito de refletir sobre políticas públicas a eles destinadas no contexto da dimensão ética do cuidado. Utilizamos o referencial teórico-metodológico qualitativo (grupo focal); participaram 9 membros de uma comunidade surda (Fortaleza-CE, 2010) fluentes na Língua Brasileira de Sinais-Libras. Observamos que a surdez é compreendida como um modo de ser, cotidianamente construído, essencialmente a partir das experiências-vivências de interação visual com a natureza e a sociedade; assume caráter identitário particular, afirmado em componentes culturais (ser surdo) e linguísticos (Libras). Políticas públicas de oralização ou tecnologias auditivas corretivas (como o implante coclear), valorizados pela sociedade ouvinte, são representadas como retrocesso nas lutas dos surdos, de negação de seu ser no mundo e como perda da identidade surda. É necessário compreender o surdo a partir de construções histórico-sociais, simbólicas e culturais onde diferentes discursos co-existem, para além da dimensão fisiológica.
The biomedical view sees deafness as a physiological loss of audition and the deaf as individuals with an organic abnormality to be corrected; healthcare interventions support this perception. This study sought to understand deafness from the standpoint of the deaf, in order to identify elements for public policies addressed to them in the context of the ethical dimension of care. The research adopted the qualitative approach (focus groups) and 9 members of a deaf community in Fortaleza (Ceará-Brazil), all fluent in Brazilian Sign Language-LIBRAS, took part. The results show deafness is perceived as a way of being based on day-to-day experiences of visual interaction with nature and society, giving the deaf a different identity in terms of culture (being deaf) and linguistics (LIBRAS). Some public policies for oral training and technological interventions, like cochlear implants, are seen as a setback by the deaf, as it negates their status in the world and involves a loss of identity for the deaf. It is necessary to consider the deaf from a socio-historic, symbolic and cultural standpoint where different discourses co-exist, over and above the physiological dimension.
