Asia, Southeast: Deaf Community

Southeast Asia is a vast region with hundreds of ethnic groups and languages in eleven countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam. These countries have different economies, geographies, histories, and religions. Broadly conceived, there are some commonalities across Southeast Asia such as stratified gendered roles, family structure, social hierarchy, and mobility; however, there is a great deal of diversity in histories, geographies, and governances that inform Deaf community formation.

It is important to note that the d/Deaf distinction, as used in the Deaf Studies canon, is not prevalent in Southeast Asia; however, there is a shared deaf corporality in how d/Deaf people experience the world. Many deaf people, primarily in urban centers, are in contact with other ...