Defining normal : deafness in Singapore from 1950s to 2000s

Abstract

Deafness is understood as a medical impairment that assumes the deviation of the deaf from an idealised normal body. However, this has not always been the case. Deafness as a medical condition is a recent invention that subverted prior religious understanding of deafness in the Victorian Era. By acknowledging that the understanding of deafness as a physical impairment pervades many other underlying perceptions of deafness, we can posit the notion of normal as fluid well. Therefore, through considering the role of historical actors including the government, voluntary organisations, educators, parents and the deaf in conceiving the myriad notion of normal, I argue that normal is constantly redefined and contested. By using key concepts from deaf histories and disability histories, situating this paper in twentieth century Singapore and consulting sources that represent the various historical actors, this paper questions the normal that had been internalised by individuals of Singapore society that shapes the perception of the deaf.