Signs of Pride: DC's Deaf LGBTQ+ Community, 1970-2000

For people who share both Deaf and queer identities, DC has been a hub since at least the 1970s, thanks to its bustling LGBTQ+ community and the presence of Gallaudet University. This digital exhibit traces the history of DC’s Deaf queer community from the 1970s to the early 2000s.

A note on language: The capitalized “Deaf” as an indicator of Deaf cultural identity is a fairly recent development. In fact, much deaf media about deaf queer people in the 1980s and 1990s capitalizes “Gay” but not “deaf.” In most cases, it is impossible to know how people in the past would have conceived of their d/Deaf identity in today’s terms, much like how it is impossible to ascribe today’s labels for gender and sexuality to historical figures. For these reasons, the majority of this exhibit uses the lowercase “deaf” as a wider, more period-accurate term.

Because of the dual discrimination and suppression of the Deaf LGBTQ+ community, records of this history are fragmented. We welcome feedback and suggestions for future collecting from the community. If you know of any other Deaf queer organizations, events, or people that should be included and added to this exhibit, or should be added to the Rainbow History Project's collection, please reach out to the curator at emma@rainbowhistory.org.