The Guardian in the UK has created a special section devoted to exploring current deaf culture in Britain. It writes: "A new mood is taking hold of Britain's deaf people. This growing confidence is summed up by deaf comedian John Smith, who bounds across the stage in a superhero's cape and shouts, 'Deaf power!' More than 8 million Britons have impaired hearing, ranging from the 6 million older people who are mildly or moderately deaf, to the 700,000 whose deafness is more profound. In this special issue, we explore how it feels to be part of deaf culture today."Some of the stories and videos included are:
- Good vibrations -- Cathy Heffernan: SenCity in Finland brings deaf and hearing clubbers together, in this pioneering, multi-sensory experience, Video: A night at Sencity (pictured).
- Mixed messages --Like any language, British Sign Language has its regional variations and idiosyncracies. These can lead to mix-ups, signer Marcel Hirshman tells Stuart Jeffries
Video: Signing the times - Sign language YouTube round-up --Cathy Heffernan selects her favourite vlogs and sign language clips on the web.
- Cochlear implants: a technology that's changing deafness -- A little computer inside their head is changing the life of hundreds of deaf British children every year.
- No longer deaf to the deaf community -- What did you think of our special issue on deafness?
- Welcome to silence -- Can a hearing person ever really know what it is like to be deaf? Sam Wollaston spends 24 hours with a deaf family - meal times, school run, play and discipline - and discovers what it feels like to be the one who can't understand.
- Tips from the top -- According to a recent survey, fewer than two-thirds of deaf people are in work - and many of those have had to overcome prejudice and preconceptions. Cathy Heffernan talks to four men and women who are flying high in their careers.
- I wouldn't have minded if my baby had been born deaf, but the embryology bill suggests I should -- Rebecca Atkinson: Deaf, like black, is not just a description of a physical attribute, but an expression of pride, belonging and cultural identity. (This story already has 98 comments, two days after being posted.)
- The difficult decision that would change our son's life -- Charles Arthur: Two years ago, at 14 months, our son Lachlan had an operation to give him a cochlear implant.
- Lessons in the art of vlogging -- Jen Dodds: Driven by the younger generation, a new mood is taking hold of Britain's deaf culture.
- John Smith: visual comedy -- The deaf comedian John Smith on his act and what inspired him to take up stand-up comedy.
- Signing the times -- Stuart Jeffries finds out how Marcel Hirshman interprets Catherine Tate, and learns some surprising regional differences in sign.
