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Deaf LGBT Culture

LBGT deaf people make up a distinct community. The two marginalized groups share many similarities. This is because "Like gay men and lesbians, who are usually raised in straight environments, more than ninety percent of Deaf people are born into hearing families. Model and actors Nyle DiMarco and Chella Man give representation to this community. They have spoken about their identity as queer and deaf. DiMarco says that "Being Deaf helped in my own way to explore my own other identities." As the LGBT community has become a part of mainstream culture, aspects of the deaf community have been highlighted. However, conflict between the two exists. Homophobia can even be found in old American Sign Language (ASL) signs, such as a middle finger touched to the nose, then swished up over the head to indicate "fairy." Similarly, the LGBT community has been slow to make the accommodations needed to include the Deaf. As recently as 2000, organizers of the Millennium March on Washington, D. C. did not provide ASL interpreters for march events.

Other prominent figures include activists and leaders in various spheres. Drago Renteria is deaf transgender male business owner and advocate of serval LGBT organizations within his community in San Francisco.

Deaf LGBT scholarship has been a subject of academic discourse and investigation during the 2000s. Academia has investigated the intersection of these two identities. Some scholars discuss the problem of defining “disability” and “queer" and explore the intersections and fractures of these identities and theories, hoping to raise awareness.