Resisting medical frameworks: deaf identity as cultural-linguistic minority in Turkey

This study examines Turkish Deaf adults' identity construction through interpretative phenomenological analysis. Seven Deaf parents (mean age = 59.14; 3 women, 4 men) with hearing children participated in semi-structured interviews conducted in Turkish Sign Language. Drawing on Social Identity Theory and Self-Categorization Theory, the findings show that participants construct identity through a tripartite social categorization: Deaf people (sign language users), hearing individuals, and those using medical devices. Participants reject disability labels and position themselves as cultural-linguistic minorities, with Turkish Sign Language serving as the primary criterion for in-group membership. State policies, including the renaming of Deaf schools and the marginalization of sign language in education and employment, are examined as biopolitical mechanisms through which the Turkish state classifies and regulates Deaf bodies, constraining cultural-linguistic identity formation. Because all participants were culturally Deaf parents of hearing children recruited through Deaf associations, the findings illuminate one configuration of Deaf identity rather than the full range of identity positions found in Deaf communities. The findings reveal culturally specific patterns that emphasize collective belonging over the individualistic narratives prevalent in Western research and theoretical understanding of how state practices, linguistic boundaries, and cultural values intersect in shaping linguistic minority identity.