Deaf Identities: A Maturing Framework
This chapter provides a brief historical overview of how deaf identities have evolved. Emphasis is placed on the role psychology has played in expanding investigations into the nature of deaf identities and how these identities impact the lives of deaf people. Included is a description of what identity in general and deaf identities specifically represent and how these deaf identities have been categorized in the literature. This sets the stage for the need to incorporate perspectives of deaf identities as conceptualized by academic disciplines other than psychology in order to strengthen the literature on deaf identities. The chapter concludes with descriptions of each chapter and a call to action in researching deaf identities in less-explored multidiverse groups of deaf people.