Forbidden Signs: Deafness and Language Socialization in Mexico City

Language socialization, the simultaneous process of learning language and culture, occurs spontaneously in most families. However, deaf children born to hearing parents cannot fully access the spoken languages of their families and hearing society. This study provides data illustrating that Mexico's therapeutic approach to language does not constitute language socialization for deaf children; simultaneously, it affirms that signing communities offer sites where deaf people can actively engage in this critical process. Mexican families with deaf children and deaf adults from the same community reflect upon their oralist upbringings and (1) depict the consequences of the therapeutic approach to language for Mexican deaf people and (2) illustrate how strictly oralist approaches did not constitute language socialization, and in fact, served to constrain these processes in ways that often came at a great linguistic, emotional, and educational cost to participants.