Much has been written comparing the “Plural” identity to those of others. It has mostly been compared to identities relating to neurodiverse and gender-based experiences; primarily Autistic and/or Trans identities.
I would like to visit another identity next to which Plural can be compared and contrasted: Deaf.
Being many is not being compared to deafness or hardness of hearing; but “Plural” is analogous to the Deaf identity and community.
Regardless of their origins, plurality and deafness are naturally occurring phenomena in that both exist and occur within nature. There is nothing “unnatural” about them. They are but two of many fundamentally human experiences. They are a different “normal”.
As such, plurality and deafness are each a pervasive presence in the lives of those who experience them. Both plurality and deafness shape how we live within and how we relate to the world. Both plurality and/of deafness are inseparable from Plural and/or Deaf people’s understanding of themselves.
Both plurality and deafness are viewed by singular and hearing society as fundamentally tragic disabilities. They are pitiable conditions to be overcome. And when that happens, the “triumph” is exploited as “inspiration porn”. These “success” stories are paraded about and gawked at like animals in a zoo.
Society is neither designed nor built with Plural and/or Deaf people in mind. Much, but not all, of the “disability” aspect of each is social in origin rather than anything psychological or physical. If society’s psychological and physical infrastructure were built by and for the Plural and Deaf, these two experiences would not be nearly as disabling as they are currently. But that is not yet the world we live in.
Despite society’s rejection (or at least the grudging tolerance) of both plurality and deafness, each can be points of pride and thus the basis of an identity for those who experience them.
Each has a community and a history of their own. Those who identify as Plural and/or Deaf, and their allies are, are members of those communities and share in their history.
Thus both plurality and deafness are cultures. They each have their own language, customs and values.
Those who embrace their deafness and identify as Deaf are said to be “culturally deaf”. Those who embrace their plurality and identify as Plural can thus be said to be “culturally plural”.
To those who would criticize and silence those of us who identify as culturally Plural: why would you wish to deny these things? You tell us to shut our mouths and focus on the trauma, disorder and disability. Can you not see how that would be like telling a Deaf person to put down their hands and focus on their lack of hearing?
