Whether it be sewing enthusiasts, single parents, or neurodivergent individuals, TikTok offers a niche corner for everyone to revel in their shared experience. Deaf, hard of hearing, and sign language advocates are no exception to the platform, with #deaftiktok garnering more than 840 million views on the app.
September is Deaf Awareness Month, a time to celebrate the strides of those in the community and to educate both Deaf and hearing people on sign language, Deaf people’s experiences, and the ingenuity of creators that have improved technology for the Deaf community. On TikTok, Black Deaf creators are showing their own creativity and educating their followers, pushing for inclusivity and awareness from all — but especially from hearing users.
Scarlet May first posted on the platform last March, recreating the trendy #RenegadeChallenge. Because of her prior experience with social media accessibility for Deaf people, she didn’t think that a year and a half later, she’d have nearly 5 million followers.
“It’s been a crazy experience,” May said. “Growing up I’ve never been on social media much. It was just such a hearing platform, I felt like Deaf people weren’t really on there. So having the support and then blowing up has made me feel comfortable. The fans have helped me to step out of my comfort zone, putting myself out there and showing that Deaf people can be on this platform too.”
As May described, other social media platforms have also been largely inaccessible to Deaf people until recently. In 2009 Google announced captioning for all YouTube videos. Instagram introduced auto-captions for stories in May 2021 for a handful of countries. And TikTok doesn’t have an automated voice to text feature. While individual users can add subtitles and other accessibility features to their own posts, most people don’t, leaving posts that include audio hard to digest for Deaf users.
While social platforms may be lacking in terms of being inherently accessible, Deaf TikTokers are creating the world they want to see on the platform.
Recently, May posted a Tiktok showing a skit on an airplane pointing out that there were no translators for Deaf people to be made aware of safety precautions before taking off. Her skits often point out inequitable practices that inconvenience and exclude the Deaf community, pointing to the ways hearing people can make the world more accessible for Deaf people.
“I feel like I can do funny skits but then be educational at the same time. It’s interesting to watch, but then they’re also learning something,” May said. “Sometimes I’ll go out and stuff will happen and I’m able to go back to TikTok and educate them about it.”
Otis Jones has over 3 million likes on TikTok, and, like May, widely utilizes his platform to educate hearing people. In addition to his popular American Sign Language (ASL) covers of hit songs, he also posts mini sign language lessons to encourage hearing people to consider learning the basics to better bridge the gap between the two communities.
He often responds to questions from user comments, using their curiosity to drive his topic of discussion. He said their eagerness to learn is overwhelming.
“It feels good to see that people are really starting to get it,” Jones said. “They’re really starting to notice the Deaf creativity more and to see that eagerness. They want to learn ASL, they want to learn Deaf culture and be a part of the Deaf community.”
In April, Jones announced on the platform that he would be expanding his ASL lessons, offering classes via Zoom. He says the response has been wonderful: His classes grow everyday.
“For teaching ASL, I always write down notes and make sure I’m teaching basic ASL that will benefit everyone. I tell people all the time even if you learn the alphabet then you are still making a difference and creating more accessibility,” he said. “It’s a blessing to see so many people eager to learn more about the Deaf community.”
Both May and Jones hope that hearing users will be more mindful of the Deaf community on the platform by adding closed captions to all their videos.
“All the social media platforms like you guys are able to scroll through and enjoy things and content, we're not able to do that because we have no idea what's being said,” May said. “So, yeah close caption your videos and that will also bring in a world [of] us Deaf viewers to watch your stuff because ... it'll be accessible.”
In addition to making sure content is accessible, Jones hopes that users will support and follow Deaf creators.
“A lot of times hearing creators and Deaf creators make the same exact videos, but hearing people will get more recognition. Recognize Deaf creators and people,” Jones said.
The United States has a long history of discrimination and exclusivity against members of the Deaf community, with Black Deaf individuals facing additional discrimination due to their race. The National Association of the Deaf, founded in 1850, granted Black individuals membership access only 56 years ago. Because of segregation, Black children weren’t given the same quality education as white Deaf students, resulting in Black students better retaining signing, whereas white students were increasingly taught what’s known as oralism. By the 1950s, when desegregation happened, two different styles had already emerged. Now, Carolyn McCaskill, founding director of the Center for Black Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University, previously told the New York Times that about 50% of Black Deaf people use Black ASL, which has more two-handed signs and flourish than ASL, incorporating other aspects of African-American Vernacular English to create the language.
26-year-old Bree Jones is an ASL interpreter dedicated to teaching TikTok users about accessibility and historical Deaf figures. She has nearly 30,000 followers on the platform, using her knowledge and advocacy to encourage others.
“One of the things I like doing the most is highlighting in the Deaf community who have made a lot of contributions to society that are unheard voices so that people can learn more about them and see all that they’ve attributed to paths that we’re walking in today.”
Although Jones doesn’t speak Black ASL fluently, she points her supporters to resources and individuals that are preserving the language.
“Once integration happened families didn’t really pass it [Black ASL] down as much,” Jones said. “Sure it’s still out there but it’s not as prevalent as regular ASL is. I think that it’s really important just to know about it. Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to be able to learn it one day.”
Jones says her experience on the platform so far has been positive but encourages hearing individuals to be sensitive with their questions. Jones says that because many hearing people don’t interact with Deaf people regularly, there can sometimes be questions on the platform about their experiences that aren’t always thoughtful. Nonetheless, she’s grateful to be a resource for those that may be inquisitive.
Jones says that there are things hearing people can do, not just in September, to remain aware and considerate of Deaf individuals.
“Remember that Deaf people are people. I think a lot of times when people look or sound different from us we label them abnormal. If out in public please take time to use your phone or a piece of paper to communicate back and forth if you don’t know American Sign Language.”
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