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What is the “Deaf Grapevine”?

By H Dominic W Stiles, on 9 February 2016

The “Deaf Grapevine” is a term that is moderately popular but was new to me, and seems to have come from America, so this is an attempt to explain it.  In fact, on closer  inspection, it seems that the the term “grapevine” is from the U.S. as the Oxford English Dictionary (on line version) says, in its definition,

2.a Originally a canard, current during the American Civil War, and shortened from: ‘a despatch by grape-vine telegraph’ (Funk’s Stand. Dict.). Now in general use to indicate the route by which a rumour or a piece of information (often of a secret or private nature) is passed.

The ‘deaf grapevine’ in this context is a network of D/deaf people passing information or rumours from one to the other, through friends and family.  The idea is that deaf people have historically been more reliant on personal contact for information, as they were not able to pick up news or information (or misinformation) from sources open to hearing people, like the radio or (before recent advances in subtitling) television.  Additionally, they would know all the other members of their deaf community pretty well, and by extention have links with a much wider deaf community.

The earliest reference to the phrase I have found, is in an article from American Motorcyclist for March 1958, p.28.  The writer used the term in explaining the origins of a group of deaf motorcyclists  – “By his enthusiasm and persistant entreaties, word spread among the “deaf-grapevine”, that a rendezvous, especially for motorcycle enthusiasts, was planned at his home in Torrance, on February 27, 1957.”  In 1975 we find this from the Indiana State Board of Health Bulletin, Volume 75 p.89 – “The other day, I got a message, via the deaf grapevine, that the John Tracy Clinic is seriously considering total communication.”  By the 1980s the phrase seems fully established, as we see from this article by Stephen K. Chough –

Finally, the area of confidentiality needs to be emphasized more than ever when working professionally with members of the deaf community. The so-called, “deaf grapevine” is a powerful phenomenon. The deaf community is small in number, and most deaf people know each other very well.  Professional persons, whether hearing or deaf, need to remain acutely aware of this undercurrent of thought when working with a deaf person.  That is to say, the deaf client may feel constantly threatened by the possibility that the professional, whether hearing or deaf, may reveal information from therapy sessions to members of the community at large. (Chough, p.18-19)

In 1988 we have this from the Journal of the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association, Volume 21, p.91, “Finally, peer counseling services are usually provided through a grassroots agency which has been well established in the community as safe and accessible. Clients often hear about the services through the “deaf grapevine” […]”. 

Finally let us take this quotation from Deaf Sport (1991) by David Alan Stewart –

Because the number of Deaf people is small, each individual is able to to maintain contact with a relatively large percentage of a Deaf community. In a smaller Deaf community (less than 1,000) it is not unusual that some Deaf persons know at least by face if not by name nearly all the members of that community.  The efficiency of the Deaf grapevine is also aided by the fact that a high proportion of deaf persons marry other deaf persons; the rate has been estimated to be 90 percent for adults deafened early in life (Schein 1987) or as high as 95 percent For Deaf people in general (Jacobs 1980). Communication about Deaf sport events relies heavily on this grapevine. (p.71)

Schein J. (1987). “The demography of deafness”. In P.C. Higgins and J.E. Nash, Understanding Deafness Socially. Springfield, IL. [RNID YBX G]
Jacobs, Leo M. A Deaf adult speaks out. Washington, D.C : Gallaudet College Press 2nd ed. [RNID Y] (a 3rd edition is available but this is the one Stewart uses above)
Chough, Stephen K., The trust vs. mistrust phenomenon among deaf persons, p.17-19, in Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Deafness, ed. by Douglas Watson et al., Silver Spring, Md. 1983 [RNID Conference Collection, 1981]
OED http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/80817?redirectedFrom=grapevine#eid [accessed 9/2/2015]

UCL Students, and others at a higher education institution, will have access to some of these books now via ‘Project Muse’.  If your college or university subscribes you will find links via your catalogue or electronic content pages.  Ask your home librarian!

One Response to “What is the “Deaf Grapevine”?”

  • 1
    The HIV Crisis In The Deaf Community | Colony Q wrote on 16 August 2017:

    […] Because deaf people so often encounter resistance to HIV care, prevention, or information in hearing-centered medical care, they rely on complex intra-community networks to pass along information. For instance, Smith first heard about PrEP from Byrd. Information in deaf communities often travels through what some researchers call the “deaf grapevine.” […]