If you usually read Unusualverse, you probably already know the <O/ symbol that graphically represents the 'Deaf Power' gesture. But do you know its history?
Meaning of <O/
The symbol represents a flexed arm with the hand over the ear (with the lesser < sign), the head (with the capital letter “O”) and another arm extended with the fist raised (the slash sign /). This gesture is used to represent “Deaf Power”.
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| Superimposition of the characters composing the symbol <O/ on an illustration of the deaf artist Ravi Vasavan (illustration: Brian Brau, via Indeed Design) |
Origin of <O/
The <O/ symbol was created by deaf artist Christine Sun Kim (sign name here) and designer Ravi Vasavan, a deaf artist from Melbourne. According to Christine and Ravi, <O/ is not just a graphic design, but a visual language that conveys cultural pride, shared history and the richness of sign languages around the world.
To launch the symbol, they created the deafpower.me platform in 2019, where in addition to offering the symbol for download, it contains other resources related to deaf culture and information about racial justice causes. For a few years, the platform was active and their Instagram account (here) accumulated more than 140 posts. However, since 2022 they have not posted content again, and the website is currently experiencing technical problems.
In an interview, Ravi said that he and Christine had previously been investigating and discovered that the original symbol had likely been created in the 2000s by Eric Turevon, an ASCII (a standard code for information exchange that uses 7 bits to represent each character) deaf artist. Eric designed the original symbol during his time at Gallaudet University for the purpose of promoting positive identity and pride among deaf people.
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| The Deaf Power <O/ symbol with the colors of the Unusualverse logo |
Origin of 'Deaf Power'
The exact origin of the term 'Deaf Power' is uncertain, but it seems to be inspired by the slogan Black Power, popularized in the late 1960s and early 1970s. There is clear evidence of its extensive use during the student protests at Gallaudet University in 1988, known as Deaf President Now (DPN).
The protest began on March 6, 1988 due to the election of a hearing woman president at Gallaudet University, despite the fact that there were two other deaf candidates. This generated outrage, as Gallaudet is the only university in the world dedicated exclusively to higher education for deaf people. Thousands of students and supporters blocked the campus, demanding that the university's Board of Trustees be composed of at least 51% deaf people (at the time, only four of 21 members were deaf). After eight days of continuous protests, their demands were accepted and Irving King Jordan was elected as the university's first deaf chancellor. Since then, all of Gallaudet's chancellors have been deaf.
The protest had a strong media impact in the United States and its story had an impact on deaf communities in many places around the world. In the videos of the protests (many available on YouTube, for example, here), you can see banners with the expression 'Deaf Power' and their symbolic gesture, both during the demonstrations and in the celebration after the granting of their demands.
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| From left to right: a student carrying a protest banner with the expression Deaf Power (image: DPN 1988 vol. 5, Gallaudet University); a student during the protest making the gesture (image: Deaf Mosaic 402); a protester expressing her joy after obtaining the concession of the demands through the Deaf Power gesture (image: Deaf Mosaic 402) |
Use <O/ freely
The <O/ symbol design is simple, easy to remember and adaptable. Moreover, it is available under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA 4.0), which means you can use it freely without seeking permission.
On the deafpower.me page, it is made clear that “the symbol will and should never be registered nor trademarked and in spirit it belongs to the international Deaf community”. This availability has allowed the symbol to be used on T-shirts, T-shirts, gifts, all kinds of media and even tattoos.
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T-shirts with the Deaf Power symbol ( backwards ) for sale on Redbubble (as of 05/12/2024) |
Sources:
- Locke, C. (2021, May). Ravi Vasavan: Designing for Deaf Power. In Indeed Design. Retrieved from https://indeed.design/article/ravi-vasavan-designing-for-deaf-power/
- Marlatt, E. A. (2004). Comparing practical knowledge storage of deaf and hearing teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. American Annals of the Deaf, 148(5), 349-357.
- Shultz, K. L. (1991). Breaking the sound barrier: The rhetoric of the" Deaf Power" movement. University of Denver.
