In 1975, Tom Humphries introduced the term Audism to describe the discrimination Deaf people experience. Nearly 50 years later, audism continues to affect education, medicine, daily interactions, and public attitudes—such as the recent incident shared by Jay Gates in Orlando.
This video explores the evolution of Audism, the internal bias known as Surdophobia, and a new term I am proposing for 2025: Audioxenophobia (AXP).

🔍 Key Topics in This Video
Audism
Coined in 1977 by Tom Humphries, audism refers to systemic oppression that privileges hearing and spoken language over Deaf culture and ASL. Though now included in major dictionaries, the concept remains widely misunderstood.
Surdophobia
As noted by Deaf Studies scholar Andrew Bottoms, surdophobia describes the internal fear, prejudice, or bias toward Deaf people and Deaf culture. First introduced by Gardy Van Gils in 1997, surdophobia helps explain why individuals react with discomfort or avoidance when encountering Deaf people.
Historical Deaf Trauma
Sterilization, oralist policies, and ongoing attempts to “fix” deafness have left deep wounds. While society often promotes the idea that deafness will one day be cured, scientific reality suggests that fewer than 1% of all forms of deafness are likely to become curable.
The Myth of a Disappearing Deaf Community
Despite predictions, ASL is now one of the most widely used languages in North America. Deaf culture continues to grow, not shrink.

🌟 Introducing AUDIOXENOPHOBIA (AXP)
Audioxenophobia describes a sociocultural tendency among some Deaf individuals to unintentionally withdraw from forming alliances with hearing communities—not out of hostility, but due to long-standing cultural, linguistic, and historical separation.
Naming AXP gives us a new tool to:
• Recognize internal barriers
• Strengthen Deaf–hearing collaboration
• Build confidence in outward engagement
• Support the growth of ASL and Deaf culture
AXP focuses on how we move from shrinking inward to reaching outward.

🌱 Building Our Future
To create the future our children deserve, we must:
• Continue researching and discussing these concepts
• Support diverse Deaf identities: Deaf, Oral, Hard of Hearing, CODA, and signing hearing allies
• Reimagine education with outbound ASL schools
• Collaborate with medical and scientific communities while advocating fiercely for ASL
• Address both external oppression and internal separation
Together, we can manage AXP.Together, we can redefine the future of the Deaf community.

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