Artist Christine Sun Kim reflects on the concept of wrath in the context of her identity as a deaf person, describing a lecture-performance in which she shows gruesome clips of deaf characters being killed in television and film. She recounts a personal moment when a hearing family member texted her about a new gene therapy for deafness, calling it “amazing,” which she interprets as part of a broader eugenicist narrative that seeks to eliminate deafness. Kim contrasts this with the progress she witnessed after the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed in 1990, including captions, interpreters, and access to education, which enabled her to become an artist. Now, she says, that progress is eroding, and her earlier “Degrees of Deaf Rage” has escalated into wrath.
This matters because Kim’s essay connects contemporary medical advances—specifically gene therapy for deafness—to a long history of cultural and systemic attempts to erase deaf people, from forced sterilization to language deprivation. By framing her anger as righteous wrath rather than mere rage, she challenges the art world and broader society to confront the ethical implications of framing deafness as a pathology to be cured. The piece also highlights the ongoing struggle for disability rights and the importance of deaf culture, language, and community, making it a significant contribution to conversations about art, identity, and social justice.