Are you sure you have ever been a hearing person?
Are you aware there are more women in the United States than there are men?
Are you aware women are a minority?
People, like everything else in the world, are classified and reclassified according to the purpose of those doing the classifying. Those with the most power, such as government and police, tend to be able to enforce their classification system most effectively. Those with the least power often classify themselves very differently than those in authority.
For every concept that exists there are always a minimum of three definitions. That which is the most exclusive, that which is the most inclusive, and every possible degree in between.
Audiologists have a definition of deafness based on hearing loss.
The law, which may differ from place to place, will define deafness as a specific degree of deafness -- At which point the law will treat the deaf person differently according to the society in which you live.
When you get a bunch of people together, Deaf or otherwise, they will decide, largely through the use of language, who is "one of us" and who is "NOK" or "Not Our Kind."
The best thing for any person to do is to decide if they fit into some group and whether they want to or not. If they do fit, and they want to fit, fine. If they find they don't fit, or don't want to fit, then move along.
It is all really very simple.
I can refer you to some entry level texts on Deaf Culture. Perhaps they would fit your needs better.
