Nyle DiMarco and Deaf Models

Tyra Banks named Nyle DiMarco the final winner of America's Next Top Model (Cycle 22) on December 4, 2015. The community across North America cheered for him. He was the only deaf contestant to compete on this ANTM show.

Nyle Dimarco ANTM
Image source: America's Next Top Model.

"You just so happened to be Deaf, you didn't win because you are Deaf, you won because you kicked ass." - Tyra to Nyle DiMarco.

Name sign for Nyle Dimarco
Name sign for Nyle. This name sign appears to be derived from a combination of "N" and smize (a term used in ANTM, which means smiling with one's eyes).

Nyle was born Deaf to Deaf family in Queens, New York in 1989 and his family speaks ASL (American Sign Language). He is an alumnus of Gallaudet University where he graduated in 2013.

In addition to modeling, Nyle is also an actor. He played a role in Switched at Birth on the ABC Family network.

Sound of Silence by Nyle Dimarco
Image source: America's Next Top Model.

The very next thing was that Nyle was invited to compete in the Dancing With the Stars and he accepted. Again, Nyle and his partner Peta Murgatroyd won the Mirror Ball trophy in Season 22 of Dancing With the Stars on May 24, 2016. Incredible! The whole Deaf community collectively cheered for him.

In the finale, Nyle and Peta danced to the song, Sound of Silence. This dance performance symbolizes the history of oppression.

In a quick succession of winning two reality shows, Nyle used his platform to spread awareness of our ASL language and Deaf culture as well as to promoste bilingual education for deaf children.

In September, Nyle became the first deaf Chippendale in Las Vegas history.

Deaf Models

Carola Insolera, professional model born in Norway.

Ariana Martins was featured the cover of Playboy magazine (2017).

Vanessa Peretti

was the first Deaf women in Venezuela to participate in Miss Venezuela 2006 as well as she participated in Miss International 2007.

Sophie Vouzelaud participated in Miss France 2007 where she was only one vote away from winning the title as well as she participated in Miss International 2007.

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New to sign language? "Where do I start?" or "How do I start learning sign language?" This ASL Rookie guide lists some selected links to the tutorials for ASL beginners to get started and keep rolling. It may be a useful review for intermediate-level learners and ASL students as well.

Some tutorial pages are a mix of free and premium versions. Access to premium content and links below are available in the PatronPlus subscription. More links/posts will be added from time to time.

Jump-starting

  1. How to fingerspell ABCs
  2. What is and what is not sign language?

Getting started

  1. Benefits of learning sign language
  2. Awareness quiz and Reflections
  3. Basic transcription symbols (glosses)

Language/Culture Fundamentals

  1. What is American Sign Language?
  2. Understanding variations
  3. Introducing audism
  4. Cultural appropriation

Learning first words

  1. Expressing greetings
  2. Introducing oneself and others
  3. Fingerspelling exercise
  4. Expressing goodbyes

ASL Basics

  1. Personal Pronouns
  2. Possessive Pronouns
  3. WH-questions
  4. Yes/no questions
  5. SVO sentence structure
  6. OSV sentence structure
  7. Numbers 1-10+
  8. Basic time: future, present, past

ASL Basics II

  1. Asking what the sign is for a word
  2. Spatial referencing
  3. Verb inflections
  4. Contrastive structure
  5. Listing and Ranking
  6. Classifier basics

Describing shapes

  1. Describing shapes + perspective
  2. Describing shapes + locations
  3. Describing shapes + sizes

Expressing needs and wants

  1. Making commands or requests

Talking about family

  1. Talking about family and pet
  2. Telling age
  3. Telling date

Making basic plans

  1. Review basic tenses
  2. Calendar: DAYS
  3. Calendar: MONTHS
  4. Transportation: basics

Shopping

  1. Telling prices in dollars and cents

Talking about activities

  1. Frequency of time: how often?

Are you able to carry everyday conversations in ASL? Are you a student in the intermediate levels and beyond, who wishes to boost up your signing skills? You've come to the selected tutorial series. (Some premium content are available to PatronPlus membership.)

Language and communication

Sentence types

Non-manual signals

Tenses

Numbers

Classifier classes

Describing

Stories, poems, performance arts, etc. in sign language.

Fables

Fables II

Poem Translations

Stories

Deaf Jokes

Parables

Performance and video arts

Techniques and Devices

This documentation project follows a child's language acquisition, literacy development, and phonological acquisition in sign language, specifically ASL, from newborn to age five in a natural native-ASL environment and visual culture.

Language development

Baby Signing

Toddler Signing

Preschooler and Kinder

From baby to preschooler