The Emergence of “Silent Sport” in Argentina: Identifications and Implications (1953-1975)

Abstract

Introduction: Silent sport comprises a specific type of sports activity for deaf people born at the end of the last century in Europe. This article describes the emergence of this activity in Argentina and analyzes some of the implications in the struggle for recognition of this minority sport in the first two decades of its existence at the local and regional levels. Development: To this end, French studies detailing the political role of the silent sport since its international foundation were analyzed. Further, the details of the emergence of this activity in Argentina through the establishment of the Federación Deportiva Silenciosa Argentina (FDSA) in 1953 were also examined. We also explored deafness identifications and their implications by analyzing content from sources produced by the local deaf community. The corpus studied includes the Primera Revista Silenciosa Argentina, statutes, minutes of meetings, FDSA archives, and the complete collection of the Ad-Verbum. Palabra por Palabra (published by the Confederación Argentina de Sordomudos), and interviews conducted with leaders of the Argentine silent sport. Conclusions: The establishment of FDSA promoted deaf activism and functioned as a springboard in the dissemination of silent sport at the national and Latin American levels. This fostered a redefinition of deafness that questioned the social contempt received from the oral therapeutic clinical perspective. What originally was a struggle that deaf people faced for their individual rights and social integration has now turned into a demand for respect of their uniqueness as a linguistic minority.