Surdism is an artistic, philosophical and cultural movement which aims to carry militant values against the still lingering obscurantism which make us prisoners, we Deaf, of judgements, and above all of a destiny, on which we don’t really have the right to sign.

 

Surdism is thus a revendication and a signing out in public space, and to get its aim, it must be clearly written, read, signed and shared in order to exist.

This is why this manifesto conveys with visibility this act of emancipation which refutes audism and its dominant and censuring point of view.

It is a Deaf intellectual and artistic movement through which we signify:

 

• We, surdists, offer to express ourselves by literature, theater, cinema, painting, sculp- ture or any other form of expression, by exploring anything which concerns, in one way or another, being Deaf, Deafhood, Deaf people and their position in social space.

 

• We claim that our movement carries creativity, inclusion, complementarity and mutu- al enrichment.

 

• We will artistically mobilize in order to create a frame of mind of Deafhood – which intends to be an enlightened attitude that anyone can share.

 

As long as the linguistic specificity is acknowledged and accepted for its true worth, and as long as the values of exchange, respect, communication and equality are shared.

We want therefore surdism to create and sharpen a Deafhood in other people; let it be a bridge between you and us, a walkway that each one can cross freely.

 

• We support and mobilize ourselves through our artistic means, unambiguously, to carve a space for the Deaf community's linguistic and sociocultural specificity.

 

• We stand up for artistic expression about, of and through Sign Language as a link of social union, and not as a linguistic and cultural division.

 

• We pay tribute to those who openly and publicly supported and carried our potential, despite of and against obstacles, through Deaf History.

Well-known or obscure, they carried up the faith of surdism to us, even though they did not name it explicitly. It is incumbent to us to redefine it, to connect to each other, and to work to make our social place visible and real.

 

Surdism wants to be an international collective movement which carries a posi- tive, constructive, militant and inclusive philosophy. You people who share these val- ues, do join us !

Let's denounce the prejudices, let's stimulate our creativity and call in a new Commu- nity force in the spirit of universality, beyond our national borders.

 

Fellow members, express ourselves through surdism !

 

 

Audism denigrates,

Deafhood welcomes,

Surdism reveals.

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