This article reflects on the relationship between physical culture and the female body during the first decades of the 20th century in Argentina. The objective is to show how different feminine sensitivities intersect in favor of the beautiful body, through the practices of gymnastics and sports. For this purpose, it explores the representations constructed through texts and iconography in the illustrated press regarding the experience of exercise among women. It concludes that the proposed relationship turns out to be a complex site of symbolic constructions in which medical-scientific visions intersect with habits and behaviors, rites of morality and virtue, aesthetic canons, imaginaries and social representations revolving around women.

Resumen:Este artículo reflexiona sobre las relaciones del cuerpo con el agua y, especialmente, sobre la natación recreativa en las piletas de un balneario de mar, Mar del Plata, Argentina. Se considera que las recomendaciones que en el inicio del siglo XX son prioritarias para asistir a las miradas salutíferas, pasan a ser estímulos de las nuevas experiencias de ocio que surgen hacia la segunda y tercera década del mismo siglo. Para ello, se realiza un abordaje cualitativo, desde la historia cultural, con el aporte de los estudios visuales que destacan el valor de la imagen en la simbólica social. Los resultados muestran los cruces tangibles e intangibles entre el entorno y las experiencias sociales y corporales vinculadas con las prácticas deportivas. Palabras clave: historia cultural-estudios visuales-deporte-salud-ocio-Mar del Plata-Argentina Abstract:This article reflects on relationships of the body with water, especially the relationship between the body andrecreational swimming in the pools of a seaside resort of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It considers that recommendations at the beginning of the 20th century as priorities for healthful looks also become stimuli of new leisure experiences that arise toward the second and third decades of the same century. For this, we apply a qualitative approach focusing on cultural history along with contributions from visual studies that highlight the value of image as a social symbol. The results show the tangible and intangible interconnections between the environment and the social and corporal experiences associated with sports practices.

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