2 Women in Sports This chapter presents various perspectives, attitudes, and challenges women faced as they began to participate in sport and physical activity in greater numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early attitudes toward women’s sport participation were to question women’s capacity for sport and physical activity due to the belief that their bodies were frag- ile. Larger social trends continually influenced the ways that women saw themselves as athletes or physically active. As women began attending colleges, light physical activity for girls and women was thought to be beneficial so that they could improve their strength for intellectual work. For decades, the debate between physical education philosophies of cooperation and moderation for the upper classes coexisted with more com- petitive forms of sport for working class and female athletes of color. The rapid rise of women in sport throughout the 20th century brought about practical challenges, such as what should women wear and what policies should govern their inclusion at the highest levels of sport such as the Olympics and profes- sional teams. Key debates and issues around the above topics are taken up in this chapter. Brief Overview of the Early History of Women in Sport Sport on the Rise Sport was not always the ever-so-popular activity as it is today. Prior to the late 1800s, sport and leisure activities were mostly reserved for the upper class, who had ample time and money. With the emergence of a new middle class in the late 1800s, people began to have more leisure time and more disposable income than they had in the past. As more men gained access to time and money, sport emerged as a primary activity for the middle class as well. As sport popularity was on the rise, wom- en’s interest in athletic participation also grew. Although women have participated in sports since the beginning of time, their journey toward athletic participation as a common activity for many women was slow. For the majority of the 1800s, women’s
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