Women in Sport: Historical Perspectives

Key points

The development of competitive sport programs for women

Throughout the 1890s and into the twentieth century, basketball became one of the most prolific sports for women nationwide. Teams formed across the country, and women's rules designed to decrease vigor and physical contact were created. Growth occurred rapidly after the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) published the rules in a newsletter distributed nationwide.³ The rapid growth alarmed some female leaders of physical education programs, which provided structure, support, and coaching

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act

The most significant law for women's athletics was Title IX of the Education Amendments Act, which passed in 1972. Title IX explicitly states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”¹³ Title IX consists of 3 separate, yet interrelated parts. All federally funded institutions must prove their

Women's intercollegiate athletics

Just before the passage of Title IX, leaders in women's physical education and athletic programs once again recognized the need for the presence of a national governing body for women's intercollegiate sport. The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was established in the months preceding the passage of Title IX in 1971.¹⁴ It was the first and only governing body of intercollegiate athletics formed on an educational platform. The organization was committed to keeping

Women in professional sport

Despite the fact that sport was viewed as an activity for boys and men during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, sport participation grew rapidly in America.³ In New York City and surrounding regions, sport developed from merely a pastime into a modernized, formalized enterprise used for entertaining the masses.²³ Sporting fraternities were one social group that helped modernize sport in the city. Perhaps the most significant sporting fraternity was the New York Knickerbockers

Benefits of sport participation for women

Girls and women are benefitting from sport participation in a variety of ways. Scholars have determined that high school girls who participate in interscholastic sport are likely to get better grades and are less likely to have unintended pregnancies.34, 35 Women and girls who play sports regularly have higher levels of self-confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression. Collegiate athletes also fare well after their eligibility has expired. For example, it has been determined that

Summary

Much like other facets of society, sport was shaped by Victorian ideals that positioned women in the home. Proper forms of exercise for women during the nineteenth century were nonvigorous activities that could be completed in appropriate feminine attire.2, 3 During the twentieth century, sport solidified its position as a vastly popular form of entertainment. Because the 1920s was a liberal era in America, women gained opportunities to compete in sport on a wider scale. Participation