Women Articles

Helen Lenskyj. "Common Sense and Physiology: North American

Medical Views on Women and Sport, 1890-1930." CJHS XXI,

No. 1 (May 1990): 49-64.

• M & M

Some Important Dates

• The late 1800s marked the establishment of formal athletic programs in North American schools and universities

• Gynecology was well established as a specialized and profitable field of medicine during the same period

• By the 1920s sports medicine was officially recognized in international medical literature

• 1920s were called “Golden Age” of women’s sport in North America because of growth in girls’ school, university, and community sport

• During the 1930s there was renewed opposition to female sports competition and so the close of the “Golden Age”

The Relationships Between Menstruation, Reproductive

Health and Sport

• What was appropriate for boys and men in education, or sport, was by definition, inappropriate, unnatural or dangerous for female bodies and minds

• Doctors continued to promote:– female qualities such as grace and agility, – those that were thought to improve child-bearing

function

• Women were defined in terms of their physiological functions such as menstruation, pregnancy and lactation

• This emphasis on sex differences served to strengthen the consensus that women were weaker then men

• The functions of the women’s body were treated as disabling, reinforcing male superiority and the women’s need for male protection

• Menstrual irregularities during adolescence was believed to be a precursor of sterility

• Many doctors set guidelines for women in physical activity: distance, speed and level of difficulty should all be kept to a minimum, with no participation during menstruation

• In 1916 finally Clelia Mosher redefines menstruation as a normal function, not a sickness, and suggests that rest was unnecessary, but sufficient exercise was an important factor in painless menstruation

• Some doctors still prescribed all sorts of strange medical cures for irregular cycles, however Mosher associated this with changes in surroundings and the social and mental strain of work .

• Dr. E. H. Arnold did an experiment to look at women’s incapacity for mental and physical work during menstruation, and succeded in bringing about participation in all exercises except swimming at the New Haven Normal School of Physical Education.

• There were still doctors who were not completely convinced, even women, such as Elizabeth Mitchell and Grace Ritchie who gave exercise for women unqualified support. They were careful to warn of the dangers of nervous strain brought about by competition, excessive outdoor sports and participation during menstural periods.

• These early attempts by doctors to distinguish between good and bad exercise for women marked the start of a long medical debate. There was little research before the 1920s but this did not stop the doctors from trying to tell the female patients which activities they could engage in.

• Cycling was a major debate. – Some doctors claimed that women might as well operte a treadle

sewing machine as ride a bike because the same muscles were used. Mitchell promoted this idea, but others such as Ritchie didn’t agree and thought women should take their recreation because it is recreation, not because it is their duty.

– Another women doctor against physical activity in women was Arabella Kenealy, she argued that muscular development of the limb and trunk muscles would result in an exhausted involuntary muscle system- the kind used during labour and birth processes.

– However by the turn of the century, physical training and outdoor sports had become an established part of the program at many women’s colleges.

– In 1888, Tait McKenzie even observed that there was a positive relationship between academic and athletic achievement.

– Other studies showed that there was no relationship between the participation in college athletics and difficulty with pregnancy and labour.

Alleged “Masculinizing” Effects of Sport on Women

• In the view of many doctors another major danger of athletics for girls and women was its masculinizing tendencies.

• The believed effects on women were not limited to personality changes such as confidence and competitiveness, but also involved questions of female identity.

• Kenealy, a doctor mentioned earlier, saw athletics as the cause of difficult childbirth and inferior offspring. She believed the excessive muscular development and depleting “nerve-essence” were to blame.

• Kenealy was also concerned with the changing appearance of women, she thought the figure lost its femininity as joints became visible and “soft flesh” disappeared.

• There was also concern over personality changes. It was believed the female quality of sympathy was replaced by assertiveness, muscular achievement outpaced moral development, and the “dainty, elusive quality” of women’s natural expression gave way to the “bicycle face (the face of muscular tension).”

• At the turn of the century many doctors also complained that females reproductive systems were being dwarfed by the force that was going into overdeveloped arms and legs. They believed that “relaxed, flabby-muscled women” had easier labour.

• Another argument against physical activity for women was that it put their reproductive function in jeopardy, as well as her ‘natural’ longings for domestic and maternal fulfillment were contaminated by such self-indulgent, nonproductive activities.

Gender and Class Bias in Medical Views of Work and Play

• There was a double standard among doctors when it came to women and their duties.

• A tennis player was advised to stay at home and do her housework during her menstrual period, while on the other hand, the scrubwoman who suffered a fall while carrying a heavy bucket on the job was labeled as faking her illness to get out of work.

• This social class double standard was not new, but now was the problem of convincing women that heavy work was okay, but heavy play was dangerous.

• Working class women were just not expected to find menstruation or pregnancy as disabling as their middle class counterparts, especially if these problems were reasons for which they had to miss work or be compensated in some way.

• It was also believed that if women confined their work to the domestic sphere these kinds of health problems would disappear.

Patricia Vertinsky. “Old age, gender, and physical activity:

the biomedicalization of aging.” JSH. 1991, 64-80.

• Who are you?

• Who is your dad?

• Who is your mom?

Introduction

• The negative view of aging as a “...diseased, dependent and inactive ‘stage of life...’” was developed many years ago and influenced the way people thought and still think about physical activity for aging men and women.

• This idea affects the young, but also the aging themselves as they are taught to become helpless and dependent.

• The elderly are labeled as being “...in poor health, incompetent and useless.”

• Even today, less than 20% of people over age 65 are physical active, and older women even less than older men.

• It is important to know that women have a longer life expectancy than men, but are considered frail and old much earlier than men, are forced to retire sooner, and are deemed less capable to deal with aging.

• Older women report higher rates of dissatisfaction with their health and often think that their exercise levels should be restricted.

• Early 19th and 20th centuries held a very negative view of aging

• This was mostly because doctors portrayed a negative view of aging.

• Doctors promoted the idea that old age was a “disease.” • Old age needed to follow age and gender appropriate

behaviour and have close medical supervision.• Limits for those aging were more readily given to women

than to men.

Role of Medical Model of Aging in Shaping Negative Attitudes to Old

Age

• Renaissance humanism and the Enlightenment placed a positive view towards old age– Aging “...was a process of development towards maturity,

wisdom and superiority...”– Supported by doctrine of the “six things non-natural” --Air for

breathing, food and drink, exercise, sleep, evacuation, controls of passion.

– Individual was to take charge of these things and only use medicine to deal with disease.

– Men were “robust and healthy” while women were “feeble and delicate.”

• The time of the French and American revolutions provided a time of social revolution – The social revolution started an increased hostility

towards aging– “Youth acquired the moral advantage that age had

lost.”– There was a new scientific understanding of the

human body– Benjamin Rush 1797

• Views of anatomy and physiology caused doctors to see the body as a machine

– Germ theory of disease by Koch and Pasteur– Autopsies were performed on the elderly, and doctors

began to believe that disease was a part of aging and due to the loss of vital energy.

The Social Construction of Old Age

• The forces of Industrialization and Modernization reinforced negative views of old age.

• The years 1865 to 1914 were a transitional period :– Social Darwinism– Positive Socialism– Evolution of the Species

• A growing number of professionals began, wanting to deal with the issue of old age through a scientific method and label it as “...a discrete social problem directly related to the dislocation caused by a modernizing society.”– In the working fields, jobs that needed special skill were

increasing, so aging workers were being kicked out of their positions and left unemployed.

– Elderly were though to not be able to learn new skills and the fast pace of industrial work was said to wear people out faster

– The older a worker was the sicker he would get.– A person’s productive power was seen according to age and not

ability– Men above 40 were useless, but men over 60 were totally

useless and should stop working before they reach this age.

The Special Circumstances of Aging Women

• The medical literature portrayed women as old and useless when they could no longer bear children.

• “A woman’s social role was largely terminated once her work of childbearing and rearing was done.”

• Issue of productivity= men can’t work and women can’t have any more kids

• Menopause signifies the end of reproduction and a woman’s “used-up” body.– Believed that menopause marks a period of

depression, heightened disease, and early death.– Menopause was the entrance in to old age even

though many women lived through it and lived longer and had better health than the males.

– “The shorter life expectancy of the male was believed by some physicians to be due to the strain of family responsibilities and anxieties of the business world which wore out the body...The risks of maternity do not equal these.”

Prescriptions for Exercise in Old Age

• Old age was considered debilitating, so the elderly were being separated from “...work, wealth and play of the younger generation.”

• According to the doctors, the elderly needed to follow age appropriate and medically approved behaviour.

• Dr. J.W. Bell =advised treating problems of the aged• Dr. Wainwright= aged can be involved in gentle exercise,

if any• Dr. Taylor= Elderly unfit for activity...saw that active

people were healthier• Menopause put aging women in need of medical

attention and protection• In need of care, lacked vital energy for activity, blood

was thinner than a man’s, shortness meant a quicker onset of old age

• For women, over-exertion could lead to life-threatening conditions

• A “...therapeutic regimen was recommended for post-menopausal women...”

• Conclusion:– Old age meant that “functional utility” was

over. – For women, old age could begin at 45, and

could last for many years– Elderly were to slow down.– Golf and bicycling were potentially appropriate

activities for the elderly

Everybody Move

Victoria Paraschak. "Organized Sport for Native Females on the Six

Nations Reserve, Ontario from 1968 to 1980: A Comparison of Dominant and Emergent Sport Systems." CJHS XXI, No. 2

(December 1990): 70-80.

Introduction

• Sport: a “social practice, where human expression occurs within ‘structured possibilities’.”– values, ideologies and meanings may be contested– Overtime sport as a social practice creates and conforms

to subjective reality, keeping with dominant cultural form– In resistance to the subjective reality, cultural practices

emerge and exist alongside dominant cultural forms, offered as an alternative

• Tekawennake- a reserved-based newspaper is examined from 1968-1980. – Revealed an on-going presence of native females as

participants and organizers in a broad variety of sports

Overview of Sport Systems

Euroamerican vs All-Indian• Type of Play:

– League play regional, provincial, national levels– Invitational, with race restrictions inter-reserve, provincial, Canadian

or North American levels• Sports Events:

– At community level-clubs, local leagues, annual activities – Annual tournaments or meets

• Financing: – Community fundraising, municipal recreation grant, and/or membership

fee – Community fundraising, municipal recreation grant, and/or participant fee

• Administration: – Volunteer executive bodies – Less consistent then Euroamerican system,

tournaments facilitated by a sport-specific association

• Other:– Dominant system in North America– National Indian Activities Association (NIAA) founded

in 1974-responsible for overseeing All-Indian events, conducting national championships

– “the two sports systems were clearly treated by some athletes as complementary systems providing enhanced opportunities for sport, rather than as mutually exclusive systems meeting the needs of different athletes.”

Comparison of Systems• Variety of sports/levels:

– community activities: track and field,– community leagues: bowling, pool, golf– community club sports: (individual or team) dance, figure skating, horseback

riding– school sports: cross-country running, basketball, hockey, volleyball, badminton,

play days– team sports: softball, hockey, lacrosse, broomball– Indian individuals competing solely with Euro American clubs or teams: in baton

twirling, speed skating, figure skating– bowling (1962), golf (1968), fastball (1978), tennis (1978), cross-country running

(1975)• Consistent success of female athletes:

– Six Nations teams consistently won in both sport systems: regional and provincial league championships

• Assistance of women in sport: – involvement as coaches, volunteers, recreation committee members, executive

members of sport associations– Mother’s Auxiliary for Minor Athletics (MAMA’s)-provide support for minor sports – didn’t demand on-going support, hosted tournaments or meets in four of these

sports • Other:

– All-Indian system provided Indian women with an opportunity for physical activity, which resulted in a positive response-in playing, hosting and supporting

Challenges to the Dominant Sport System

• All-Indian challenged the Euro American system: in that they have control over the sport- choice of who plays, and the type of competitive format- invitational or league– All-Indian format allows for the development of shaping and sharing of

experiences between Indian people, as preferred sports are incorporated, their own sports heroes develop

• Patriarchal Underpinnings:– In Euro American society-females are subordinate to males,

their participation in sport is trivialized or devalued, they have decreased number of opportunities, and lack recognition

– In All-Indian society-women’s sport was consistently included, there were no apparent derogatory or sexist references made, and sport opportunities were mixed or available to both sexes

• However, patriarchy is evident within system- the range of sports available for women were less, and females failed to be recognized for sports awards.

• “Indian women mirror Euro American sisters in terms of not receiving appropriate recognition for their athletic prowess.”

Colonial Underpinnings of Society

• Final Definition of Sport: – Bias in literature, that athletes who are deemed to be

“successful” are those who have “made it” in Euro American sport competitions at an international or professional level.

• Native females competing successfully in Euro American sport leagues are thought of as superior in ability to those succeeding in All-Indian tournaments.

• Definition of an Indian:– Indian women forfeit their Indian status if they marry a

non-native man, but that is not the case for men marrying non-native women

– Sport and sexism are linked through the uncritical adoption of the government’s definition of an Indian, which discriminated against Indian women and their children prior to 1985.

• Conclusion:– In order for All-Indians to create an emergent

alternative sport system, they must challenge, rather than reproduce, the subjective reality of the Euro American sport system.

Darlene Kluka. “Women, Sport and Position,” Olympic Review,

1993, 307, 198-201 & 221.

Leadership dreams

• What is yours?

Women in sports and sports administration in the summer

Olympic Games:• Opportunities for women to participate in sports

at an international level are definitely there, in fact, there are more opportunities now than there have ever been.

• There has been a large increase of women participating in the summer Olympics, moving from the 1896 Athens Games where women were purposely excluded from the games, to the 1988 Seoul Games, 24 games later. In 1988 women represented around 1/4 of the participants, leaving a low 3/4 male participants in comparison to all male participants in 1896.

• Two significant dates:– 1952: Women participation rose to 10.3%, making the double

digits– 1976: Women participation jumped significantly from 15.0% to

20.6%, a difference of 5.6%.

• These numbers can be explained by the social conditions of the time, such as industrialization, the political economy, and the participation of the female labour force, which greatly affected a woman’s value in society and therefore, affected her involvements in sport as well.

• Limited choices for women in sports participation and leadership have been offered as a result of two factors:– 1. The meaning of being a women– 2. A women’s personal needs and abilities

Women in sports and sports administration in the summer

Olympic Games:• Industrialized and information-based countries focus

more on women working out of the home, allowing for more opportunities and control for all aspects of their lives. This type of society also allows women to participate more equally in sports.

• In contrast, agriculturally-based countries focus on fertility, nutrition, health care, etc. So, for example, when fertility is high, women are restrained from activity outside of the home, including sport.

• As a result of the roles of women in sport and sport leadership being undefined in many nations, women’s roles in the International Olympic Movement (IOC) have also not been defined or accepted.

• Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the Modern Olympic Games defined the Games as “...the solemn and periodic exaltation of male athleticism with internationalism as a base, loyalty as a means, art for its setting, and female applause as a reward (Leigh, 1974).

• The Olympic Charter contains this statement: “No discrimination is allowed against any country or person on grounds, race, religion, or politics.” The statement excludes the word ‘sex,’ suggesting that it is acceptable to discriminate against sexes, particularly women—more recently “sex” has been added.

Timeline of Women in Sport Leadership Roles:

• 1960: During the Rome Olympics, the first attempt was made to consider women in sport leadership, but the attempt failed

• 1961: The Women’s Board of the Olympic Development Committee was formed

• 1963-69: Coaching Institutes for women were held in cities throughout the U.S.A.

• 1971: Monique Berlioux (France), the first woman, was appointed as Executive Director of the IOC.

• 1981: Two more women were elected as members of the IOC.• Since 1971, only seven women (6.3%) have been appointed to the

IOC.• 1988-92: There is a very low number of women in Olympic

leadership positions.

Frames of Reference:• The IOC set goals of recruitments, promotion, and equal opportunity, and

enhancement of and for women in both sport and sport leadership throughout the Olympic movement.

• It is necessary to consider six frames of reference before implementing these goals:

– 1. Encourage women to enter fields in areas related to sport and physical activity such as education and health sciences.

– 2. Develop leadership qualities.– 3. Promote participation in intellectual cultures through international

exchanges of coaches and other sports leaders.– 4. Provide opportunities for women to participate actively on committees, in

dialogue, decision-making, and in creating a vision.– 5. Those involved in the Olympic Movement must be role models and must

provide environments that encourage success of women in leadership positions.

– 6. Policies must change as more women take on administrative roles at national and international levels.

Strategies for Implementation:• Add the term “women” to create a more contemporary version of

Pierre de Coubertin’s definition.• An international summit on women in sport leadership issues, where

issues and strategies would be discussed to recruit and enhance opportunities for women in sports leadership positions.

• An international conference on female athletic performance. • Guarantee IOC positions and related structures for women as

leaders.• International Olympic Academy research grants for conducting

research on female athletic performers.• The International Olympic Women’s Advocate, a newsletter

published about women’s issues concerning sport and sport leadership.

• A mentor program would be provided for each of the six previous steps.

Conclusion

• Kluka concludes that “women, as leaders, can serve as personal examples of excellence.” She believes that women can be great leaders, setting examples in both sports leadership and participation. She has really high expectations for women as sports leaders, “they can be ethical, open, empowering, inspiring.”