Women Athletes of the 1920s

The 1920s was a time for many new opportunities for women in America, including participating in sports and becoming athletes.

Prior to the Roaring Twenties, only upper-class women had participated in sports. These wealthy women had joined sports clubs, social clubs, and country clubs. They engaged in sports at institutions, as well as playing sports while vacationing in Europe (Women’s Sports Foundation, 2/21/2011). An example of a woman like this would be Jordan Baker, a character from the novel The Great Gatsby. Jordan is a competitive golfer in the novel. Baker comes from the wealthy, upper-class, and is ‘old money’.

Consumerism of the 1920s caused the amount of clubs and sports teams for women to multiply. This materialistic attitude of Americans caused the economy to boom, thus providing more money for leisure activities. Institutions, churches, and saloons sponsored sports teams for women, and provided facilities. Declining prices of sporting goods and increasing popularity of sports as entertainment encouraged the formation of leagues. Both amateur and semi-pro leagues were organized, providing opportunities for middle-class athletes (Women’s Sports Foundation, 2/21/2011)

Industries and companies supported sports teams for women. They did this to promote personal health and worker efficiency. These teams brought advertising opportunities for the companies who supported them. This offered competitive opportunities for women and occasional income for the athletes (Women’s Sports Foundation, 2/21/2011).

To satisfy the competitive urge of their students, physical educators held “Play Days” and “Sport Days” for their female students. In a play day, teams from institutions did not play each other, but were comb...

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...se at the end of the race” (Smith, 1998, p. 8). Eyewitnesses proclaimed that women were in no more distress than men when they finished the race. The majority of the International Olympic Committee believed that track and field was too hard for women, and proposed other events, that included activities such as singing and dancing.

The 1920s was the just the beginning of women in sports. The booming post-war economy and the sports heroines increased the popularity of women athletes. The idea of a woman was changing, from being dainty and delicate to athletic, healthy and strong. There has been a growth in opportunities for women in sports, and the media brought this competition to everyone’s attention around the world. The accomplishments of the women athletes of the 1920s were the beginning of the journey to becoming equal to men in the world of sports.