Women and the Olympics by Suzie Fitzgerald https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2 History 2017 - Suz Fitz en-us 2017-05-24 10:30:51 UTC 2025-12-31 12:54:24 UTC hello@padlet.com Introduction suzie_fitz https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173591711 The 1920's and 1930's saw developments in both sporting events and the social norms that women faced. The 1920's, known as the 'Roaring Twenties', saw the social emergence of women as they wore new daring clothing, cut their hair and danced the Charleston. The term 'Flapper' was used to describe these girls who broke against the traditional behaviour that they had been previously accustomed to. The Olympics in 1932 in Los Angeles and in 1936 in Berlin contrasted these new ideas with women only making up small percentages of the athletes. While specifically in America women were becoming more inclined to take on more traditionally male roles and activities the Olympics in the 1920's and 1930's failed to reflect this. The male to female ratio of athletes at Olympics was very different in the 1920's and 30's to what it is now. ]]> 2017-05-24 10:36:56 UTC https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173591711 1920 Summer Olympics suzie_fitz https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173593913 While women were becoming increasingly involved in society and in sports after World War 1, in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp women only made up 2.4 percent of the entire number of athletes. While women were only allowed to participate in the Olympics 20 years beforehand in 1900, this is not a significant change from the recent Olympics. ]]> 2017-05-24 10:53:13 UTC https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173593913 What The Developments Tell Us suzie_fitz https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173597506 While women were experiencing life radically differently in the US, women still remained restricted and unsupported in the Olympics from 1920 to 1930. They did not have the same rights as men and this was reflected through the limited amount of sports women could participate. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics women could only participate in 6 of the 29 athletics events. The failure to equally include women highlights the fact that globally in the 1920s and 30s women were still marginalised and seen as inferior to men and as non-athletic housewives. The fact that the 1936 Olympics were held under Hitler's leadership provides a reason for this perspective of women as Hitler did not encourage women to be athletic and powerful women, but rather child-bearing housewives. ]]> 2017-05-24 11:18:21 UTC https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173597506 Public Opinion suzie_fitz https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173598945 In the Weekly Times Melbourne on the 12th Jan 1929 an article suggests that the activities of the Olympics are 'over-strenuous for women and that they should stick to sports that encourage grace and charm, reflecting the public's opinion of athletic women during the 1920's.
''Somewhat surprisingly, ...the
women's section of the Amateur Athletic Federation of the United States has carried a resolution opposing the participation of women in the Olympic Games. The exception was taken on the ground that these contests are over-strenuous. A suggestion by owe member that the delegates present were suffering from an "inferiority complex," was indignantly denied, and the meeting accepted medical advice that women are biologically unfit for competitive sports of a-severe nature, and should
restrict themselves to exercises
directed to the cultivation of grace
and charm. As a substitute for the Games, it is proposed to hold a women's sports festival in 1932.''
]]> 2017-05-24 11:28:39 UTC https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173598945 suzie_fitz https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173600320 This image shows two female american swimmers at the 1920 Antwerp Olympic games in Belguim, surrounded by men]]> 2017-05-24 11:40:50 UTC https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173600320 suzie_fitz https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173600917 This image shows Betty Robinson crossing the finish line in 1928, becoming the first woman to receive gold in track and field.]]> 2017-05-24 11:45:17 UTC https://padlet.com/suzie_fitz/rdmqw4cnghj2/wish/173600917