Women in Sport: Historical Perspectives

The history of women in sport in America was shaped by Victorian ideals and other belief systems prevalent during the nineteenth century. Medical experts of that era believed that intense exercise and competition could cause women to become masculine, threaten their ability to bear children, and create other reproductive health complications. Consequently, sport for women was reserved for upper-class women until the mid-twentieth century. Title IX of the Education Amendments had a significant and lasting impact on sport in America. Today, girls and women are enjoying sport at the interscholastic, intercollegiate, and professional levels comparable with their male counterparts.