Women's historical participation in sport

• • women's sport was deemed to be less important
• if women wished to participate in a more active sport, society dictated how they should be dressed
• as a result of WWI and the Roaring Twenties, society's views of acceptable female physical activities began to change. In 1928, women were allowed to compete in a limited number of athletic events
• in the past, attributes such as strength, power and mate-ship were not thought to be exhibited by women
• there were many myths that discouraged women's participation such as

  • the risk of infertility
  • deformities for unborn children
  • fragility in bone structure
• horse riding was the first women's sport, for the upper class group
• Australia won their first female gold at the 1912 olympics. Fanny Durak broke the record in the 100m freestyle heat making for an easy victory in the final