“A Glow of pleasurable excitement”: Images of the new athletic woman in American popular culture, 1880-1920

Abstract

Images shape our perceptions and beliefs, offering insight into the kinds of behaviors considered appropriate and acceptable. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, textual descriptions as well as visual images of athletic women appearing in print media served both to shape and to reflect gender ideology. Would-be athletes could learn the techniques of various sports and also how to dress appropriately for participation in athletic activities from a variety of publications, including such resources as instruction manuals, newspapers, and popular periodicals like the Ladies’ Horne Journal (LHJ) (Damon-Moore, 1994). Acquiring information about the skills required for a sport allowed women to develop competence and confidence in new activities, while descriptions of suitable attire gave them strategies to pursue their new activities in comfort. Instruction in the rules and skills of sports contributed to the physical emancipation of women, while advice about appropriate apparel disguised women’s cultural emancipation in conventional styles.