http://fairgamenews.com/2009/10/the-history-of-womens-sports-wed-rather-forget-but-shouldnt/ seeking equality on — and off — the field Fri, 11 May 2012 06:56:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://fairgamenews.com/2009/10/the-history-of-womens-sports-wed-rather-forget-but-shouldnt/comment-page-1/#comment-582 Katharine Sinderson Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:45:19 +0000 http://fairgamenews.com/?p=554#comment-582 There are reams of subjects ripe for examination in earlier women's sports and many books which could and I hope will be written about the history of women's sporting contests. Unfortunately mainstream publishers aren't interested, but that shouldn't be a barrier to publication these days. To give just one example, the England women's [field]hockey team played an annual game at Wembley, when international hockey was still played on grass rather than artifical turf, which was laterly televised. When the old Wembley was knocked down, in all the recollections of the sport that had taken place there, including the 1948 Olympics and the 1966 World Cup final, there was not a word of the three decades of women's team sport that had taken place there. One of the reasons was that this once a year event was seen as essentially tokenist, and characterized as 'thousands of screaming schoolgirls' making up the crowd instead of the supposedly superior, adult comprised football crowds. Yet for many females this would have been their first and perhaps only visit to the iconic national stadium, something which has not been acknowledged in mainstream sporting discourse. There are reams of subjects ripe for examination in earlier women’s sports and many books which could and I hope will be written about the history of women’s sporting contests. Unfortunately mainstream publishers aren’t interested, but that shouldn’t be a barrier to publication these days. To give just one example, the England women’s [field]hockey team played an annual game at Wembley, when international hockey was still played on grass rather than artifical turf, which was laterly televised. When the old Wembley was knocked down, in all the recollections of the sport that had taken place there, including the 1948 Olympics and the 1966 World Cup final, there was not a word of the three decades of women’s team sport that had taken place there. One of the reasons was that this once a year event was seen as essentially tokenist, and characterized as ‘thousands of screaming schoolgirls’ making up the crowd instead of the supposedly superior, adult comprised football crowds. Yet for many females this would have been their first and perhaps only visit to the iconic national stadium, something which has not been acknowledged in mainstream sporting discourse.

]]> http://fairgamenews.com/2009/10/the-history-of-womens-sports-wed-rather-forget-but-shouldnt/comment-page-1/#comment-537 Jennifer Doyle Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:34:07 +0000 http://fairgamenews.com/?p=554#comment-537 You have got to read Barbara Jacobs's The Dick, Kerr's Ladies - about English Women's soccer after WWI. The truly sad thing is when great books like this disappear, as publishers don't promote them, and bookstores don't carry them.... You have got to read Barbara Jacobs’s The Dick, Kerr’s Ladies – about English Women’s soccer after WWI. The truly sad thing is when great books like this disappear, as publishers don’t promote them, and bookstores don’t carry them….

]]>