[lit-ideas] Re: ski jumping and women and Canada
- From: Robert Paul <robert.paul@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2006 12:48:54 -0800
Ursula wrote:
As to 'detrimental to women's health,' I think I read somewhere that
this was one of the arguments against women having the vote.
And a good argument it was, too. There were few Olympic events for women
until they were allowed to compete in swimming in 1912. Women were
allowed to compete in track and field (athletics) in 1928, but after (it
was alleged by the press; archival photos show it did not happen), many
of the finishers 'collapsed sobbing in distress,' there were no running
events longer than 200 meters for women until the women's 1500 m, at the
1980 Moscow Olympics. Women now compete on the track up to 10,000, and
there's been an Olympic women's marathon since 1984.
Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the 'modern Olympics was entirely
opposed to women competing: it would be 'indecent, vulgar, injurious to
health, and masculinising' for women to compete.
It was received medical opinion until more recently than one might think
that distance running damaged women's health.
Robert Paul
Reed College
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