Women Making History: Object Two
Jun 3, 2019 10:50:45 GMT -6
Post by CurlieWhirlie on Jun 3, 2019 10:50:45 GMT -6
I LOVED this one! So many things to think about, so much interplay of femininity, fertility, race, sexuality....FASCINATING.
My takeaways:
1) The physical education movement at Ivy League colleges came about because of upper-class white fears of white-collar jobs causing a drop in virility in men (and being physically weaker than working-class men)
2) The physical education movement at women's colleges came about in order to ensure that women strengthened their bodies along with their brains in order not to lose their fertility (same fear)
3) upper-class white women embraced the gym suit and physical education because it gave them more freedom, physically and figuratively
4) black women attending college in the same time period were interested in showing that they were ladies, and tended in the opposite direction (more dressing up, long skirts, victorian fashion, etc). No one ever questioned their strength or fertility, quite the opposite.
5) The data collection done was fascinating, the amount of coordination and planning and just reading all those cards and doing the math for the averages is mind-blowing
6) basketball back then was not at all what we consider basketball today
7) I'd be really interested in delving more into the shift after WWI away from "exercise for strength" to the focus on the ideal female body, and securing the male gaze
My takeaways:
1) The physical education movement at Ivy League colleges came about because of upper-class white fears of white-collar jobs causing a drop in virility in men (and being physically weaker than working-class men)
2) The physical education movement at women's colleges came about in order to ensure that women strengthened their bodies along with their brains in order not to lose their fertility (same fear)
3) upper-class white women embraced the gym suit and physical education because it gave them more freedom, physically and figuratively
4) black women attending college in the same time period were interested in showing that they were ladies, and tended in the opposite direction (more dressing up, long skirts, victorian fashion, etc). No one ever questioned their strength or fertility, quite the opposite.
5) The data collection done was fascinating, the amount of coordination and planning and just reading all those cards and doing the math for the averages is mind-blowing
6) basketball back then was not at all what we consider basketball today
7) I'd be really interested in delving more into the shift after WWI away from "exercise for strength" to the focus on the ideal female body, and securing the male gaze
