Gender Inguality
In sport, health and exercise
Early 20th century
During the first two decades of the 20th century, opportunities for women to participate in collegiate sports were continually diminished, according to the Women's Sports Foundation. By the early 1920s women were only allowed to participate in sports via recreational sports days, because it was thought that too much physical exertion was unhealthy for the female body and they would become masculing. During the great depression more women went to work to support their familys and this gave women the oppourtunity to join industrial sports leagues. It became more socially acceptable for women to take part in sport and exercise. Female physical educators began to concede that physical exercise is actually benefical for women and they were allowed to exercise more and more.