The Changing Role of Women in the Olympic Games
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The changing role of women in the Olympic Games port belongs to all human beings. it is not surprising that women were ex- by Anita L. DeFrantz* It is unique to the human species. cluded from the first modern-era S Like humans, other animals engage Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896. in play. But only the human species Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, was Even though women were excluded takes part in sport. We are the only not in favour of women participating in from the 1896 Olympic Games, an en- ones on earth who set up barriers and the Games, or in sports in general. Writ- during legend has maintained that a try to jump over them to see who can ing in the Olympic Review in 1912: Cou- woman ran “unofficially” in the men’s get to the finish line first. We are the bertin defined the Games as “the solemn marathon. The evidence suggests that only ones who compete for the sheer and periodic exaltation of male athleti- no woman ran in the marathon along- satisfaction of winning. cism, with internationalism as a base, side the men, but that a woman did run Sport is our birthright. Sport provides loyalty as a means, art for its setting, the marathon course the day after the an opportunity for individuals to set and female applause as reward”. Ac- Olympic Games. their own goals and accomplish those cording to the sport historian Mary By the end of the nineteenth century goals, whether to run a mile in four min- Leigh, he believed that “a woman’s glory and during the beginning of the twenti- utes or to jump eight feet. It allows a rightfully came through the number and eth century, industrialization and the im- person to take on a personal challenge quality of children she produced, and pact of social reform through the and to succeed. And yet, at the revival that as far as sports were concerned, women’s movement changed the pas- of the world’s most enduring and im- her greatest accomplishment was to en- sive role of w-omen to an active one. This change also was slowly becoming evident in sports. Women competed in golf and tennis in 1900 at the Games of the II Olympiad in Paris, and archery was added for women in 1904 in St. Louis. Archery stayed in the programme through 1908, and tennis continued on the pro- gramme through 1924. Women also took part in yachting and figure skating at the 1908 Games. But the Interna- tional Swimming Federation was the first to promote women’s involvement actively; it voted to include women on the Olympic Games programme in swimming in 1912. This opened the way for other international governing bodies to follow, but they followed ex- tremely slowly. The story of track and field is very en- lightening in this regard. In response to the exclusion of women from track and field in the Olympic Games, Alice Mil- Start of the women’s 800m in Amsterdam in 1928. liat of France founded the Fédération Feminine Sportive de France (FFSF) in portant sporting event, the Olympic courage her sons to excel rather than to 1917 to oversee national women’s ath- Games, 51% of humanity was excluded. seek records for herself‘. With such letic competition. Four years later, she The founder of the modern Olympic strong feelings on the part of Coubertin, established the Federation Sportive 18 Anita DeFrantz (second rower from the left) and her bronze medal-winning team-mates at the Games of the XXI Olympiad in Montreal in 1976. Feminine Internationale (FSFI) to in- went on for 14 years. During the strug- tragic result was that the event was re- clude international competition. The gle, the IAAF decided to offer women moved from the Olympic programme FSFI conducted the first Ladies’ Olympic an opportunity to compete in the Games and was not reinstated until 1960. Games in 1922 in Paris, and similar of the IX Olympiad in Amsterdam in John Tunis, a prominent sportswriter of games every four years until 1934, and 1928. But the women were offered only the day. portrayed the 800-metre event the programme of athletic events rose five events, and the press (still a male- as follows: “Below us on the cinder path as high as 15, with 19 countries partici- dominated institution) was decidedly were 11 wretched women, 5 of whom pating in these games in 1934 in Lon- against participation by women in the dropped out before the finish, while 5 don. In fact, the 1924 Women’s Interna- Olympic Games. collapsed after reaching the tape”. Un- tional and British Games were attended At the centre of the 1928 controversy fortunately for Mr Tunis the camera and by 25,000 spectators. was the women’s 800-metre run. The motion pictures had been invented by Naturally, when it became apparent that administrators, members of the IOC, and 1928. Photographs and film, as well as the Ladies’ Olympic Games were suc- the media apparently had decided that Olympic Games records, clearly indicate cessful in terms of competition and par- women were too frail to compete in a that only 9 women started the race, not ticipation, the men’s international gov- race as long as 800 metres. As a result, 11. Furthermore, all 9 of the women fin- erning body, the International Amateur the reports from the 1928 Games not ished the race. The winner, Lina Radke Athletic Federation (IAAF), became in- only distorted the results of that race, of Germany, set a world record. She terested in absorbing the FSFI. The but in some cases completely fabricated and a few of the other competitors were struggle between the IAAF and FSFI facts to support their viewpoint. The understandably spent after racing at 19 world-record pace. Some of them lay tion up to 1960, including the legendary was a 14.6 second difference between down beside the track, but none of them Emil Zatopek, over whom she would the times of the men’s gold medallist in dropped out or collapsed from exhaus- have had a three-minute margin. Kris- the 500-metre race and the winner of tion. tiansen would have beaten the male the women’s 500-metre demonstration And yet, members of the press chose to winner of the 1928 marathon by a full event. By the XV Olympic Winter Games write what would suit the purpose of 12 minutes. in 1988 in Calgary the margin between the male-dominated administration, and The growth of women’s participation in the male and female gold medal win- effectively prevented women from com- track and field in the Olympic Games ners in 500 metres had decreased to peting in any race longer than 200 me- following the 1928 incident was 3.65 seconds. tres in the Olympic Games for the next painstakingly slow. By 1936 the IAAF Despite the impressive performances of 32 years. had managed to absorb the women’s female athletes in this century, women It is interesting to compare a report on organization completely. Leaders of the continue to see their athletic accom- men’s events from earlier Games. The IAAF promised increased participation plishments distorted by the sporting men’s 800-metre race at the Games of and support for women’s sports at all press, just as they did in 1928. Study af- the III Olympiad in St. Louis in 1904 was levels, but the records suggest that they ter study during the past 20 years has described as follows: have been slow to fulfil that commit- shown a clear pattern of underreporting “Thursday afternoon at the finish of the ment. It was not until 1960 in Rome that and trivialization of women’s sport by 800-metre run, two men fell to the track, women were once again permitted to both print and electronic media. completely exhausted. One man was race the 800 metres. In 1964 in Tokyo, In addition to the problems of media carried to his training quarters, helpless. the 400 metres was added, and in 1972 coverage, girls and women are hindered Another was laid out on the grass and the 1,500 metres. By 1984 in Los Ange- by lack of input from women at the ad- stimulants were used to bring him back les the women had lobbied successfully ministrative level. Women are conspicu- to life.” for inclusion of the 400 metre hurdles ously absent from the upper-level man- Apparently the men were allowed to and the marathon, and finally in 1988 in agement positions where policy is de- collapse following 800 metres, but the Seoul the 10,000-metre race gained ac- termined world-wide. An informal sur- women were not. It is interesting that no ceptance on the programme. The vey undertaken by the Amateur Athletic one used this race to prevent men from 10,000-metre race walk event took place Foundation of Los Angeles in 1990 re- running that distance in subsequent for the first time in 1992 in Barcelona. vealed some disturbing evidence. The Olympic Games. The triple jump and 5,000-metre race study discovered that of the nearly Of course, we know today that the de- were added in Atlanta. It has taken 13,000 administrative positions available cision-makers were wrong in denying nearly 70 years, since that first 800-me- in North American sports and the women athletic opportunities equal to tre race, for women to approach parity Olympic Movement, a mere 5% were those enjoyed by men.