thePULSEWe’ve still got a long way to go, baby
“The Sporting Woman” examines changing social attitudes towards women athletes
“At The Golf Links, Miss A. Moeran” pastel on paper. James Champney (1843-1903)July 2004 – Through an amazing array of artwork, photographs, and artifacts, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum’s “The Sporting Woman” exhibition frankly addresses changing historical and social attitudes toward the ever-expanding sector of women who participate in sport. Most intriguing is that the exhibition was researched and assembled by a small group of students under the watchful eye of museum director Marianne Doezema.
In roughly chronological order, more than a dozen different sports are examined. An 1871 wood engraving by Winslow Homer (1836-1910) shows a stylishly clothed – and coquettish – young girl skater “Cutting a Figure.” He earlier painted “Croquet Players,” depicting elegant men and women playing this genteel game together. But off in the distance we see one couple less interested in the match than in each other.
One of the earlier sports to “allow” female participation was golf. Aside from the obvious inclusion of photos of Babe Didrickson Zaharias, the world’s top golfer in 1945, the sport is also represented with a very large 1897 pastel on paper by James Champney (1843-1903) of a properly attired woman about to take her swing. This image is one of a dozen from his series “Types of American Girlhood,” which also includes “The Modern Nereid,” a large pastel of a young girl about to go swimming. There’s a swanky ‘20s painting by Saul Tepper (1899-1987) of a nattily dressed couple holding golf clubs and smoking cigarettes, and a rather sensual photo by Howard Schatz of Annika Sorenstam wearing something less than golfing gear.
Bathing Suit, Nautical Style. 1895. wool.
Tennis has long been an important sport for women, as shown in an 1891 oil painting by Otto Bacher (1856-1909) of his seated wife idly holding a tennis racket. A 1957 Time cover of Althea Gibson after she won Wimbledon, Andy Warhol’s 1977 colorful silkscreen of Chris Evert, and Annie Leibovitz’s recent photo of the Williams sisters further attest to the stellar reaches women have attained in this sport.
Swimming as a sport for women didn’t really catch on until after the turn of the last century, partly because the “bathing attire” was such a cumbersome hindrance. But when the American women’s swim team placed well in the 1920 Olympics and especially after Gertrude Ederle swam the English Channel in 1926 – breaking the men’s record by two hours – swimming took its rightful place in college sports. Several different styles of swimsuits used at Mount Holyoke are displayed, dating from 1895 up through the ‘50s.
Women didn’t begin to play soccer in earnest until the 1970s, after Title IX mandated participation equality in college sports. Several examples of women’s prowess are in the exhibit, including Annie Leibovitz’s photo of soccer’s killer midfielder Julie Foudy frozen in powerful mid-flight. This magnificent picture is right next to the infamous 1999 Sports Illustrated cover of Brandi Chastain – autographed.
Above: “Julie Foudy, Midfielder” gelatin silver print. Annie Leibovitz (b. 1950
The section showcasing cycling includes an actual 1897 Chilion “Ladies Safety Bicycle” and a beautiful 1896 lithograph by Edward Penfield (1866-1925) extolling the virtues of the new Stern bicycle, with a seat specially designed to protect women’s sexual organs.
The show is filled with artifacts, memorabilia, books, and photographs of Mount Holyoke alumnae, including a picture of the 1912 basketball team in action and their subsequent reunion 50 years later. There is also an over-long – but worthwhile – video, that supports the idea of Mt. Holyoke’s founder, Mary Lyon, that in order for a young woman to profit from a good education, physical training has to play an important role.
As touted in those cigarette commercials of the ‘70s: “You’ve come a long way, Baby.” This thoughtful and well-organized exhibition graphically illustrates how female athletes have advanced over the past century. Yet there is a certain underlying theme that insidiously follows you as you move through the galleries – the one embodied by that clichéd Virginia Slims ad campaign. While the prowess of today’s female athletes is undeniable, they are most often still pictured as cute and sexy. While attitudes toward women athletes have changed, we’ve still got a long way to go, baby.
