Women's sports include amateur and professional competitions in virtually all
sports. Female participation in sports rose dramatically in the twentieth century, especially in the last quarter, reflecting changes in modern societies that emphasized gender parity. Although the level of participation and performance still varies greatly by country and by sport,
women's sports have broad acceptance throughout the world, and in a few instances, such as
tennis and
figure skating, rival or exceed their male counterparts in popularity.
History
In the
Ancient Olympics, women were not allowed even to watch competitions, much less compete as athletes. However,
Cynisca won an Olympic game as owner of a chariot (champions of chariot races were owners not riders), as did Euruleonis,
Belistiche, Timareta, Theodota, and Cassia. Besides the Olympics there was a separate women's athletic event, the
Heraea Games, held in ancient Greece.
Few women competed in sports until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as social changes in Europe and North America favored increased female participation in society as equals with men. Although women were permitted to participate in many sports, relatively few showed interest, and there was often disapproval of those who did.
The modern
Olympics had female competitors from 1900 onward, though women at first participated in considerably fewer events than men. Concern over the physical strength and stamina of women led to the discouragement of female participation in more physically intensive sports, and in some cases led to less physically demanding female versions of male sports. Thus
netball was developed out of
basketball and
softball out of
baseball.
Due to a relative lack of public interest in female athletics, most early women's professional sports leagues foundered, so amateur competitions became the primary venue for women's sports. Throughout the mid-twentieth century, Communist countries dominated many
Olympic sports, including women's sports, due to state-sponsored athletic programs that were technically regarded as amateur. The legacy of these programs endured, as former Communist countries continue to produce many of the top female athletes. Germany and Scandinavia also developed strong women's athletic programs in this period.
In the United States, nearly all schools required student participation in sports, guaranteeing that all girls were exposed to athletics at an early age, which was generally not the case in Western Europe and Latin America. In
intramural sports, the genders were often mixed, though for competitive sports the genders remained segregated.
Title IX legislation required colleges and universities to provide equal athletic opportunities for women. This large pool of female athletes enabled the U.S. to consistently rank among the top nations in women's Olympic sports, and female Olympians from skater
Peggy Fleming (1968) to
Mary Lou Retton (1986) became household names.
Tennis was the most-popular professional female sport from the 1970s onward, and it provided the occasion for a symbolic "battle of the sexes" between
Billie Jean King and
Bobby Riggs, enhancing the profile of female athletics. The success of
women's tennis, however, did little to help the fortunes of women's professional team sports.
"Bicycling has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world."
Susan B. Anthony said "I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride on a wheel. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.".
Women's professional team sports achieved popularity for the first time in the 1990s, particularly in
basketball and
football (soccer). This popularity has been asymmetric, being strongest in the U.S., certain European countries and former Communist states. Thus,
women's soccer was originally dominated by the U.S., China, and Norway, who have historically fielded weak men's national teams. However, more recently
[when?], several nations with strong and even dominant men's national teams, such as Germany, Sweden, and Brazil, have established themselves as women's powers. Despite this increase in popularity, women's professional sports leagues continue to struggle financially. The
WNBA is operated at a loss by the
NBA, in the hopes of creating a market that will eventually be profitable. A similar approach is used to promote
women's boxing, as women fighters are often
undercards on prominent male boxing events, in the hopes of attracting an audience.
Today, women compete professionally and as amateurs in virtually every major sport, though the level of participation typically decreases when it comes to the more violent contact sports; few schools have women's programs in American football, boxing or wrestling. However, these typical non-participation habits may slowly be evolving as more women take real interest in the games, for example
Katie Hnida became the first woman ever to score points in a
Division I NCAA American football game when she kicked two
extra-points for the
University of New Mexico in 2003. The practical recognition of basic physiological gender differences has not impeded the development of a higher profile for female athletes in other historically male sports, such as
golf,
marathons or
ice hockey.
A more detailed history of female participation in various sports can be found in the related articles listed below.
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