Browse Items (32 total)

This advertisement is for an ointment to soothe stiffness, aches, sprains and bruises incurred while cycling. That it features a female cyclist attired in bloomers is indicative of the social accommodations that were being made for women's athletics.…

The bicycle, along with the self-assertive New Woman who was often depicted riding it, is a symbol of women's rights. Experiencing the freedom of greater mobility also led women to push for emancipation in other areas of public life. Such are the…

This image of two female fencers who are soon to engage in combat exemplifies how athletic equipment, like their fencing foils, is presented as a tool for female ambition. The figure on the left grips her foil and faces her opponent, "preparing for…

At first glance, this image seems to suggest an inept Sportswoman who has entangled her line on a man's coat while attempting to cast. However, when we consider the image in the context of engaging in mixed-gender sporting activities as a metaphor…

In the latter part of the nineteenth century, heated public debates were being waged about the proper place and function of women. Known as the Woman Question, this contest circulated around women's desire for a widening of their sphere. "The…

"The Fair Toxophilites" depicts female archers in a non-competitive setting. The title derives from the word, toxophilus, meaning "lover of archery." These sportswomen are "fair," an indication that archery can be an occasion for conspicous display…

This sketch of a shooting match between female archers conveys the competitive impulse that women could express through athletic prowess. The four women in the foreground appear determined and in command as they take aim, poised to demonstrate their…

This comically-inflected rendering of two rival female archers shows how female competitiveness drives the marriage market and how the marriage market becomes a field for exercising female competitiveness. The caption reads as follows. Constance:…