Browse Items (32 total)

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…

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…

Sporting illustration (periodical)

"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…

Sporting illustration (periodical)

Sporting illustration

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.…