Saturday, July 28, 2012

History of women at the Olympics

"Women haven’t always been welcome at the Olympics, for reasons of decorum, menstruation and the real fear of them turning into men – but times have changed .... "

That is the start of a story I have out today in The Irish Times, follow the link below to the piece. Worth reading to see how far we have come but how much more we still have to do. And they have included some great shots of sportswomen struggling away in full corset, long skirts and boaters.

"Football is quite unsuitable for females" and other adventures ... 

(and yes in spite of my cynicism, I LOVED the opening ceremony, watched it with my housemates, four nationalities between a gang of us and all so emotional to see 'our' teams. brilliantly played Danny Boyle.)


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3 comments

a runners' life said...

Great article Niamh. It's hard to believe that it's taken so long for some nations to send female athletes to the Olympics and some still think certain sports aren't suitable. Sure not every female is made for every sport but the same goes for the males. It's all about having the option - if you want to be an athlete you should have the opportunity regardless of gender.

niamh said...

@arunnerslife - thanks. it's a bit depressing when you see it all spread out like that but at the same time how excting that this year's tournament is so much better than before. Someday parity will happen - first sport, then politics (...dreaming)

niamh said...
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