The Rise and Fall of the Sportswoman

by Gregory Kent Stanley

The Rise and Fall of the Sportswoman examines health and fitness advice for American women in the years 1860-1940. It describes the factors that propelled the sportswoman to the level of a highly visible cultural symbol. Blending together medical, educational, social, and cultural history, it also discusses how this symbol eventually collapsed, all but disappearing from the landscape of American social thought.