‘Do tennis-girls make good wives?’: exploring media representations of women’s sport in interwar Britain

The interwar years were a time of unprecedented growth in women’s sports in Britain. It has been argued that this growth was, in part, related to the popularity of the concept of the “modern” woman. Consequently, sports could be seen as an intrinsic feature of “modern” women’s lives; for many, it not only formed part of their leisure time, but it also took on an importance in their fashions. However, the new “modern” woman was significant because of the contrast she represented with previous generations. The transition to modernity for women in these years was not an easy one.

This chapter will discuss the sporting woman of the interwar years and her complex relationship with the press. The chapter will look at examples of the ways in which women’s sports participation was discussed and displayed by the popular press and magazines of the period.