Woman and the sport fetish: modernity, consumerism and sports participation in interwar Britain

Fiona Skillen

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

    Abstract

    The emergence of the ‘modern woman’ in Inter-War Britain was the result of a process which began at the end of the previous century. The new modern woman was symbolic of youth and freedom; she embraced life and spent her time in the pursuit of fun and enjoyment. The female body was, in many ways, one of the central focuses of the new modernity. The way it was dressed, its hair styled and even its shape were all intrinsic symbols of a woman's conformity to modernity and its associated ideals. Sport could provide an opportunity to train and tone the body in an effort to conform to the new idealised ‘boyish’ shape, to improve posture and, it was believed, even to enhance beauty.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)750-765
    Number of pages16
    JournalThe International Journal of the History of Sport
    Volume29
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Apr 2012

    Fingerprint

    modernity
    Sports
    participation
    beauty
    conformity
    symbol
    Fetish
    Modernity
    Participation
    Consumerism
    time
    Female Body
    Posture
    Conformity
    Pursuit
    Intrinsic
    Ideal
    Train
    Enjoyment
    Fun

    Keywords

    • gender
    • sport
    • history
    • fashion
    • interwar Britain
    • consumerism
    • modernity

    Cite this

    Skillen, Fiona. / Woman and the sport fetish: modernity, consumerism and sports participation in interwar Britain. In: The International Journal of the History of Sport. 2012 ; Vol. 29, No. 5. pp. 750-765.
    @article{203c62b52c0a4ee0939ed6e829555ebf,
    title = "Woman and the sport fetish: modernity, consumerism and sports participation in interwar Britain",
    abstract = "The emergence of the ‘modern woman’ in Inter-War Britain was the result of a process which began at the end of the previous century. The new modern woman was symbolic of youth and freedom; she embraced life and spent her time in the pursuit of fun and enjoyment. The female body was, in many ways, one of the central focuses of the new modernity. The way it was dressed, its hair styled and even its shape were all intrinsic symbols of a woman's conformity to modernity and its associated ideals. Sport could provide an opportunity to train and tone the body in an effort to conform to the new idealised ‘boyish’ shape, to improve posture and, it was believed, even to enhance beauty.",
    keywords = "gender, sport, history, fashion, interwar Britain, consumerism, modernity",
    author = "Fiona Skillen",
    year = "2012",
    month = "4",
    doi = "10.1080/09523367.2012.675206",
    language = "English",
    volume = "29",
    pages = "750--765",
    journal = "The International Journal of the History of Sport",
    issn = "0952-3367",
    publisher = "Routledge",
    number = "5",

    }

    Skillen, F 2012, 'Woman and the sport fetish: modernity, consumerism and sports participation in interwar Britain', The International Journal of the History of Sport, vol. 29, no. 5, pp. 750-765. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2012.675206

    Woman and the sport fetish: modernity, consumerism and sports participation in interwar Britain. / Skillen, Fiona.

    In: The International Journal of the History of Sport, Vol. 29, No. 5, 04.2012, p. 750-765.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

    TY - JOUR

    T1 - Woman and the sport fetish: modernity, consumerism and sports participation in interwar Britain

    AU - Skillen, Fiona

    PY - 2012/4

    Y1 - 2012/4

    N2 - The emergence of the ‘modern woman’ in Inter-War Britain was the result of a process which began at the end of the previous century. The new modern woman was symbolic of youth and freedom; she embraced life and spent her time in the pursuit of fun and enjoyment. The female body was, in many ways, one of the central focuses of the new modernity. The way it was dressed, its hair styled and even its shape were all intrinsic symbols of a woman's conformity to modernity and its associated ideals. Sport could provide an opportunity to train and tone the body in an effort to conform to the new idealised ‘boyish’ shape, to improve posture and, it was believed, even to enhance beauty.

    AB - The emergence of the ‘modern woman’ in Inter-War Britain was the result of a process which began at the end of the previous century. The new modern woman was symbolic of youth and freedom; she embraced life and spent her time in the pursuit of fun and enjoyment. The female body was, in many ways, one of the central focuses of the new modernity. The way it was dressed, its hair styled and even its shape were all intrinsic symbols of a woman's conformity to modernity and its associated ideals. Sport could provide an opportunity to train and tone the body in an effort to conform to the new idealised ‘boyish’ shape, to improve posture and, it was believed, even to enhance beauty.

    KW - gender

    KW - sport

    KW - history

    KW - fashion

    KW - interwar Britain

    KW - consumerism

    KW - modernity

    U2 - 10.1080/09523367.2012.675206

    DO - 10.1080/09523367.2012.675206

    M3 - Article

    VL - 29

    SP - 750

    EP - 765

    JO - The International Journal of the History of Sport

    JF - The International Journal of the History of Sport

    SN - 0952-3367

    IS - 5

    ER -

    Skillen F. Woman and the sport fetish: modernity, consumerism and sports participation in interwar Britain. The International Journal of the History of Sport. 2012 Apr;29(5):750-765. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2012.675206

    Documents and Links