Old Ideas about Women in Sports
Why are male and female athletes shown in different ways? Gottesman says it is because of old-fashioned beliefs. For many years, people thought that women should not play sports. People thought sports were for men only. For many years, female athletes were not taken seriously.
In 1924, Sonia Henie began to change the way people saw women in sports. Many other women athletes continued to show their strength as athletes. Today, people know that both men and women can compete.
Speed skating is a sport at the Winter Olympics.
This table shows when men and women first competed in each Winter Olympic Sport.
| Winter Olympics Sport | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Alpine Skiing | 1936 | 1936 |
| Biathlon | 1924 | 1992 |
| Bobsleigh | 1924 | 2002 |
| Croos-Country Skiing | 1924 | 1952 |
| Curling | 1924 | 1998 |
| Figure Skating | 1924 | 1924 |
| Freestyle Skiing | 1992 | 1992 |
| Ice Hockey | 1924 | 1998 |
| Luge | 1964 | 1964 |
| Nordic Combined | 1924 | – |
| Short Track Speed Skating | 1992 | 1992 |
| Skeleton | 1928 | 2002 |
| Ski Jumping | 1924 | – |
| Snowboard | 1998 | 1998 |
| Speed Skating | 1924 | 1960 |
1. For each sport, calculate the number of years that passed between the first men’s competition and the first women’s.
2. Make a bar graph that shows your findings.