The position of women in Yugoslav and Serbian sport: Idea, reality and (dis) continuity

Abstract

The paper analyses the position of women in Yugoslav sport through analysis of archival material and compares it to the position of women in Serbian sport half a century later. The subject and the goal of the paper are exposed in the introductory part of the paper, and the methods used in the paper are exposed in the special part of the paper. The results, discussion and conclusion are the remaining three parts of the paper. Authors conclude that despite the progressive policy conducted first by the post-WW2 Yugoslav government and then by the Serbian government in contemporary Serbia, the position of women in sports has remained essentially the same. Prejudice, misunderstanding and overall gender inequality are typical of both periods. This fact reveals the weaknesses of progressive policies lacking an adequate material basis, since the social conditions of rural areas are the main reasons for such inequality. Furthermore, authors point to the complexity and significance of the phenomenon and prove that the struggle for gender equality in sports is far from over, as the position of women in Yugoslav and Serbian sport has shown only slight improvement since the difficult initial steps.