Active Bodies: A History of Women's Physical Education in Twentieth-Century America

Abstract

Active Bodies: A History of Women's Physical Education in Twentieth-Century America By Martha H. Verbrugge (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2012) (416 pages; $50.00 cloth)In Active Bodies, Martha Verbrugge has given readers a comprehensive look at women's physical education in the United States, from grade schools to universities, over more than a century. Verbrugge documents the dedication to a philosophy of "different but equal" that empowered women physical educators at the same time as this philosophy entrenched a second-class status for women in athletics. Verbrugge's inclusion of the stories of Black physical educators and her attention to the changing social forces that influenced physical activity for women and girls make this an important and engaging book.Active Bodies is organized chronologically, with nine chapters divided into two major sections: 1890s to 1940s and 1950s to 2005. For each time period, Verbrugge structures her examination along the same three foci: female physical educators, the science of women's physical education, and the impact of physical education on reproductive health. This approach creates paired chapters across the eras, which is helpful in tracking these topics over the century. The earlier era also has two additional chapters: one comparing the experiences of two educators, one Black and one White, and a second on the evolution of competitive sports for women up to the 1950s. The scope of this subject is large, and the social changes over the two time periods could easily justify their own dedicated text. Although there were moments when this reviewer wanted more detail than was possible with the broad scope, the opportunities for comparison across the periods more than make up for any loss of depth.The field of physical education came into being out of the changing understanding of healthy physical behavior. In the late nineteenth century, there was a general concern over the health impact of sedentary lifestyles, as less physically demanding occupations became available. Compulsory primary education began in this period. Verbrugge follows the changing understanding of women's physical activity and the obligations of schools to promote physical fitness while also maintaining socially approved class, race, sexual, and gender norms for their students.In the pre-1950 section, Verbrugge makes good use of personal stories to highlight the social forces that shaped the early profession. Verbrugge documents that the norm for women's physical activity was based on the experiences and expectations of middle-class, White, heterosexual women, and physical educators strove to inculcate these norms in their students. …