ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to cast some further light on nineteenth- and early twentieth-century concepts of sport and gender, specifically in a transatlantic Anglo-American perspective. The focus is upon ‘middle class’ constructs and the involvement of women. Considerable attention is also given to men and sport, as modern sport has been defined and dominated by the male model. Moreover, the notion of gender makes little sense in human societies unless ‘male’ and ‘female’ are compared and contrasted. The word ‘sport’ is used as an inclusive category term to comprehend a diversity of physical activities which, in the eyes of participants and commentators, were intended to improve one's physical, mental, and/or moral health, as well as those events which range from simple recreative pursuits of a physical nature to highly organized agonistic contests. One other point: Americans were not always very precise in their use of the term ‘British’, often using it when they meant only the English. In general, I have followed the conventions of the nineteenth-century American press.
