Description
Book SynopsisThis book tells the story of âthe Lady Footballersâ. It covers their 1895 and 1896 tours through the eyes of the largely unsympathetic British press. It explains gender issues of the time, and the financial problems that doomed this experiment.
Despite increasing opportunities in sport for British women during the late nineteenth century, virtually every segment of society opposed the idea of women playing football. In 1895, Nettie Honeyball and Florence Dixie formed the British Ladiesâ Football Club (BLFC) intending to introduce the game to women and girls as a means of recreation and profit, over 10,000 spectators crowded the football ground in London to watch the BLFC in its first match. Nearly every London newspaper covered the event.
These women endured public ridicule. They ignited the gender prejudice of the time, and confronted it head on wearing âmenâsâ kit, and playing âmenâs rules.â Football's mystique was that it was a manly sport for men, thus these women
Table of Contents
Introduction 1. Crouch End Rubs Its Eyes and Pinches Its Arms 2. The Threat of Robust Mothers 3. An Aristocrat and An Upholsterer’s Daughter 4. As Natural a Game for Girls as for Boys 5. This Club Does Not Play in Fashion’s Dress 6. Grown Men Weep 7. "Stop the Game, You’ve Lost Your Ribbons, Miss!" 8. Barnstorming Through Britain - 1895 and 1896 9. "Tommy" and Mrs. Graham: Gender Confusion on the Pitch 10. Damned If They Did, Damned If They Didn't 11. Life After Death
