A Sportive Matka Polka - Nationalism and Feminism in Women's Physical Culture in Modern Poland

ISBN-13: 9783639114492 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 360 str.

Nameeta Mathur

Opis

This book examines the interaction between nationalism and feminism in modern Polish womens physical culture from the late nineteenth century until the end of the twentieth century. Unlike most western countries where sportswomen were typically marginalized in their athletic endeavors, Polish female athletes earned greater respect and recognition in their physical culture. On many occasions, and for varied reasons, womens athleticism in Poland was a source of immense pride and prestige for both the state and society. This form of acceptance, however, does not suggest that sportswomen faced no discrimination in their efforts to become sportive. Womens physicality remained the subject of intense debate, particularly when the socio-economic conditions worsened and threatened the survival of families. Still, despite the patriarchal and other barricades, the Polish national struggles for independence and the emergence of the "New Woman" created significant institutional and ideological spaces for sportswomen to build their physical culture. Accordingly, this book enriches the histories of Poland and modern Europe, as well as womens and sports studies.

O autorze

Dr. Nameeta Mathur is an Associate Professor of History at
Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan. An author of more than
twenty articles and reviews in various scholarly journals, Mathur
earned her Ph.D. in Modern European History from West Virginia
University, where she specialized in both Polish history and
Women s history.