More than milk and cookies

Abstract

Two thousand and twelve marked the fortieth anniversary of Title IX and the first Summer Olympic Games in which all attending nations sent female competitors. Too often, scholars of sport history conservatively frame the experiences of girls and women within a narrative of progress. College women's sport participation in particular is framed as a linear narrative beginning with the "new woman's" foray in college physical training, the non-competitive interwar coed, and the post Title IX female athlete. It is within this narrative that the college play day, a sport practice emerging in California and Washington in 1926 began to gain momentum as an additional form of extramural competition for college women. In this dissertation I interrogate which historical and societal forces contributed to the invention, diffusion, and evolution of the college play day. Though the play day is briefly included in descriptive narratives about women's physical activity and sport during the interwar era, deeper explorations are absent. This study aims to further elucidate the extent and variety of forms that the play day took. I aim to explore its general value within the college setting and its reception among women physical educators, colleagues, and play day participants. An additional research question I pose is what are the roles and contributions of certain individuals, alliances, and organizations involved in the invention, adoption, and evolutions of the college play day? Last, I question whether or not the play day is a site in which gender relations or other intersecting relations of power were reproduced, constructed, or transformed? Abstract Approved: ____________________________________ v Communications. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Bonnie Slatton, Christine H.B. Grant, and Peg Burke. My teaching, research, and this dissertation will always remain indebted to their legacies as leaders in athletics, mentors in the classroom, and as exemplary women. Though not a part of my committee, I wish to extend my appreciation to the last presiding chair of the Department of Health and Sport Studies, Beth Pelton. Her warmth combined with a certain steely resolve during times of strife will remain a true and lasting inspiration for many. Several departments and organizations have assisted in the completion of this dissertation. After leaving valued friends and colleagues in Health and Sport Studies the reception my peers and professors received during our transition into the Department of American Studies is worthy of note. The Presenting American Studies paper series, the CESA conference focusing on race and ethnicity in sport, and the representation of Sport Studies students on the American Studies Steering Committee helped make the Jefferson Building feel like our new home. As a member of our growing department I benefited from the financial assistance of the Summer Travel Award. This award helped propel me and my un-air-conditioned vehicle to archives spanning as far west as Nebraska and as far east as Massachuset...