The 20th century saw multiple trends and changes in women's fitness culture.
1900 to 1920
During the 19th century women participated in many forms of recreational fitness. Specific activities depended largely on the culture and social class, but some activities included horse back riding, dancing, tennis, and early versions of badminton.
Social, commercial and scientific developments between 1900 and 1920 led to the increase of physical activities available to American women. Opportunities for women flourished as organized sports began to grow in popularity and physical education programs for girls were introduced in schools. One sport that was introduced in America at the turn of the century was basketball which quickly swept over schools and playgrounds across the nation. While initially men played the sport, it wasn't long before women too could be found playing basketball at parks, YWCA's, playgrounds, and in schools from kindergarten's through universities. However, women's basketball rules were different than men's due to fear that women may over exert themselves, or dislodge their uterus, if play became too intense.
Another major achievement in the growing women's fitness movement, was when women first competed in the Olympics. American physical educators, who were viewed as the experts on the topic at the time, strongly objected to women participating in the olympics. They claimed that it caused unnecessary physical strain and may create divisions among women. Despite this, after seeing what other women athletes were capable of doing, many women began to rethink their athletic limitations and capabilities.
One social and commercial development at the turn of the 20th century was the emergence of a group of female trapeze artists known as “strong women”. They were at first criticized for opposing societal gender norms, but with the emergence of the cinema they soon became very popular icons for female health. One famous trapeze artist of this time was Laverie Vallée, better known as Charmion. Her trapeze act was filmed and produced by Thomas Edison in 1901 and is known as the Trapeze Disrobing Act. The very popular 3 minute video shows Vallée swinging through the air, undressing herself while revealing a very muscular upper body. As more strong women like Vallée performed, their images were publicized through posters and postcards throughout the United States. These images challenged the aesthetic ideal of the female body.
Scientific developments of the time were spearheaded by male physical educators whose work was focused on how to create the most efficient human body, both male and female. Their focus was on the bodies weight and shape. Their research was focused on determining what the ideal, most efficient body would be like.
Dudley Allen Sargent
One of the leading physical educators at the time was Dudley Allen Sargent, his research along with many others came to the conclusion that the ideal body was a slim one. Any unnecessary fat was inefficient. This idea spread quickly, and at the turn of the 20th century the ideal female figure was between 5'3" and 5'7", and weighed between 125 and 140 lbs. Sargent advocated that the ideal female figure for young and developing girls is a boyish one. This kind of figure allowed girls to more easily participate in physical activities. His critics often worried that the new female figure was becoming too masculine. Sargent believed that more physical activity would actually lead to a more graceful female figure. He also believed that the corset exaggerated feminine features and took away from "true womanliness”. Sargent felt that true beauty lay in symmetry and the "natural development” of the female figure.
A greater interest in knowing one's weight and where one ranked according to the norm set by the physical educators of the time emerged as a result. Anxiety over fat led to a cultural shift to control ones weight to conform with the norm.
1920 to 1940
The 1920s was a progressive era for women's rights, with this came women's opposition to previous ideals of the "feminine body". The "New Woman's" (as they were frequently called) body was slender and boyish, contrasting the feminine curves of the 19th century woman. Clothing companies, food companies, and the media all promoted this new ideal of slimness and it spread quickly throughout society. Weight became a hot topic for public scrutiny as did private organizations effort to intervene and help people achieve the ideal body shape.