Figure 1.--we no longer see drill after World War I. Here we see boys at an unidentified high school participating in a gym class. This school had rules about gym clothes, but apparently no uniform. Notice the singlets and sneakers. Most gym programs included gymnastics and tumbling.

American schools had gym programs for both boys and girls. They were largely conducted seaparately. As American secondary schools were coeducational, girls were aware of the boys' programs that began to develop (1820s). For many years, however, there were no compasrable boys' programs. Anerican secondary schoolx for the most part had gym/PE programs of some kind by the time of the Civil War. Both the programs and of course the gym uniforms were different. Boys' gym programs had a strong emphasis on sports. This varied somewhat. Often health components and dancing was added to the program. Most programs introduced a wide range of athletics including gymnastic and track and field as well as a range of team sports. This was less true of the girl's programs that began to develop (lste-19th centuty). The sports component was less important for the girls and thge sports were different, although there was some overlap. Girls were not allowed ton participate in contact sports. Major changes occurred in the girls programs during the late-20th century. Congress passed an amendment to the Federal Education Act that prohibited discrimination in school gym and athletic prigrams based on gender. This created new opportunities for girls to participate in and compete in athletic programs in both secondary and college programs. Gym uniforms were another gender issue. There were practical differences. Boys could do gym in their regular clothes, but this was not the case for girls. There seem to have been some requirements for the boys, but not uniforms at many schools until after World War II. We believe that girls were wearing gym uniforms by the late-19th century. Middy blouses, bloomers, and long stockings were common. They eventually evolved into romper outfits. Boys by the inter-War era were wearing T-shirts and short pants--boxer shorts. By the 1960s, the girls' uniforms began to become more similat to the boys' uniforms.

Girls

American schools had gym programs for both boys and girls. They were largely conducted seaparately, although in recent years some schools have begun to organized coed activities. As American secondary schools were coeducational, we believe that gym programs for girls were strongly influenced by the already existing programs for boys. Gym/PE programs were initially for boys only. TYhey began to appear at American schools (1820s) and by the Civil War were very common in the North. (Public schools did not develop in the South until after the War.) At many schools, girls were prohibited from participating in physical education. [Siedentop] This presumably reflected the attitudes of both school authotities as well as parents. We begin to see some girls doing physical education (late-19th century). As far as we can tell, gym was not as popular wiyh the girls as it was for the boys. It was fairly standard at American high schools to have gym/PE programs for both boys and girls (early-20th century). Both the programs and of course the gym uniforms were different. The emphasis on sports was less true for the girls' gym programs, although this varied over time. The sports component was less important for the girls and thge sports were different, although there was some overlap. Girls were not allowed tn participate in contact sports. Major changes occurred in the girls programs during the late-20th century. Congress passed an amendment to the Federal Education Act that prohibited discrimination in school gym and athletic prigrams based on gender. Federal laws were passed requiring public schools to provide physical education to students with disabilities as well (1969-70). This created new opportunities for girls to participate in and compete in athletic programs at both the secondary and college level. Gym uniforms were another gender issue. There were practical differences. Boys could do gym in their regular clothes, but this was not the case for girls. We believe that girls were wearing gym uniforms by the late-19th century. Middy blouses, bloomers, and long stockings were common. They eventually evolved into romper outfits. By the 1960s, the girls' uniforms began to become more similar to the boys' uniforms.

Boys

Boys' gym programs had a strong emphasis on sports. This varied somewhat. Often health components and dancing was added to the program. Most programs introduced a wide range of athletics including gymnastic and track and field as well as a range of team sports. There seem to have been some requirements for the boys, but not uniforms at many schools until after World War II. Boys by the inter-War era were wearing T-shirts and short pants--boxer shorts. Note that in the 1920s, singlets rather than 't"-shirts were very common.

Coeducation

Gym/PE classes at the secondary level were strictly separated by gender for most of the 20th century. I can recall during the 1950s at my highschool that the only time that gym classes were mixed was when we did dancing. This began tio change, we think in the 1970s. Mixed gym classes began to occur. This varied from school disyruct to school distruct and the particular activity involved. At the same time more sports began to become avaiklable to girls.

Sources

Siedentop, Daryl, Peter A. Hastie, and Hans Van der Mars. Complete Guide to Sport Education (2004).

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Created: 6:58 AM 1/14/2012
Last updated: 6:58 AM 1/14/2012