One of the controversies of the Victorian age was whether - or, later, the degree to which - women could participate in "sports." In the 1880's, the general opinion was that athletic sports and competitive sports were inappropriate for "ladies," if not downright injurious and unhealthy. Gradually, the view evolved that ladies could engage in sports if they did so in a graceful, ladylike and "uncompetitive" fashion. This section brings you articles that portray the controversies over women in sports and outdoor recreations.

A Girls' Walking Tour, by Dora Hope (Girl's Own Paper, 1880)

"We were, on this particular occasion, mourning over the various pleasures that girls are debarred from, just because they are girls... We all united in denouncing the arbitrary laws of Society, which forbid us these and other delights, including walking-tours, unless accompanied by a gentleman... when one of our party... electrified us by saying... 'I believe we could make a glorious tour together, without a single gentleman or chaperones to interfere with us.'"

A Girls' Cricket Club, by Its Secretary (Girl's Own Paper, 1889)

"I know many people regard cricket as a most unladylike and improper game for girls to play at; but it has always seemed to me that if the girls behave quietly, and only have friends for spectators, there can be no serious objection."

Ladies' Golf (Girl's Own Paper, 1890)

"It is...only of late years that ladies have -- with much more becoming and feminine taste than inspires them to compete in the more masculine sports of cricket and football -- taken up [the] game..."

Girls at Hockey (Girl's Own Paper, 1891)

Women on Horseback, by C. Anstruther-Thomson (English Illustrated Magazine, 1892A)

Women riders in history and tips on horsemanship today.

On Recreations for Girls, by Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson MD (Girl's Own Paper, 1894)

"Except under special circumstances women are just as able as men to take part in recreative pursuits; they are as much benefitted by such pursuits; and... [if] they moderate their zeal so as not to show too competitive a spirit in any contests in which they may be engaged, they add greatly and gracefully to the science of health and to the usefulness of life..."

Useful Pastimes for Health and Pleasure, by Gordon Stables, M.D., R.N. (Girl's Own Paper, 1895)

On cycling, golf, cricket, lawn tennis, walking, boating, fishing and gardening.

Athletics for Ladies, by B. Fletcher Robinson (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1896)

How We Started Our Hockey Club (Girl's Own Paper, 1900)

Lawn Tennis, by H.M. Pillans (Girl's Own Paper, 1900)

"The question has often been asked in the tennis world, 'Why is the standard of the average girl's play so far below a man's?' Not implying, of course, that one ever expects to see 'equality of the sexes' in this respect, but in the case of a game requiring skill rather than brute force the weaker sex should certainly be able to show to better advantage than at present." The answers are guaranteed to fascinate...

The Athletic Girl, by Anne O'Hagan (Munsey's Magazine, 1901)

Subtitled "The revolution that has opened the realm of outdoor sport to women, and the changes it has brought in her habits, her dress and her health."

The Ethical Value of Sports for Women, by Frances A. Kellor (Drapers' Self-Culture, 1913)

The value of sports to the individual and to the community, with some interesting views of how women's morals and abilities are improved through sports.

• See also Cycling for articles on the controversy over whether women should ride bicycles!