“Skiing has just taken a great hold at Smith. In fact from recent developments it would appear that girls at other colleges will have to do some very special practicing to keep up to the level of expertness the Northampton Campus students are in line to attain this year – “Skiing Events and Ice Hockey Lead Program”, 1933[1]
Photo of five Smithies on skis. Athletic Subject Files. CA-MS-00167, Box 1368. Smith College Archives.
In the mid-20th century, athletics assumed a political position, creating a new interest in women’s bodies specifically in relation to reproduction, strength, and endurance [2]. Smithies had to overcome social expectations about the regulation of their bodies and the preservation of their femininity.
Patty McLane skiing behind Park House. Athletic Subject Files. CA-MS-00167, Box 1368. Smith College Archives.
The association of athletic prowess and masculinity endured as female athletes at women’s colleges during this time were questioned about not only their femininity but their sexuality. Athletic individuals often made special efforts to “prove” their femininity through dress, demeanor, and off-field interests [3].
Photo of a woman on skis on Paradise Pond. Athletic Subject Files. CA-MS-00167, Box 1368. Smith College Archives.
For those swept up by skiing, the sport became a liberating, adventurous pastime as well as an enjoyable way to display their wealth and strengthen their elite social ties. Smithies were incredibly successful, pioneering, barrier-breaking skiers because for some students, their economic privileges gave them better access to participating in the sport.
Photo of two women skiing. Athletic Subject Files. CA-MS-00167, Box 1368. Smith College Archives.
Skiing also gave these women a sense of freedom as they travelled all around New England on ski trains to visit ski resorts with other colleges. These travels allowed Smithies to adventure off campus, to meet new people, to engage in a thrilling sport and to just be independent.
Footnotes:
[1]Owen, Janet. “Skiing Events and Ice Hockey Lead Program“. NY Herald-Tribune. Dec 17, 1933. Athletic Subject Files. CA-MS-00167, Box 1368. Smith College Archives.
[2]Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. 1993. Alma Mater : Design and Experience in the Women’s Colleges from Their Nineteenth-Century Beginnings to the 1930s. Second edition. University of Massachuchusetts Press. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=cat09206a&AN=scf.oai.edge.fivecolleges.folio.ebsco.com.fs00001006.3375f41b.96a4.55ad.85b6.68ce7b87a178&site=eds-live&scope=site.
[3]Cahn, Susan K. 2015. Coming on Strong : Gender and Sexuality in Women’s Sport. Second Edition. University of Illinois Press. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=cat09206a&AN=scf.oai.edge.fivecolleges.folio.ebsco.com.fs00001006.4196cd4e.6e61.52cb.bedb.81bff7883ae2&site=eds-live&scope=site.