Anonymously We Present
Item
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Title
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Anonymously We Present
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Date
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April 1939
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volume
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4
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issue
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3
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page start
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12
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page end
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12
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content
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en
Anonymously We Present
Dear Editor:
During the summer the Sports Columnist of The New York Herald Tribune took a vacation. We cannot blame him for that. While away, all the sports writers took a crack at writing the daily column. Fencing was mentioned just once and that day by a woman writer who had a sense of humor. She commented on the appearance of women in sports. She felt as many of us do that a woman loses much of her feminine grace and charm when she sidles up to a golf ball or starts heaving hammers. Her remark about fencing was brief and to the point and followed a comment on field hockey as brief and as pointed: “Field hockey players in their little pleated dresses are cases of arrested development having fun. A fencer is a girl in a sitting position looking for a chair.”
This subject of women fencing is a delicate one. I believe that women should fence, that it is a good sport for them and one that will continue to grow in popularity. I am still in doubt about women in competition, but my former ideas of complete opposition have changed. Only a few years ago a women’s foil competition was a pathetic exhibition of giggles and horrible sights. Today these competitions have taken a change toward scientific swordplay. The day of the velvet skirt and black silk stockings is, thank heavens, nearly a thing of the past. The adoption of ankle-length trousers, similar to ski trousers, and the great improvement in fencing technique makes our girl fencers look human once more. Today, the ideal fencing outfit for girls is the tightly tailored short white jacket with white or black trousers fastened at the ankle. White trousers will be obligatory after September, according to the ruling of the A.F.L.A. Since the black trousers look so much better than the white, I do hope that this rule may be modified before September. It should make no difference in the fencing and there is a recognizable difference in appearance.
The increased activity in sports by our girls has already had one bad result. Sports have definitely increased the calf measurement of the American girl. If skirts are to continue short, this is a very unfortunate development. A woman is interested in sports for only a short time but she has to be interested in the trimness of her calves all her life. Therefore, any sport which enlarges these muscles is not one for any girl to undertake without serious consideration. I am no expert but I have as quick an eye for these matters as most men and am pleased to say that fencing does not increase the size of the calf muscles. Fencing is a trim sport. Despite the intensity of physical exertion, it does not seem to enlarge any particular set of muscles. Miraculously, it acts more as a muscle-toner than a muscle-builder. It is therefore the ideal sport for any girl or boy who wants to exercise, develop coordination, and keep the red blood flowing without becoming bulgy or musclebound anywhere.
