She got game?! Women, sport and society from an Israeli perspective

The struggle of women worldwide for their right to self-realization in general and their proper representation in sports in particular included the struggle of the women in the Yishuv community prior to the establishment of the State of Israel, or in the Israeli society that was formed after the country was founded. The rapid increase in women's participation in sports in Israel over the last decades illustrates the change in the status of women in sports itself and in many other social areas, but in parallel, also exposes rigid thought patterns in regard to women's and men's involvement in sports. The different physical characteristics of men and women, and society's differing expectations influence involvement in sports and the success that women achieve in sport activities. This paper will trace, conceptually and historically, the different aspects of women's sports in Israel in the past and present, while presenting the central trends of the progression and limitations of the status of female athletes in Israel.