Women have faced discrimination and stereotypes for thousands of years. What many people did not know though, is that it would take only one of them to transform not only the sports industry, but the outlook on women in everyday activities. Babe Zaharias Didrikson would not only become the greatest, and first, outstanding female athlete of the 1930’s, but would also be the leader of a movement in a time where being sexist was accepted, and where men dominated every aspect of life except for cleaning the house. Babe, being a physical power-house, dominated and participated in almost every sport imaginable to the mind. Through determination, strong will, and the persistence to overcome obstacles, Babe Zaharias Didrikson changed the world of sports forever by overcoming all common perceptions of women in her time and giving hope to all competitive souls of the sports world. From birth, Babe wanted to be the best athlete who ever lived. Her dream was born and determination set in when she sat on her father’s lap and read the 1928 headlines of the newspapers for the Olympics that year (Cayleff). From …show more content…
People used strong effort to keep women’s sports limited when they wanted to be competitive; that wouldn’t last long (Bell). Women took part in the Olympics of 1900 for the first time. Only 22 women competed and were permitted to participate in golf and tennis (Feminist Majority Foundation). Later in the 1920’s a very stereotypical view was developed towards women and their desire to participate in sports. Their participation became “unfeminine” and “selfish”, and not to mention the fact that all athletic women were accused of lesbianism (Bell). These discriminatory acts kept many women from following their desires to compete. The ones who did compete though, defied the ridicule and institutional barriers because they loved the sport and the