“Every Czech a Sokol!”: Feminism and Nationalism in the Czech Sokol Movement

Abstract

TheSokol(Falcon), the Czech gymnastic organization, was a major component in the transformation of Czech nationalism into a mass movement. It was also one of the few organizations to mobilize women for the national cause, and their involvement in the club forms a major chapter in the history of women in Czech society. There are few sources on Czech women's history, in part because historians have tended to focus on the more advanced feminist movements of Western Europe or the United States to the detriment of the smaller nations of Europe's borderlands, where the complex ethnic composition created a special context for the emergence of the “women's question.” In the Czech lands, the rivalry between Czechs and Germans defined the conceptual framework of Czech feminism and lent the national struggle an overriding importance that served both to inspire and to limit the campaign of Czech women for expanded rights and opportunities. This convergence of feminism and nationalism is evident in the changing role of women in the Sokol from the founding of the organization in 1862 until World War I, a time when the Sokol emerged as a leading force in the Czech national movement, and when Czech women began to challenge traditional attitudes and demand equality with men. In manifesting these broader processes, the history of women in the Sokol exemplifies their larger effort to define their role within an evolving national community.