The Girl with the Torch: The Life Story of Gymnast Karin Lindberg Lindén

Abstract

Women had difficulties entering sport arenas during the first half of the twentieth century, and in the media, sportswomen were often ridiculed or seen as beauty queens rather than athletes. Although women participated in competitive sport, little is known about how they handled and experienced their participation. This article analyses a life story interview with the Swedish gymnast Karin Lindberg Lindén to highlight how a sportswoman perceived and handled her participation in competitive sport in a time when structures and norms marginalized women’s participation. Women’s sport history is complex and provides contradictory examples of women’s involvement. Women were accepted in gymnastics – especially non-competitive gymnastics adapted for the female body – but they also competed. In the Swedish context, there were controversies between representatives of the traditional non-competitive Swedish (Ling) gymnastics and competitive gymnastics. This article shows how Karin experienced and negotiated her participation in competitions and how her participation in different forms of gymnastic practices led to travel opportunities and professional choices. The article is thus an attempt to nuance the history of women’s participation in sport. Gender studies and the concept of ‘new biography’ grounds the analytical framework of this article.