Unknown Soldiers and Very Pretty Ladies: Challenges to the Social Order of Sports in Post-War Sweden

Abstract

When Sweden played host to the Equestrian competitions of the 1956 Olympics, social issues of class and gender were publicly discussed and challenged. Indeed, equestrian sports by their very nature and history drew attention to the changing social order of sports (and society at large) during the 1950s. It will be shown that there were a range of quite ambivalent responses to working class men and to women during this time in Sweden. Furthermore, it will be demonstrated that the relationship between these social issues and horse riding was challenged and revised during this time and that the 1950s can be seen as a turning point for the social order of sports. Equestrian sports provide a fascinating case study due firstly to a number of specific contextual features that will be explained, and secondly because they were among the first sports in Sweden to face challenges to traditional social structures.