SILENTLY FINDING THE FULCRUM: TIPPING THE GENDER BALANCE IN THE AMERICAN TURNERS TURNVEREIN MOVEMENT

Abstract

During much of the nineteenth century the flow of European immigrants to the United States was dominated by those of German origin. Among them were many Turner (gymnasts) who were political exiles from the 1848-1849 Revolutions and facing imprisonment in Germany for revolutionary activities. In 1848 the first Turnverein (gymnastic society) was founded by Turners who had settled in Cincinnati. Turner societies were established mostly in larger cities east of the Mississippi where Turnplätze (outdoor grounds) were erected or Turnhallen (gymnasiums) were built to accommodate Turnen (gymnastics). In 1866 the Turners established a Turnlehrerseminar (Turner Normal College) to train gymnastics teachers and successfully lobbied to introduce Turnen and physical education in the public schools. Membership in a Turnverein was limited to men, yet as early as 1857 girls and women were encouraged to participate in Turnen. Even though women were denied membership and the privileges it afforded, by the early twentieth century Turnen had been transformed from a predominantly male activity to one dominated by females. The primary aim of this project is to explain why females were able to thrive corporeally in the male-dominated Turnverein environment. The Turners maintained annual statistics which are used to provide evidence of greater participation levels by females than males, and convention meeting minutes expose how and why the membership did not support women's rights or women as Turnverein members. Females were able to thrive because the Turner constitution stated its commitment to developing strong and healthy individuals. The Turners chose to integrate females into the Turnen ranks, rather than limiting their classes to males. Because females had access to physical spaces like the Turnhalle, they were able to leverage the agency of the body in pursuit of Turnen. Women were able to go to school, become gymnastic or physical education teachers, and be independent. Locating female corporeal empowerment, especially in a male- dominated environment, is vital for countering oppression. Hopefully, the Turners' contributions to gymnastics, physical education, and women's sports will be more fully recognized.