Bibliometric guides to early physical exercise, education, and rehabilitation research on girls and women.

Abstract

Today, the historical representation of women as participants in exercise science research is frequently discussed. Often omitted from these discussions is women's participation in early research in fields that are historically linked to exercise science such as physical education and physical therapy. Much interest in women's health was expressed in papers published in these other fields, thus omission of this content from contemporary discussions about women's research representation gives an impression that early researchers, many of whom were female physical educators and therapists, were disinterested in women's health, including the menstrual cycle. To address this impression and expand historical knowledge, I created two bibliometric lists of relevant historical content published in physical exercise, education, and rehabilitation (PEER) journals before 1980. The first list is comprised of 95 papers that included 306 photographs of girls and women participating in PEER research between 1907 and 1979. These papers were discovered via searches of personal files and the complete digital archives of Journal of Applied Physiology (1948-1979), Medicine and Science in Sports (1969-1979), and Research Quarterly (1930-1979). Photographs often showed girls and women being assessed on muscle strength, motor skill learning, body composition, and posture. The second list is comprised of 77 papers (1876-1979) that included data or commentary on the menstrual cycle or menstrual symptoms (e.g., dysmenorrhea) within PEER contexts. Brief descriptions of the papers and photographs are presented. Educators and researchers can use these bibliometric lists to enrich future lectures and writings regarding the history of women's early participation in PEER research.NEW & NOTEWORTHY I created one bibliometric list of 95 journal papers that included photographs of girls and women participating in early physical exercise, education, and rehabilitation (PEER) research and another bibliometric list of 77 early PEER papers that contained data or commentary on the menstrual cycle or menstrual symptoms within PEER contexts. Educators and researchers can use these papers to enrich future lectures and writings regarding the history of women's early participation in PEER research.