THE SECRET OF THE NEW FEMININE OUTLOOK.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3705, 14 December 1912, Page 4

THE SECRET OF THE NEW FEMININE OUTLOOK.

Tho English girl of to-day is such a. totally different being from her predecessor of forty or fifty years ago that, viewed from her mother’s standpoint, she appears more like a young goddess than just an ordinary girl of perfect health. The flabbiness—-both moral and physical—that made men look upon the Victorian maiden as a charming doll fit only to be petted and played with has disappeared for good and all, and in its place we have the strong, intellectual, self-reliant, and altogether lovable young person called the modern girl. iShe has gradually freed herself from the restrictions that made life for a woman such a narrow aimless one. •Convention used to tie her to the house and not allow her to go out unattended, and as to earning her own living, why the very thought of such a thing showed an unbalanced mind. But the girl of to-day is almost as free as her brother, and it is very, very rarely that she does not show herself equally capable of. in his language, “keeping her end up.”

I THE MORALE OF GAMES. j A change in the outlook of society iis largely responsible for this new j product, but perhaps the most telling factor is the inclusion of sports in thf ! general education of girls. Sports and physical culture have been the making of our girls, physically, mentally and morally. The reason why boys used to be spoken of as possessing more natural honor than girls ,yas simply the fact that the playj ing of cmch games as cricket, footI bail, etc., taught boys the full meani ing of fair play, unselfishness, eour- ! age, and self-restraint. Girls can now take part in most of the games that are open to boys, | and the difference in the moral fe- : minine attitude is quite remarkable. ! One very rarely comes across a girl S who says or dees any of the mean, j •'catty,’' and spiteful things that wore j formerlv quite “natural and feminI ine.” | “ONLY A GIRL.” j And another point that proves how | the modern girl has changed is that j one now seldom hears the once faj miliar phrase. “Oh, she can't do it. i She’s only a girl.” Girls have prov;ed themselves so very adept at all I the games they have attacked that j the average boy realises that he can j no longer afford to sneer. ■ There is, of course, a fashion in games, as in everything else. This I year the honors’ are shared between j lacrosse and net ball. Hockey, once j | the game that roused all the school | | girls in England to the highest point j l of enthusiasm, is slowly declining. Every school still has its hockey team, and the game is regularly played, but ■ it no longer has the place of honor; it is at best the third on the list. j GROOVING GIRLS AND HOCKEY, j The reason of this, said Fraulein Wilke (the headmistress of the Physical Training College for Women at the South-Western Polytechnic, Chelsea), is that hockey is not altogether good for growing girls. It has a tendency to develop one side of the body more than the other, and that, of course, is far from good. The general attitude, too, cramps the figure,' and is inclined to contract the chest. Lacrosse, on the other hand, is an ideal game for developing every part of the figure evenly and gracefully. During the greater part of the game the bands are held high above the head, and not below the waist, as in hockey. But it is a strenuous game, and requires a. very high state of efficiency to play really well. It is not a game that can be i played with a weekly practice. It demands much more than that, and the girl who can only give a little time to lacrosse had better not take it up for she will never play it well. IDEALISM OF NET BALL. ' But the game that Fraulein Wilke is most enthusiastic about is net ball. This game she declares is the game of the future. It lias everything in its favor. It is not as difficult as lacrosse, it can be played by all girls, big or small, weak or strong; it can be played for as short a time as ten minutes, and is, therefore, an ideal game to play between classes; it can be played in a small playground just as well as in a big one, and, best of all, when it is wet or foggy or otherwise unsuitable for outdoor games net ball can be played indoors. Tins alone makes it a game of unequalled value for schools. And schools arc already realising this, for net hall is being taken up by schools all over :lic country, both elementary and sec- • andary.