Sports During the Gilded Age Specifically during the Gilded Age, African Americans, women, and the lower classes were all discriminated against in sporting arenas, just as they have been in every aspect of American society. . Unfortunately, early in the Gilded Age, sports clearly showed "significant underrepresentation among key groups for equality and diversity in society" (http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu /era.cfm?eraid=9). However, as the sport became more popular, Americans realized that there were barriers that needed to be broken down between minorities, women, and different social classes. Changing the face of America, the history of sports began as a game played primarily for entertainment and leisure, eventually creating equality for all. The history of sport has been marked by division and discrimination, but it has also affected modern popular culture and the evolution of attitudes and social norms in favor of equality of gender, social class and breed. Social class played an important role in sport. It dictated who could participate in which sports and at what level of participation. The terminal factor associated with social class was money. Money was the way to obtain the equipment needed to play a sport. Without money, you couldn't play organized sports. Furthermore, this question only limited the already restricted minorities. Barriers between social classes have led to sports being also segregated by social class. The middle and upper classes took to playing sports like football and boxing. They could afford the equipment needed for organized sports. However, the working classes did not have much money and so made do with what they had. A "sport" which was exclusively reserved for the working classes... middle of paper ...... t and leisure, to create equality among all. The history of sport has been marked by division and discrimination, but it has also affected modern popular culture and changing attitudes and social norms in favor of equality of gender, social class and breed. During the Gilded Age and after, sports finally broke the barrier between gender, class, and equality. This allowed blacks to play sports with whites, women to play sports with men, and poor people to play sports with the middle classes and the rich. Not only did sports in the Golden Age help break down barriers, but it also allowed sports to be shared among different races, women, and social classes. Different sports such as combat fighting, boxing and swimming were introduced by minorities in society and today have become some of the most popular sports...