Change within a society is extremely difficult to achieve, however, in the 1920s, Flappers altered societal norms by becoming the face of change and progress. Due to the flappers attempt at diminishing the suffocation and expectations that existed for women, society was slowly beginning to veer away from a patriarchal lifestyle where women were portrayed as inferior. As a result of flapper’s rebellious behavior and actions, more women became comfortable creating lives for themselves and becoming independent. Flappers were the first step to a soon to be skyrocketing development known as the feminist movement. Women began working, wearing less confined clothing, and started going out at night to drink and smoke like men did but, “these young …show more content…
They were asserting their rights to make personal choices” (Zeits, 69). Women who lived in the United States, especially flappers, often faced misogyny and condescension, however, they managed to successfully construct a vigorous, independent women, who was soon to become the future of America. For centuries, women in America had been expected to wear long dresses that covered their knees, and tight corsets that extenuates one's waist, which provided an “inviting” hourglass figure. The constraining clothing that women wore depicted the way they were treated before the flappers. The corset can be seen as a comparison to the way women felt before the 1920s, because not only were women's clothing tight and suffocating, but so were their lives as a whole. Women were confined to living life at home in the kitchen or satisfying the needs of their husband and children. In addition, women had legal restrictions when it came to working and having a say in the way our country is governed. Around the same time that women began renovating and modernizing their style, they began to repair and take control over their lives and decisions. Skirts that were once worn at floor length, were soon shrunk down in size and ended at the calf, which was a big change in the 1920s. The extravagant dresses …show more content…
The flapper’s party life consisted of late night at jazz clubs, parties, and most significantly the acclaimed and glamourous Broadway. While at these events, the flappers were perceived as, “The notorious character type who bobbed her hair, smoked cigarettes, drank gin, sported short skirts, and passed her evenings in steamy jazz clubs, where she danced in a shockingly immodest fashion with a revolving cast of male suitors (Zeits, 6).” Many people were distraught by these provocative actions and late nights considering that only men were the people who were out late having fun. Women were often reprimanded and looked down upon similar to the character Eugenia in Joshua Weitz Flapper: “Eugenia is not innately bad. She is a good girl, but she was blinded to a true perception of life by the white lights of Broadway (Zeitz, 4).” Women who began drinking and smoking a social setting made a huge impact on how society was changing. It revealed that women were no longer controlled by men, and they can do what they want; they were finding their identity and having fun while doing it. Going to jazz clubs and Broadway shows was a sign of leisure and pleasure. By attending these events, women were going against the gender restrictions that applied to people living in the 20s. Not only was attending these shows and parties a
Flappers, known for their short hair, short dresses, and rebellious attitudes towards traditional gender roles, showed a new generation of women who were unafraid to challenge societal norms and expectations, paving the way for greater gender equality in the decades to come. The rise of flappers is considered a "cultural revolution" as it challenged traditional gender roles and norms, inspiring a new generation of women to break free from societal constraints. Working in the men's world during the war gave women a taste of financial independence and a desire for social change. This proves that the emergence of flappers was progressive because women were able to break away from traditional gender roles and prove that they were just as capable as men in the workforce. Their choices of fashion, such as bobbed hair and short dresses, were considered very outrageous by people who held onto traditional values.
Despite this, women were able to make a huge impact on America through social reforms. Many young women went against the beliefs of their parents. Prior to the Roaring Twenties, America was in a Victorian era. Women wore dresses that were floor-length, their hair was long and premarital sex was almost non-existent. During the 1920’s however, some women became what are known as “flappers”.
During 1920s, a new era of fashion came in the United States. It was the era when women first abandoned restricting fashions of the past decades and began to wear more comfortable clothes. During this time the new girl was invented - a Flapper, who wore short skirts, bobbed her hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted her disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. This is the background for the 1926 cartoon created by Will B. Johnstone. The cartoon shows a flapper pulling out words from the dictionary, that portray the qualities that flappers got rid of in 1920s, such as modesty, obedience and prudery.
They scoffed at the confining fashions older women in society. The flappers did not want to be controlled by societies dress constrictions, Zeits describes that the flapper’s outfits were far from the normal attire worn by Victorian women. Flappers like divas pushed boundaries, society has one idea of style while the flappers had their own. The young women showed just enough skin to make a man always want more. Nevertheless, many questioned as to why flappers dressed in such an equally sexual and nonsexual way.
Women were now being called Flappers because of their short clothing, stylish black bobs, wearing heavy make-up, dancing, drinking, and smoking. “In 1890’s Britain, in fact,“flapper” described a very young prostitute, and after the turn of the century, it was used on both sides of the Atlantic for cheeky, prepubescent girls whose long braids, the New York Time reported, “flapped in the wind” (“The original “It Girl”, Web.b.ebscohost.com). This quote proves “Flappers” had a bad connotation, but then the word evolved across the world into showing freedom from a restricted lifestyle. “It was a form of youth rebellion, a project of liberation, and it didn’t go unnoticed.” (“How Flappers Rebelled Through Feminism And Consumerism”, bi.edu).
Self-labeled “sex-positive feminists” generally believe there shouldn’t be some universal, cookie cutter guideline for all women’s sexuality. As one sex worker and activist, Teri Goodson, said, “Some non-sex worker feminists seem to understand that the stigma and oppression of female prostitutes is used to uphold the double standard and is limiting to all women’s sexual freedom.” Those thoughts capture the essence of the liberalized women of the 1920s who shattered several cultural boundaries. In fact, these women were reverently labelled as “flappers,” a term popularized by F. Scott Fitzgerald in reference to those women. Mind you, the term “flapper” had previously been primarily associated with prostitutes.
Flappers in the 1920’s, were the party goers of the decade. When women were given the right to vote women thought if men can go out all night, drinking, partying and sleeping with whoever they wanted, women could too. The styles of their clothes and hair changed drastically from the early 1900’s to the 1920’s. The hair of the 1900’s was long locks of Victorian women, but when equal rights were allowed women cut their long hair into a Bobbs. The clothes of the 1900’s were long and elegant, touching the ground, but the same thing happened.
The image of the flapper was used in magazines and advertising and lead to the influence of mass consumer culture and media. This new image of the flapper “encouraged both the consumption of new products and new patterns of consumption and provided women with accessible routes to engage with modernity.” Since women started to gain rights such as voting and opportunity to gain jobs, women started to gain a sense of freedom and started to mix in with the new modern world they were entering in. As stated before, technology started to rise, and companies wanted to sell these new products. So, companies started to aim towards women in
The level of influence a time period has on a country is defined by its political, economic, and social change. The 1920s was one of the most influential decades in the history of the United States. Corrupt politicians, tax cuts for the rich and new opportunities for women signify the influence of the Roaring 20s. A government's ability to conduct a democracy determines its ability to thrive. Due to corruption in the government, the 1920s was the most influential decade, politically speaking, in U.S. history.
In the 1920s there were bold, venturesome, dauntless young women who broke society's idea of women standards to change the whole American culture. The book, Flapper, by Joshua Zeitz discusses the effects that books, movies, and celebrities of this time, had on the average women, which caused this era of flappers. These young women known as flappers weren’t the only change that the post World War One era brought. Throughout the book, these changes are brought up from religion to morals, to other changes, and these changes are what would completely develop new social norms in America.
Since early ages, mothers have always criticized the ways their daughters acted. In the 1920s criticisms were taken a step further by the flappers, who completely revolutionized the view on females. Flappers in the 1920s had an impact on women for the future. Who they were, what they wore, and what their morals were was how their impacts changed the future for all the females. “The term "flapper" originated in the 1920s and refers to the fashion trend for unfastened rubber galoshes that "flapped" when walking, an attribution reinforced by the image of the free-wheeling flapper in popular culture.”
The 1920s carried much change in society. Some of these changes were more rights for women, jazz music, and prohibition. The people of the 1920s were disillusioned by society lacking in idealism and vision, sense of personal alienation, and Americans were obsessed with materialism and outmoded moral values (The Roaring Twenties).Cultural changes were strongly influenced by the destruction of World War I ending 1918. America needed to recover and with it youth rebelled against the norms of the older generations.
The Roaring Twenties, characterized as a progressive era toward changes and advances, it was a start for freedom and independence for women. Women gained political power by gaining the right to vote. They changed their traditional way to be, way to act and dress to gain respect, and the liberty of independence. Society had different ways of ideals and the ways women were willing to do were disapproved of, and it was wrong for lots of different people, including women from the older generation. In the 1920’s women went through a lot of changes that made them a free spirit, changes that made them what they are now and having the liberty of being independent.
Attendance rates doubled in high schools and colleges offered more classes for students; more women attended universities. With a new change in clothing, such as wearing skirts and exposing more skin, women started a sexual liberation movement that allowed all women to take a stand. “Flapper fashion was both a trend and a social statement, a deliberate parting of ways with rigid Victorian gender roles, which emphasized plain living, hard work, and religion, to embrace consumerism and personal choice,” (The Culture of the Roaring Twenties). This was a point of
The Great Gatsby What do you know about “being in the shoes” of women in the 1920s ? The 19th amendment gained women the right to vote. With more freedom came fashion/style with flappers, skirts, hats, hairstyles and many more styles or fashion that started a movement. Following the roles of women after the war the result were sexually liberated.