Body Image In The Twentieth Century

The 1920s was a revolutionary decade for women. In the midst of recovering from a war and preparing for the next one, women were having to save resources and take the place of men who were gone. This influenced women’s fashion and started a new way of thinking in the United States. Because of this new change, everyday women’s clothing became more practical and less showy. On the other hand, there was a new upbringing of young women with a desire to be rebellious. There were new styles from every social class, including the aristocrats adorned in fabulous fabrics, and flappers hardly adorned in anything. Fashion in the 1920s was new and different because of worldly happenings, such as trying to save materials for war and the fight

In the “Elizabethan Era” most people cared about their appearance. They would carry mirrors, combs, ear scoops, and bone manicure sets. Pale skin and dark eyebrows were a big part of the bizarre trend in the Elizabethan Era. Women would do anything to achieve pale skin. Not only was pale skin popular so was having long fair colored hair. They wore extravagant makeup and even though they put harmful things on their face they took very good care of it at the end of the day. Few of the trends they used back then are still around.

Women’s ongoing fight for equality from the 1920s to the 1970s was reflected through their attire.The 1920s were marked by the shockingly short hemlines and their right to vote.While women struggled to get fair pay in the 1930s, they got hired more often than men, which gave them greater independence. However, due to the gloom of the Great Depression, women lost their confidence and their clothing became more conservative.By contrast, the 1940s provided greater opportunities as the United States went to war. Women were able to wear pants to work, oftenly traditionally men’s work, and other daily activities. Despite the great change in the 1940s, the 1950s brought a decline in progress for women’s independence and opportunities. Their clothing

The 1920’s also famously known as “The Roaring 20’s” was filled with many positive and negative things that have had a strong impact on the society in that time period. From the “Great Gatsby” like parties, with the swing dancing, and the big rise in the stock market, to the abolishment of distributing alcohol, the 20’s were glamorous times. There were new innovated and some might say “scandalous” styles in the fashion.

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. In the 1920s women succeeded well but not without some struggles. Along the way with 19th amendment being so hard for them gaining the right to vote, women’s roles seeing that there not good enough for other than housework and the fashion or style movement with being able not to express yourself the way you should.

Although still not entirely popular or accepted, women also began to emerge more and more in postsecondary education. Women were only seldom allowed to go to college in the beginning of the 1920’s and when they did, they attended an all-women's school. By 1921 a woman was enrolled in a college that did not traditionally allow women (Benner). This was a monumental step for women’s educational rights. Women were allowed to graduate and become nurses or teachers, the only careers seen fit for women. This was a limitation for women, but this limitation only encouraged women to surpass their expectations and push the limits of what they could achieve as strong and successful members of society.“...by the end of the decade, women represented 47%

The social life of women in the United States took a progressive leap in the 1920s.

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.

Life in the 1920s was a time of great change in North America. This great change became known as the Roaring Twenties. For almost one hundred years this time period has become a staple for modern day life. From this time emerged women called Flappers, the new age of Jazz, and the Prohibition. This trio created a revolutionary decade that developed new standards of manners in morals in the life we live today.

between Britain and Germany over the seas (History.state.gov, 2017). The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne, convinced that Serbia was responsible for the assassination and thus the Austro-Hungarian government declared war on Serbia (Tortora and Marcketti, 2015). Germany declared war on Russia after

The 1920s was new start for women. Not only did they obtain the right to vote, but contraception was becoming popularized. Women were becoming more progressive not only with their ideas, but with their fashion as well. They began to lose the drab and conservative clothing of the older times, and began to reach for the new and more revealing clothing. When most people think of the 1920s many think of flappers and how they help revolutionize women to who were are today. “The most familiar symbol of the “Roaring Twenties” is probably the flapper: a young woman with bobbed hair and short skirts who drank, smoked and said what might be

Just as the United States was on the right path to bring their economy back to life, the next world war came. At the beginning of the war, the United States remained uninvolved. However, countries like Italy, Germany, and Japan, attacked other countries. The majority of the American citizens wished that their country would stay out of the conflict. Yet, despite the citizens’ attitude, the congress voted to induct American soldiers, as well as strengthen the military. The military action was initiated by Japan, which after dominating Asian territories, threatened to snatch organic materials used by Western industries . The United States (Japan’s main oil supplier) responded to the action of Japan by refusing to sell them oil. The heated conflict resulted later, in an attack on Pearl Harbor. As the United States was involved in the war, both people as well as the military industry became essential to the American economy. Artillery, ships, and weapons were needed as quickly as possible. And as men were trained to become soldiers, women were kept home.

For a long period in the United States, the ideal woman was one who stayed at home to take care of her children and keep her home clean, while her husband went out to work. This has been the set role of women for centuries because they are historically considered inferior to men. Traditionally, women were considered weak and incapable of performing any work requiring a physical effort or intellectual capacity. Even during major events and wars, they were expected to assume roles that were merely supportive of men. However, despite all the boundaries that society set for them, women did not stand, watching the ongoing cycle of life from their windows; they fought and worked hard to achieve a reassessment of the traditional

Before the 1900s, the Rubensque women painted by Rafeal and Renoir dominated the ideal female body image. The Bathers, painted by Pierre Auguste Renoir in 1887 was also an example of what the ideal female body looked like. Women having extra weight reflected wealth and beauty then. In the early 1800s, women preferred having pale skin because it showed that they spent less time outdoors working, which reflected wealth. Also women at that time were expected to have small hands and feet as a sign of their feminism, otherwise they would be considered as masculine-looking. During the nineteenth century, corsets were really common among women. They were a type of body suit laced to the back, which was worn to enhance a woman's hips and breasts, while make her waist seem as thin as possible. The use of corsets continued till the 1920s, as it was later attacked for its restrictiveness, both in breathing and movement.

The ideal of the perfect human body can been seen as a result of culture. Every culture is different or differs in at least a few aspects. A lot of factors in a culture contribute to the formation of a beauty ideal. These factors can be religious functions, economy, advertisements, etcetera. The beauty ideal as we know it nowadays, of course, differs from the ones ages ago or at least as far as we know. So not only culture changes the beauty ideal but also the time we live in. In this chapter the change over time in the beauty ideal will be studies and discussed.