Essay about Flappers: The Untraditional Women of the 1920s

Flappers were not in fact only concerned with standing out and being noticed. They were not simply fashion and image-driven, selfish women, but were strong, self-willed, independent young feminist citizens who were fighting passionately for their right to stable equality amidst a prominently male-driven world. These women pushed aggressively for their social, professional, and sexual freedom which they felt were hard-earned and well overdue. Many flappers wished to pursue positions in careers which would otherwise be deemed unacceptable for the average women of the time. They hoped that by breaking away from social normality's that they could eventually obtain equality in all important aspects of life while hopefully also allowing them entry into many professional fields which would normally be unaccessible to women.

The flapper was the harbinger of a radical change in American culture. She was a product of social and political forces that assembled after the First World War. Modernization adjusted the American life. Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern by Joshua Zeitz analyzes the people who created the image of the flapper. This work is an incorporation of narrative, statistics, and scholarly work that provide a distinct insight on the “New Woman.” Joshua Zeitz asserts the flapper was not a dramatic change from traditional American values but reflected the “modern” decade under mass media, celebrity, and consumerism.

Before flappers came along women were very modest. They were brought up to be "lady-like" and did not even date men unless their parents came along. They would wear clothes that were long and fancy and would cover their bodies head-to-toe, because they were not allowed to even show their ankles. Flappers went against all theses customs. Their irresponsible actions included: around kissing men, dancing on men provocatively, and just not caring about what the rules were. Women had limited freedom in the 1900s until the Flappers came along and changed many things for women through the way they dressed and acted, creating the "New Woman" or the 1920s.

The 1920s was a very special time for woman. Women started standing for up for themselves and making points to men that women can do just the same as them, and that women should be equal to men and have the same rights. That’s where flappers came from. Flappers were basically woman who stood out and did what they wanted. Women's rights were changed drastically because of flappers, now women are more equal to men. Flappers had a large impact on the American culture going from woman’s right, music and their fashion.

The flapper had an indisputable look. The long locks of Victorian women fell on the floors of beauty parlors as young women cut their hair to shoulder length. Hemlines of dresses rose fiercely to the knee. The cosmetics industry prospered as women used makeup in large numbers. Flappers constrained their chests and wore high heels. Many women celebrated the age of the flapper as a female “declaration of independence”. Experimentation with new looks, jobs, and lifestyles was incomparable with the woman in the Victorian Age. The flappers chose activities to please themselves, not a father or husband. But critics were quick to elucidate the shortcomings of “flapperism.” The political agenda grasped by the previous generation was largely ignored until the feminist revival of the 1960s. Many wondered if flappers were trying to express themselves or act like men. One thing was certain: Despite the political and social gains or losses, the flappers of the 1920s sure managed to have a good time.

The 1920’s which was also called the Roaring Twenties was a era of economic prosperity and dramatic social change. The 19 amendment that was ratified on August 1920 gave the right of women to vote and the impact of World War I resulted in women questioning traditional morals and values, becoming rebellious. When men left for the war it caused women to have new jobs such as working in factories. Also, “the number of women attending college rose to 10% of the population by the end of the 1920's." Due to women having the opportunity to have jobs and go to college women became more mobile. The corset limited women to be mobile in this era which caused the production of coresets to quickly decline. Less women wearing corset made their figure to be more boyish and straight. The women of this era was called the Flappers, free spirited women, representing the new change of how women looked. The Flappers “lacked hips, breasts, and a defined waist”. They would dress in dresses above their knee and ankle showing more legs and having bare arms. They would also stray away from having long hair and cut their hair into a bob to symbolize freedom and independency. As a reason of women questioning traditional values they began to drink, smoke and be more sexual in this era. The 1920’s was also the age of Jazz which influenced women to go out and dance and women having more flamboyant and exuberant moves. In the 1920’s to be equal among men they had to have a figure of men,

The Roaring Twenties also know as a new era which was a great time for a revolution.We think of this “New Era” as a freedom for women. Now women were “breaking down the spheres of Victorian values (Zeitz). ” In 1920, the powerful women 's rights movement gave the women right to vote after so many years. Now they started to become more independent and had less restriction put into them.This time period gave rise to the flapper girls who smoke, drank, and had sex as they pleased.Many women became rebels, where they started to wear short dresses and tight bathing suits which exposed their skin, and put makeup on. All these actions taken were considered immoral and disrespectful. The early 20th century was a battle between modernism and

The flapper was a women that did what she wanted, and had lots of fun. The flapper could be recognised by her signature look of bobbed hair and easy to move in clothing which resembled that of a boys clothing. Flappers wore this so that they could easily dance and move about freely instead of being restricted to what they normally could do. Flappers were able to take charge of their lives and do what they wanted and do it when they wanted to, which really made the lives of women during the 1920’s exciting and fun. A great example of this was smoking, flappers started to smoke in the 1920’s which up until this point in time had only been done by man. The image of a women smoking would have shocked anyone during the start of the Roaring Twenties, but by the end of the decade women smoking was just a normal occurrence. Women smoking showed how they now had freedom to do what they wanted and that they did have the right to do what men do, if men are smoking cigarettes why should women not smoke. The flapper girls started to smoke as a way to both rebel and to live a little, it was fun for them and it almost made them more powerful as it pushed the boundaries of what women could do. Smoking for the flapper girls as a result of pushing these boundaries became a fun activity that made their lives much more exciting. Next another new thing flappers started to do was driving cars. Cars were new and were very exciting and fast which was perfect for the fun flapper lifestyle. Flappers loved cars as they were fast and very risky which was a great activity for the flappers as they could now push the boundaries even more because they were doing the same thing that the men were doing. Driving cars truly was able to show off a flapper’s wild side as they just wanted to have the excitement and the fun that comes along with driving a car. Finally flappers drank alcohol during a time when it was prohibited.

The 1920s was a time of economic growth, inventions, and spending money. During the 1920s, America was renamed as “new society” and “new standard of living” (Foner, 773). Little did society know was that the 1920s was the reason for the Great Depression in the 1929. This time era had a rough start because there was a prohibition on manufacturing and selling alcohol (Foner, 742). There also an awakening of what America was really like for the immigrants, for example, the convictions of two Italians, Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco. Vanzetti and Sacco were accused of partaking in an armed robbery and murder of a security guard (Foner, 768). This raises about the corruption of the government, and how it destabilized basic American freedom because these men were seen as threats to the American Life (Foner, 769). There were no evidence against Sacco and Vanzetti, yet they still got the death penalty (Foner, 769). The 1920s were also famous for the Jazz Age and Roaring Twenties (Foner, 769, 770). The flappers were women who were young and sexually liberated (Foner, 770). The speakeasies were nightclubs

A flapper’s daily routine is going to a jazz club or a burlesque and even speakeasies. In society flappers were being looked upon as defying their gender roles which were traditional, commitment to being religious, and commitment to hard work and also modesty. Flappers thought that they were making a difference because they were called “New Women”.

Kallen, Stuart A., and Frederick lewis Allen. “Flappers, Fashion, and a New Morality.”The Roaring Twenties, Greenhaven Press, San Diego, CA, 2002, pp. 128–141.

From coast to coast people were reading the exploits of a new type of woman called flapper. Prior to World War 1 Victorian ideals still dictated the behavior of American women and girls. Frederick Lewis Allen describes the traditional role of women. Women were the guardians of morality. They were made of finer stuff than men. They were expected to act accordingly. Young girls must look forward in innocence to a romantic love match which would lead them to the altar and to living happily ever after. Until the right man came

Although the roaring twenties are usually thought of as a time of universal prosperity, the reality is that unless one was Caucasian and well-to-do, society tended to shun the outliers (women, minorities, etc), propelling them out of political affairs and social scenes. Women rebelled, becoming increasingly promiscuous as the decade wore on. In 1920, it would have been unheard of to show an ankle, sport a bob haircut, or darken one’s eyes with what seemed like paint. By 1928, the younger generation was revealed as socially progressive, engaging in previously unthinkable behavior such as smoking, drinking in bars, and sex. Flappers became prevalent, with their flouncy skirts and short hair adorned with a jeweled headband. The decade earned its second nickname, “The Jazz Age”, from the incredible musical talents that emerged out of Harlem and other areas of the United States, leading to a less “restrained” entertainment.

The lives of Black American Women in the 1920s were additionally subject to change because of the impact of the Harlem Renaissance and the change from rustic to urban life in the urban communities. The finish of WW1 introduced another time in which individuals with cash needed to live it up - it was known as The Roaring Twenties (1920-1929). The occasions of WW1 had left numerous young women disappointed and drove them to address customary profound quality and qualities which brought about the insubordinate conduct of the Flappers. Noteworthy changes for women occurred in governmental issues, the home, the work environment, and in training. Some were the aftereffects of laws passed, many came about because of recently created advances, and all needed to do with changing demeanors toward the place of women in the public eye. More accentuation started to be put on social enhancements, for example, defensive laws for tyke work and jail change. women dynamic in governmental issues in 1929 still had little power, however, they had started the adventure to genuine political

War is often followed by change; World War I is no exception. World War I is often labeled the cause for the rise of a feminine revolution-“the flapper”. Before the term “flapper” began to describe the “young independently-minded woman of the early Twenties” (Mowry 173), the definition that is most prominent today, it had a 300-year long history. The young woman of the 1920’s was new and rebellious. In her appearance and demeanor, she broke the social constructs of her society.