How Do Women Have Earned Respect In The 20th Century

“In any era, fashion is a reflection of the time and what is going on in the culture politically, socially and economically.”1 The 1920’s witnessed a variety of dramatic changes for women; these changes, such as shorter dresses and stronger attitudes occurred primarily after World War I in spite of the prolonged development of women 's’ rights through 1914 and 1920. With their new hair, fashion styles, and attitudes, women had started what became known as the “Flapper Era”.

From the 1900s until present day many opportunities and movements have opened up to women. Women continuously strived to have equality among men. Now that we have the equality, roles of women and men have changed. One thing that has struck me odd are how women actually choose to go to work than stay home with their children. I would love to say home with them and do a “woman’s job”, but now I can even say that because it could offend someone. Things have changed for the good and some for the bad.

Before the 1920’s, women’s attire was considered fairly modern. Women would have worn clothing with more of a silhouette than clothing that was loose and flowy. The length of their dresses never revealed more of their leg than just their ankle. Women received bad reputations when showing their knees or even their calfs. Women in the 1920’s also had a different ideal figure than most women do today. The body types women wanted to achieve also transformed into a more feminine look. This look consisted of low bust lines, higher hems lines, and showing off more curves than ever before. These women became unapologetically fearless.

Women in the 1920s started to earn more respect and equality in society, mostly the right to vote. During this time, women had the opportunity to access higher education, minimum wage, better domestic living, and better healthcare. But women are still coming across challenges where they are submissive to men. Fredrick Lewis Allen introduces women as“... the guardians of morality; they were made of finer stuff than men and were expected to act accordingly” (Allen 129). Clearly, women were expected of something, but men were able to do whatever they so please to do whether it would be to hang out late at night at bars, drinking with friends, or being the one to have a house under his name and making his own money. According to Allen,

As the 1920s climaxed, there was an emergence of the confident face of femininity. Women gained insight on their true womanhood and took on more unconventional lifestyles. For example, they changed their fashion standards. What was once strict Victorian uniform transformed into a sleek, trendy look. Hairstyles and clothing incrementally became shorter and more revealing. This led to the birth of a new woman in 1926. She dressed provocatively, smoked cigarettes, and

Women have made significant strides in society, proving themselves to be as capable as men in the workforce. However, while women are making equal contributions, men and women are not earning equal wages. Even though the Equal Pay Act was established in 1963, women continue to earn lower wages than men over half a century later. This inequality not only affects women as individuals but has a detrimental effect on the national economy. The gender wage gap in the United States should end because it is unjust; correcting it would have social and economic benefits for the U.S.

Paid work for women moved from principally customary female-situated employments to all the more non-conventional and already male-arranged vocations. Ladies ' support in the workforce prompted them to start careers in the field dominated by male in the 20th century. Career yearnings were affected by elements, such as sexual orientation, financial status, race, occupation and instruction level, and parental desires. This paper exhibits how women developed, changed and the challenges they faced in the 20th century in America in the workforce and the advancement of ladies ' careers, improvement and profession goals during the 20th century in United States. Also, gender issues affecting women will be discussed in details during this period and how women played their role in fighting for their rights.

It’s difficult to envision a world where idealized female imagery is not plastered everywhere, but our present circumstance is a relatively new occurrence. Before the mass media existed, our ideas of beauty were restricted to our own communities. Until the introduction of photography in 1839, people were not exposed to real-life images of faces and bodies. Most people did not even own mirrors. Today, however, we are more obsessed with our appearance than ever before. But the concern about appearance is quite normal and understandable given society’s standards. According to Jane Kilborne, “Every period of history has had its own standards of what is and is not beautiful, and every contemporary society has its own distinctive concept of the

Different styles go in and out of fashion; the same goes for body types. For a long time there was a clear divide between which body types were seen as fashionable, but recently the divide has been vanishing. Lean bodies used to be seen as being more fashionable than curvy bodies, but that is no longer the case. Glamour laborers are rewriting history, just look to Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé who have become the face for a new age of fashion. This new age, dubbed “post fashion”, claims that individuals can wear their own skin just as much as they can wear fancy clothes.

Change of Attitudes Toward the Role and Status of Women During the 1920's and 1930's

Another area in which women made changes was with their appearance. Women used their attire and style to show an independence, a certain freedom in which they alone had control. Starting with the “Gibson Girl”, women dressed in long, slim dresses, freeing themselves of the poufy petticoats of yore. Women started wearing shorter dresses and shorter hairstyles, leading to “Flapper Jane”. “Women started wearing “less” clothing, shorter dresses, cutting off their hair, and just being more “sensual” than normal”, (Bliven, 1925).

Before the 1920’s, women’s attire was considered fairly modern. Women would have worn clothing with more of a silhouette than clothing that was loose and flowy. The length of their dresses never revealed more of their leg than just their ankle. Women received bad reputations when showing their knees or even their calfs. Women in the 1920’s also had a different ideal figure than most women do today. The body types women wanted to achieve also transformed into a more feminine look. This look consisted of low bust lines, higher hems lines, and showing off more curves than ever before. These women became unapologetically fearless.

The 1920s was a period of change and reform in many things ranging from entertainment, consumerism, and fashion. Fashion, one of the greatest changes in the 1920s was influenced by designers such as Coco Chanel, Jean Patou, Clara Bow, also known as the “It Girl” all influenced fashion for both women and men in the 20s. Previously, women had to behave polite and modestly and had to wear long dresses down to the ankles. But some women started to go past those social boundaries that were set by society. These women would go to speakeasies and smokes in public. The women who did these things are referred to as flappers. Men and some women saw flappers as a disgrace and were disgusted by their way of living. Slowly, as the years began to pass, women such as Coco Chanel, Jean Patou, and Clara Bow came into the fashion and entertainment industry changing the fashion and women’s ideas.

The 1920’s, also called the roaring 20’s, was a time of change. During this time period the fashion for both men and women was changing immensely. The aftermath of WWI caused America to enter a vigorous era. As a result of the role of women during the war, many customs and morals were changing. The Stock Market started booming, many new dances and music came about, and women got the right to vote and enter the workforce. There was an uprise in almost every activity, and fashion was definitely one (Tirocchi, Anna and Laura). Although fashion varied throughout the decade, one could notice a drastic change from the prior fashion.

Society’s Influence Fashion and the film industry are two huge influences on societal expectations that women display their bodies sexually. The sexual revolution liberated women from the Victorian of modesty but also demanded a commitment to diet and beauty.  Doing Gender