Memories from the 1920's

Throughout the ages women have been stricken with often male-made oppression in many forms on the long, difficult road to their eventual initiation into equal rights. Some aspects of women’s rights today were obtained by questionable means in the past. One such act of liberation by questionable means was the introduction of a class of women in the 1920s known as flappers. These flappers were the beginning of a new wave of sexually and intellectually liberated women. Women of this age wore short skirts and revealing clothing in addition to cutting their hair into bobs and smoking and drinking publicly. These women were also outspoken in many areas,

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 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 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,

Social change in 1920s America was fundamental to the era earning the name the ‘Roaring Twenties’. It quickly became the societal norm to enjoy lavish parties, excessive alcohol despite the prohibition laws and dancing to new rhythmic jazz music. The social change was most evident in the roles of women. Before the First World War, women were restricted to being homemakers. Few, if any, women were employed and they never attended parties without a chaperone. During the war, however, women had enjoyed new freedom as they worked in factories while their husbands and fathers were at war. This sort of work in heavy industry encouraged freer behavior and women began smoking and drinking in public and going out unchaperoned. Fitzgerald’s depiction of Jordan Baker and Daisy Buchanan reflects the new woman of the 1920s. Indeed, even Jordan Baker’s name is unisex, reflecting the changing roles of women as they defy society’s expectations and enjoy more masculine pursuits. This new found freedom slipped into decadence, allowing parties such as Gatsby’s to be much less reserved as Nick observes women falling back upon 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.

Flapper by Joshua Zeitz is a book that tells an epic story about the American women during the time of the 1920’s. For a better understanding, a flapper would typically be a young girl who blurred the gender roles by taking on a more masculine lifestyle. They wore their hair short, drank and smoked frequently, and explored their sexuality. With this behavior, it didn’t destroy their femininity; it just simply provided the society’s perception of what a woman should and should not be.

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

A typical flapper had short, bobbed hair, and wore a short baggy skirt with turned down hose and powdered knees. Their dresses often exposed her arms as well as her legs from the knees down. Flappers were thought of by their elders as being a little fast and brazen, since they were no longer confined to home or tradition. However, Flappers did not just symbolize a revolution in fashion and way of life; they more importantly embodied the modern spirit of the Jazz Age—they symbolized, “an age anxious to enjoy itself, anxious to forget the past, anxious to ignore the future”.

During 1920s, women had short hair and wore unisex clothes which introduced by Chanel, and these more masculine clothes helped women enter into sport field. Also, with the emergence of flappers, the role of women changes.In 1920s, women had more opportunities to enjoy themselves in different fields that only accept men in the past. Also, they tended to be more independent to make their decisions. This was

During 1920s, still most of the men and women were thinking women as someone’s wives amd mothers; however, few women started to live as non-conformist who called the “flappers” (Bolotta, 86). Their fashion style was a big shock to Canadians during 1920s because they wore thick make-up, short dresses or skirts which come above knees, exposed legs and arms and bobbed hair (Kateryna) These were new styles to Canadian women, and “flapper” look became popular between women in 1920s. It is significant because it was the turning point of women Canadian fashion trends. Mens, on the other hands, wore baggy pants, bright hats, bow tie, slim suits, and knickers. They wore skinnier and slimmer suits which do not have padded shoulders to look younger (Great Gatsby).

Perhaps most alarming for proponents of the old ways, was that women’s behavior began to change. During 1920s, great changes were taken places in American economy, society and cultures, which also impacted American women’ lives. At that time, new features occurred in women’s family, appearance and behavior. Thanks to great achievement of the technology, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and refrigerators became commonplace in every family. These things released women’s hands and freed them from endless housework. Thus they got more time to take care of themselves and their appearance. A author written that they used to wrap their hair in knobs fantastic, high, and queer, but now they cut it in bobs or curl it round their ears. The things they do and wear today, would make their fogy

The major fashion craze of the twenties that caused a stir was the flapper because it was a deviation from the usual form of dress, residing in the decade known as the “Roaring Twenties.” The women’s suffrage law, passed in 1919, caused a period of freedom and independence for women after World War I. Before the passing of the women’s suffrage law, the goal of women was to look older than their age because they thought