The 1920's: A Gender Analysis

The style of flappers was one of the most controversial things about them. Before the Roaring Twenties, dresses that went above the middle of the calf muscle were unheard of, let alone just-below or just-above the knee. These new dress lengths horrified older generations. Along with the dress, she would wear a “step-in, a single piece of lingerie that took the place of the stiff-boned corset” (Gourley 62). Because of this, the flappers could maneuver more freely. The dresses were not the only reason for this.

The 1920s was a period of changes exactly as the Progressive Era. Everything was developing very fast. The economic boom caused a high living standard, therefore, people earned more money and wanted to live a modern life, in view of the fact that, they could afford it, especially in the cities which offered more stores, job opportunities, and saloons and bars for entertainment. People wanted to have fun after World War I, take a rest and just hang out together, for that reason it caused a moral decline, the enormous consumption of alcohol caused a lot of crime and women had a new way of living. The two biggest changes were the rights for women and prohibition.

Throughout the 1920s, marriage was thought of to be a symbol of love and happiness between a married couple. Along with that came the expectation of starting a family and a new chapter in the couple’s lives. Most marriages that took place were based on romance instead of just marrying just to get money, which was rarely seen. Gender roles had an impact when getting married and starting a family. Living in the 1920’s brought more positive, as well as negative, impacts when it came to restarting the economy. Gender roles in marriage decided who stayed at home to take care of the children along with house duties and who went to work to provide for the family. Throughout these times, gender roles either imposed by society or created within the home, have altered dynamics within the home and society.

The 1920s had a big impact on American life all around; however, one of the biggest changes during this time period was in the roles of women. During this time period, women started dressing different, leaving the house, getting jobs, and gaining rights. On top of all of that, they had a bigger role in education, they began taking parts in politics, and divorce became more of a common thing. This may not seem like a big deal to people today, but this was very important at the time. Prior, women had next to no rights. They lived to wait on and please their husbands. Women rarely even left the house. This time period could be said to have paved the way for modern day feminism and women’s roles. This was the time period when they began to be free and stop worrying about how society thought they should live. However, the question still remains: Did the changing roles of women in the 1920s really have a significant effect on women’s roles today? In the next few pages, one will be given examples of women’s role before, during, and after the 1920s. In each paragraph, the roles, rights, impacts, and more that women had at these times will be explained. To conclude, a comparison on how women were thought to act in these different time periods will be made in order to come up with an answer for the question stated above.

A grand theme for women in the Roaring Twenties was the idea of a “new women”. Political change was seen from ratifying the 19th amendment, but what is most remembered about women in the 1920’s is the social idea of the “flappers”. Flappers were seen as a new freedom for women. They were women with a fun loving attitude who enjoyed the nightlife just like their male counterparts. They threw out the old ideas of who women should be by “defying society's expectations of proper conduct for young women” (ncpedia), and went against every societal norm by cutting their hair short, wearing short skirts, and noticeable make-up, drinking illegally, and smoking. Smoking was a big part of the twenties image because it was seen as a modern sophistication, and “women who would never tolerate the strong smells and stains of chewing tobacco or cigars began to smoke the new, and relatively clean, mild cigarettes” (ncpedia). By defying the norms of society women in the 20’s changed their appearance and status in society drastically. Bruce Bliven

Throughout the decades of 1930s through the 1960s, there were many changes happening to women. Women today are fighting for abortion, equal wages, jobs in congress, and many more similar rights. The progressive era was when the fight for these rights began. It started with a group of men and women who collaborated in Seneca Falls, New York to fight for women’s rights movement. During this time, no other public meeting had occurred, but the movement continued to grow. Susan B. Anthony, strong and outspoken advocate of women's rights, pushed for the inclusion of women’s and African-American male vote in the 14th amendment. This was the start of a large change through women’s history.

Known as the weaker gender, but the more victorious one; that is how women were seen throughout history. Women had been excluded from a variety of activities and laws within the past century. Throughout history, women have fought for their rights, equal work, and an end to violence.

The 1920’s was the year where a lot of changes happened for Americans. It was many years that caused social tension between rural and urban areas. There were also changes with culture, economy, music, women’s clothing, sexual behaviors, and labor. One of the changes that occurred was women’s freedom.

The period from 1920 to 1929 is known by most as the "Roaring Twenties". It is known in that way because it exhibits the outburst of images and sounds that influenced American life in such a powerul way (Faragher 602). One of the most abiding images during this time was the flapper. The name " flapper", was first used after World War I in Great Britain. It was used to represent young girls who had not entered womenhood yet (Rosenberg). The flapper was a girl who was depicted on screens, books, and magazines ( Faragher 607). These young girls were portrayed as sexually aggresive girls with clothes that made their image stand out. For example they wore bobbed hair, red cheeks, and short dresses and skirts. Everything they wore was lightened

Before the 1920's ladies were not ready to work. Numerous occupations just needed to enlist men for there organization. There employments were for the most part at home or a little paid work. Ladies started getting much more included in the workforce all through the 1920s and there was a developing speak to work. Society was tolerating ladies into normal occupations, in any case, most expected that it was essential for ladies to work ladylike kind of positions. These occupations were educators, medical attendants, specialists, secretaries, or phone administrators. Ladies got less pay than the men regardless of the possibility that they were doing likewise work.

After reading both of the short articles, what really stuck out to me is how in the face of adversity and pressure from people to simply stay put in typical women roles, that women continued to break the glass ceiling. With the back lash of feminism and what many fought for in the sixties and seventies it would be very easy to see that women of the eighties were stepping away from that role. Many would say that women of that era failed their mother’s generation, but what I see is that these women had to make their own way, all be it different from their mothers, but in their own right were pioneering women’s rights in the second wave of the movement. Finally allowing the term “date rape” to be considered as real rape, is such a huge step forward

“The Roaring Twenties” written by Joshua Zeitz exemplifies the 1920s as a time full of grace, but not without its hardships. The author states that there was an “era of liberation for women,” and many contemporary ideas were introduced. New ideals were being popularized and a different generation was evolving, even with the disapproval of others. Although it was a glitzy and glamorous time, the economy was being strained and eventually reached a breaking point. Even though there was a depression in the beginning and the end of the 1920s, this period was met with beauty, allure, and fascination.

The 1920s, known as “Roaring Twenties”, were an age of prosperity and changes, it’s one of the most special and colorful decade in the America history. Numerous exciting and unprecedented events happened during this decade, it was full of opportunity and remarkable people, the economic was blooming, new arts were formed and brand new ideas appeared, the national confliction emerged in large numbers, multiple changes showed up in sports…… To the American women, the Roaring Twenties were especially meaningful. It was the turning point of the women’s role in history, the 19th Amendment, the post-war effect, and the revolutionary fashions all contributed to this.

Does society change the way we act? Around the 1920’s women changed the way they acted for different reasons. They changed the way they acted even if it was for reading a type of material, if they were going out and dancing, or even just regular day life. There is a lot of background information on the 1920’s women’s fashion. Some information is that 1920’s women fashion characterized a free spirit, modern era.

The 1920’s has been described as an era of freedom, and wealth for all Americans.With the war ending and lost generation at hand, the previous Victorian rules were broken. This was especially true with women as they flung away their tight corsets and exchanged them for the loose flapper dresses. They smoked, used slang, wore loose, short clothing with bobbed hair, and had lowered waistlines! 1920's fashion for women characterized the free spirited, and the modernist era of the Roaring Twenties, and the Jazz Age as women gained their freedom and independence.