Women Are Stereotyped More Than Men

“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”.

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 decade of great social change and political conflicts. The roles of women have changed profoundly since the 1920s. During the time of World War 1, many women took the place of the males in factories, hospitals, and any other place men worked. When men returned from the war, women felt they should be entitled to the same rights as men, such as voting. This caused a great debate but in August of 1920, this all changed; the 19th amendment was added to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote. Women felt they were almost as superior as men once they were able to vote. As a result, women felt they could do as they pleased. This is where the term

The reputation and culture of women changed substantially with the emergence of the Roaring Twenties. Gone was the traditional, and sheltered All-American girl who aspired to a housewife. It was seen as inappropriate for these women to even show their ankles out in public. The new “Flapper” girl was a young woman who wore short and relaxed dresses, used makeup, smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol, and attended glamorous parties (Document 2a). Flappers were liberated and bold, and were the complete opposite of the traditional American housewife. The Flapper girl

Before the 1920s people had no respect for women, but the 1920s changed that for the better. Women were no longer treated as a man’s property and had more freedom inside and outside the home. It all started with the ratifying of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the opportunity to vote. One in four women had a paying job by 1930. A popular job for women to have was a flapper, which soon became the image of the women of the 1920s. To take on the role of the “flapper” women would begin to wear make-up and shorter skirts. They would also cut their hair and smoke. These bold changes symbolized the internal change happening to women at this time in history. Women also assumed many important roles in their community and for some, their country. For example, Rebecca Felton became the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate in 1922, and in 1923 a woman by the name of Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman elected as governor (History.com Staff; “Women’s Rights”).

Before the 1920s, it was seen as common knowledge for women to have no job besides a wife and a mother. But when World War II began, women had no choice but to take over the jobs their husbands, brothers, and fathers left behind. This sparked a lot of women to want to work outside of the home, even after the war was over. This led to a domino effect of liberation for women. There was a new attitude coming to be in women in the United States ("The Changing Role of American Women in the 1920s"). They were now brave enough to do things women were never “supposed” to do before. For example, women began smoking and and drinking in public, they began driving by themselves and started wearing different types of clothing. They wore revealing clothes for style, or dressed in men’s clothes simply for comfort. And lastly, most of the “New Women” idea came from flappers, but when other women who were not flappers saw their new freedom, they followed. If it were not for flappers in the 1020’s who would have stepped up and changed the roles of women in America? (“Flappers”) Flappers inspired what we call “The New Woman” which came about in the 1920’s, and is the starting point for the ongoing fight for women’s equality.

As a whole, the 1920’s was a symbol for social rebellion. Prior to the 1920’s, women were conservative in regards to how they dressed; most never showed any ankles or anything scandalous. During this time period, women began to now change. After watching several actresses in theaters act in movies, women began to act like the actresses that they watched. These women, called “Flappers,” drank, smoked, and dressed in what was scandalous back then. Women also rebelled against their traditional domestic roles. Before the 1920’s, women would just pretty much strictly stay at home or work in factories with poor conditions. During World War I though, women stepped up and had to work the higher paying jobs that the men worked, which opened many new doors to women. They now had jobs

In the age before the Roaring Twenties, women were still repressed and followed a strict dress code. They wore long dress that came down to their toes, waists were cinched and arms and legs were covered. However, in the 1920s, new generation for women begun. Trendy young women in Western area were nicknamed the flapper. Flappers had a whole new style. They had short haircuts called bobbed hair, wore short skirts and wore heavy makeups. “The Flappers' image consisted of drastic - to some, shocking - changes in women's clothing and hair. Nearly every article of clothing was trimmed down and lightened in order to make movement easier.” (Rosenberg) Not only they had a whole new style, but they had whole new attitudes and behaviors too. Flappers drank, smoke, drove, enjoyed jazz music, and had casual sex. They were symbol of women’s freedom and liberation, as well as the symbol of change in women’s life and attitudes towards the “social norms” expected from women.

Although the 1920’s brought about conservatism, there was surge in women's rights, resulting in the “new woman.” After the passage of the 19th Amendment in the 1920’s, giving women the right to vote, women felt there was greater opportunity. Upper class women experienced a change in appearance and attitude. Flappers, the term given to women who disregarded Victorian Era values, wore

society also witnessed a great change in a woman’s role. During the 1920s women made huge advancements. After the war the 19th amendment was passed giving universal suffrage to women. Before the amendment was passed women worked 29 years and got many states to allow them suffrage, but 14 states was yet to allow it (Doc 2). Therefore the passing of the amendment was a huge achievement to women of the time. Women also worked to change their image in society in order to change how they were viewed, and show their rejection of the victorian age ideals, they began smoking, drinking, wore shorter dresses, and changed their makeup and hairstyles (doc 3). This new women of the time were known as flappers, and were symbols of change in women, they were more liberated and assumed the same political right as

This source is about the gender roles in America. It discusses the different ways that the media influences gender stereotypes in women. It compares the present to the future. According to this paper, women are often sexualized and put in proactive clothing. Women are portrayed as nonprofessionals, homemakers, wives, and parents. This benefits my paper because this shows how the media has a negative effect on the stereotypes of women. It supports the theory that the media is one of the main causes of the negative stereotype and traditional gender roles.

Stereotypes have an overwhelming effect especially on the people they are directed towards. Studying stereotypes helps in understanding the factors leading to discrimination of certain people and not others. This is because stereotypes are depictive of opinions that are often passed from one generation to another within a particular culture. Mass media such as television and newspapers form a common source of opinions in the contemporary society (Kotter & Hess, 2012). The media presents messages in steady, repetitive, and compelling manner, making them believable to almost everybody. Stereotyping opinion and depictions from the media can thus have detrimental effects on the

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).

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.

Stereotypes have become a prevalent issue in our media. They, without our knowledge, prevent us from moving forward as human. In this essay, I will discuss the effects of stereotypes in media on gender roles, religion, and race.