Women In The 1930s Research Paper

Women of the 1950’s through the 1960’s are ridden with male oppression and self-esteem issues. The book Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates and an episode of Mad Men titled The Shoot have a lot in common. The differences and similarities between the leading women in both of these stories from the 1950’s show that times are different today. The women of the 1950’s had a dream for the future and their dream has finally become a reality for American women. From Mad Men, Betty Draper’s dream of becoming a model and in Revolutionary Road, April Wheeler’s dream of traveling the world are actual realities for women today. Their dreams show similarities, differences and the “American Dream” that every woman has.

The new republic of the 1830s-1850s was a society that devalued the role of women. By comparing men and women against each other, giving men a superior status, making their differences more evident, and allowing men to demand more rights, to think and do freely, this society has been created to view women as less than. Women are viewed as the weaker vessel and property to their father, or husband that need to be protected and should be wifely, child bearing, motherly and dedicated to their homes instead of viewing women as their own beings.

Let’s take a look at the women’s of the 1920’s, the changes that took place in fashion and the roles of women in society. Women’s fashion will be compared from early days up until the 1930’s, with a brief comparison of the roles of women before and after the 1920’s. A discussion of the different avenues that opened up for women after 1920 and the impact that it has had on modern day women will also be covered within this paper. you need a stronger introduction

After World War I ended in 1918, the United States became a world superpower with a thriving economy. The 1920s was a time of prosperity, symbolized by technological advances, consumerism, and leisure. Along with this affluence, came a movement towards modern values, and as people migrated to large northern cities, these modern values became concentrated in urban areas. As a result, an enormous cultural shift took place that greatly altered the lives of Americans, including women. Women experienced significant political, social, and cultural change beginning in the 1920s, a decade which came to be known as the “Roaring Twenties.”

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,

During the first World War I women were left at home to try and figure out how they were going to care for their families. Their husband, father, and brothers were sent off to war. Many companies around the United States were left with production needs and little to no employees to do the job. In a time period, where women are expected to be confident and independent, they had to also realize they had little to no power in society. They had societal rules that they must stay at home to cook, clean, and care for the children. With the men who were prominent in their lives coming and going from war. These factors caused the birth of a new era. This is the era where women were emerging. Women were changing by being more independent sexually and expressing their emotions through music, poetry, and movies.

the house becoming the homemaker once the war was over. The 1950s has also been

Imagine being a women in the 1930s and being told what to do, what to wear, and how to act. Most women were employed by the 1930s, but they would either work for free or very low pay. Women would have the same job and do the same amount of work as the men in the workplace, but they would still only get paid half of what the men were paid. They would have to get a full education to be considered equal with the a man who has only been through elementary school. Many people saw women getting jobs as taking the paying jobs from the men. Women in the 1930s had limited rights, were told to be proper, and could not live their lives as they wanted to.

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.

In the 1930’s, gender inequality was present for countless women based on the time period they were living in. Many women were not allowed to play major roles in their government or society during the time period of the 1930’s. “ For some reason he looked pleased with Jem.’I was wondering when that’d occur to you,’ he said. ‘There are lots of reasons. For one thing, Miss Maudie can’t serve on a jury because she’s a woman —”(Lee 252). Women in the 1930’s were not able to choose their jobs as easily as men.They were not allowed to hold government positions and had many limitations on the jobs they could do. They were expected to cook and do housework for their families. According to Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird, “ it is funny to think of men cooking and wearing aprons”. Men were not seen as cooks for their family; it was the women who made the meals.

These pictures represent the “new women” of the 1920`s. One of the many things the 1920`s is known for is the “new women”. The “new woman” was a feminist ideal, where they spent a lot of their time protesting for the right to vote, and be able to have the same jobs as men. The first picture in the collage shows women who are holding a banner that is telling the president that women deserve liberty. It took a lot for the 19th amendment to be ratified, including a lot of protesting to get people's attention. The women of the 20`s wanted social justice and equality.The second picture shows women who are holding another sign that represents the right for women to vote, just like men. Before 1920, when they made it legal for women to vote, activist

The 1920’s was an era of dramatic political and cultural change, where many Americans lived in cities rather than farms. Many inventors came to be noticed as new cars were invented and as music entered the entertainment industry. A new style of music was invented mainly in the African American community, creating the Harlem Renaissance; which was an evolution of music and entertainment in Harlem, New York City. The women of America began to evolve in the 1920s, adding new styles to our fashion industry and changing the way women dress, act, and are portrayed in society for generations. Women were viewed before the 1920’s as innocent housewives, that made little to no money, as they often relied on their husbands’ for income. Women also had little to no rights, such as voting rights, which many women began to protest. Women of the 1920’s through the 1930’s influenced and impacted society by transforming their looks from innocent housewives to a sexually liberated generation of women, increasing the working rate to twenty-five percent by working in factories and the telemarketing business, and participating in the Women’s Suffrage Movement in which they protested for their rights which then influenced the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.

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.

During the 1920s the United States hoped for a “return to normalcy”. World War I had a huge toll and created a number of changes in the society of the nation. Under the mass production, the consumer revolution, and aid of business of the 1920s economy prospered. Women made significant advancement during the decade by gaining suffrage, and changing their roles and image in society. Along with women making advancements African Americans were doing the same, by mixing their culture into society through jazz, and also with the Harlem renaissance the U.S. began to have different views on them. Throughout the single decade after the end of World War I the U.S. experienced significant changes economically, socially, and politically.

A woman of 1920 would be surprised to know that she would be remembered as a "new woman." Significant changes for women took place in politics, at home, in workplace, and in education.