Short skirts, bobbed hair, excessive makeup, all terms consistently used to describe Flappers. The term Flapper was thought to originate from England to describe the awkward age of girls in their mid- teens. By the 1920s, Flapper constituted an entirely new image, and meaning. The Flappers caused a hugecontroversy in their time period not only because they defied the social constructions that the past generation had revered, but also because they did so flamboyantly. The rise of the Flappers was a representation of a younger female generations change and disruption in older stereotypical social order by asking for equal education, work opportunities, sexual freedom and suffrage. While youth feminist movements are prevalent in history and even …show more content…
Prior to the rise of Flappers, the ideal women were referred to as the Gibson Girl. The Gibson Girls were represented as calm, independent, and confident. They kept their hair long, wore corsets that emphasized their S curve torso, had broad hips and concealed their legs.While the Gibson Girl and Flappers were in many ways the antithesis of each other, they both represented the ideal women of their time. The stark difference in the Gibson Girl and the Flapper spoke of the different conceptions of women and her role in society in the different time periods and generation. While the Gibson Girl embodied the more traditional representation of women, maternal and wifely, The Flappers were more brazen, boyish and in short more modern. Despite wide acceptance of the Gibson Girl, it is notable …show more content…
The rise in the usage of automobile was a cause for the rise in Flapper culture. Whereas the previous generation of women would say home waiting for a suitor to notice them, Flappers deplored this procession. With the rise of automobile cars in the 1920s, dating became widespread and challenged traditional courtship rituals. Young men and women now had the ability to go on unchaperoned dates and have a private space to get close to each other. With the usage of cars women could go anywhere they desired such as speakeasies, and other entertainment venues. The large vehicles could also be used for heavy petting and even sex. In fact, some “Victorians scorned it as the “devils wagon”. (Joshua Zeitz, pg 10) Automobiles were not the only technological development that helped in the rise of Flapper culture, the increase use of electric lighting also fostered the development of nightlife. With nightlights young people could stay later outside and party for a longer period of time. The advancements in technology were a driving force in the rise of Flapper
A Flapper is “a young woman in the 1920s who dressed and behaved in a way that was considered very modern” (Merriam-Webster). There was many opinions on how young women should act in the 1920s, but the ladies listened to the voices in their head. They set an example for the future women to dress and act the way they want, men could no longer tell women how to dress and act. The new era of young women opened many doors for all females.
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. Flappers were the “New Woman,” asserting her right to dance, date, smoke, drink alcohol, work, and be free from the restraint of accepted social norms. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda are notable people who commenced the image of a flapper. Zeitz further develops his argument by providing statistics of working women who dreamed of being a flapper.
From coast to coast people were reading the exploits of a new type of woman called flapper. Prior to World War 1 Victorian ideals still dictated the behavior of American women and girls. Frederick Lewis Allen describes the traditional role of women. Women were the guardians of morality. They were made of finer stuff than men. They were expected to act accordingly. Young girls must look forward in innocence to a romantic love match which would lead them to the altar and to living happily ever after. Until the right man came along they must allow no male to kiss them. Flappers did the opposite. Flappers danced the Charleston, kissed their boyfriends while they played golf and sat behind the wheels of fast cars. The liberated usually young female disdained the traditions of her mother and grandmother before her. Flappers would smoke and drink alcohol, she cut her hair and wore short dresses. They also changed their views on courtship rituals, marriage, and child rearing. With these they could have the same freedom as men could. The time period also saw a highly physical change in women’s lives like how they dressed and looked. For the first time in American history women could choose to be free from long hair and voluminous clothing. Before the women changed they wore very restrictive clothing consisting of long skirts with layers of petticoats over tightly laced corsets that produced an hourglass figure with wide hips and a narrow waist.
in Cleve 1). Flappers believed that they were not seen as pretty when dressing restrictively and they finally wanted to dress for themselves. The style change was seen as a terrible thing for society back then, but they would never know what kind of effect it had on the future. Modern day style has been shaped around the Flappers in a way. Nowadays, women are always wearing short skirts or somewhat revealing clothing.
Serving as the symbol of a heroine during the Roaring 20s, young women strived to obtain the flapper image while youth culture was on the rise due to urbanization. Although this concept was a highly popularized ideal during this era, it is not entirely clear where the term “flapper” originated from. According to the book The Damned and the Beautiful: American Youth in the 1920s written by Paula Fass, “In Great Britain at the end of the nineteenth century, [a flapper] meant a woman of loose morals, possibly a prostitute.” Reflecting this newfound sense of maturity and sexual independence openly expressed by females who adopted the desired lifestyle of a flapper, women emerged from the restricting societal norms of the early to mid-19th century and engaged in more scandalous activities, such as smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol
Some people hated this idea of the Flapper and they blamed the war for these women’s new behaviors. After World War I, young women and young girls started to act free and go against their families. “Some people in society blamed the war for triggering this rebellion of youth and they claimed it had upset the balance of the sexes and, in particular, confuse women of their role in society and where they truly belonged” (Grouley 63). Some people hated the idea of the flappers and these women had become. These women, the flappers, in the 1920s felt free after the 19th amendment was passed. “Since the early twentieth century, the sexual habits of these American women had changed in profound ways” (Zeitz 21). Flappers drank, partied, and had romantic evenings with men. All of which were illegal for women. In addition, they were an embarrassment to society and they were able to get away with anything. “Flappers were a disgrace to society because they were lazy-pleasure seekers who were only interested in drinking, partying, and flirting” (Dipalo 1). For instance, Flappers went to clubs, drank, and hung out with men and were too lazy to do anything. Therefore, one consequence of the war was the creation of a new woman and this led to a movement like no other.
Partying, drinking, and dancing; these are the adjectives most commonly associated with the life of a flapper. While these descriptions are accurate, they do not inform people of the advantages and gains flappers made for the female gender. The flapper embodied the idea of freedom from the usual duties of a young female in the 1920s. These women were no longer tied down with the expectation that they immediately become a wife and mother, as well as being conservative and modest. By diving into a look at the fashion, music, and lifestyle of the flapper during the 1920s it will become obvious that they were not only independent, liberated, and enjoying many more freedoms than they had previously throughout history, but that they also helped to pave the way for future generations of women’s quest for independence.
In the 1920s, a new woman was born. She smoked, drank, danced, and voted. She cut her hair, wore make-up, and went to petting parties. She was giddy and took risks. She was a flapper.
Flapper by Joshua Zeitz is a book that many historians have found so thrilling that they find it difficult to put it away. This is because of the manner in which Joshua presents the themes touching story. He tells a telling the story and growth and development of the American woman. He explores the role of industrialization and the growth and development of urban centres. He uses a romantic story using Zelda and F. Scott. Besides, fashion, which many women strive to achieve, plays an essential role in making the work of Joshua a world class literature. American woman underwent a number of revolutionary stages to come to what is now referred to as modern women. Through the stories of Zelda and Scott, the reader is able to imagine the rough road that women in America have travelled to achieve their current status of modern woman.
Women during the 1920's lifestyle, fashion, and morals were very different than women before the 1920's. Flappers became the new big thing after the 19th amendment was passed. Women's morals were loosened, clothing and haircuts got shorter, and fashion had a huge role in these young women.
woman's body. Flapper was invented to describe a so called new breed.Flapper women wore bobbed hair, short skirts, and they enjoyed listening to jazz music.Flappers also drove cars and smoked, the word flapper is another word for prostitute. Many people disapproved of flappers because they thought they showed too much. Louise Brooks was a fashion icon of the 1920’s, she often wore flappers. “Coco Chanel’s motto was ...
The “Roaring twenties” began after World War 1, and the younger generation began to revolt against their elders. Flappers were the newer generation of women who were on the wild side and wore short dresses and went to extravagant parties (History 1). The jazz age was the growth of the young generation. It lead to new dances in rebellion to the older generation who detested jazz (History 1). The Charleston for example, is a dance that requires rapid footwork. In 1922, the movie The Jazz singer was released, it was the first movie with sound. Four years later, Technicolor was invented and movies became more enjoyable. Gangsters and Bootleggers found many ways to drink illegally during the prohibition. Many people went to speakeasies to buy alcohol. A group of gangsters decided to deal alcohol because of high demand. The most prominent gangster was Al Capone (History 2).
In the 1920’s, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, which gave women the right to vote. During this decade women became strong and more independent. Women were accomplishing a lot more than they had before. Women started going to college so she could earn her own living. More women started leaving the home and working at a factory or as a secretary. Women were discriminated at the work place. They received lower wages then man did. In the 1920’s, the term flapper was introduced. It was first used in Britain after World War 1. Young women were labeled as flappers who wore makeup shorter skirts. Fl...
... caused uproar in society (although they tended to do so along the way), the Flapper was, and still is, the biggest symbol of the loud and modern youth of the 1920’s. Their blunt personality about the sexual desire their feigned for created a new emotional and sexual culture for women, and new beginnings for both the male and female relationship. Flappers have had a major impact over the decades. They are still influencing women to this day. As they shook the social formation and the traditional female roles, they took pride in showing women across the globe that being submissive could only harm the potentially remarkable female. In other words, the Flapper created a new youth identity but not only in the United States, also in Europe and Russia. The older generation was all well familiar with the “Flaming Youth” and the desire it lead on to be free and at will.