Women In The 1920's

851 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: American society changed in 1920

The investigation assesses the significance of women during the 1920s and what they were supposed to represent represent changed during this time period. It will address the way women began to act and their role in society. The main time period that will be addressed is during what was considered the ‘Roaring Twenties’ and how it later on impacted the role of women in the United States. The main focal point of this investigation is based in New York, rather than any states out west, due to the fact that these were some of the wealthiest people at the time therefore the women had more of an opportunity to act against the idea of how a woman should act and present herself. This will be looked at with two sides: for women to act the way they were …show more content…

During this time though, there were two different viewpoints of what people in the society considered a flapper. According to DiPaolo, people that were against the flappers considered them to be a disgrace to society because they are lazy pleasure-seekers who are only interested in drinking, partying, and flirting. DiPaolo also states an argument for people that are for the flappers: they are intelligent, self-willed women who have earned the right to pursue a passionate lifestyle. Along with all the uproaring of women changing the way they acted and dressed, World War I was coming to an end and the 19th amendment was being passed (gave women the right to vote). While the men were away fighting in the war women began to fill some of the jobs the men had originally done, such as working in a factory. Around this time is also when the prohibition had happened making it much more affordable for people to buy. Although several people wanted to become flappers at this time only a few could. Most girls or women that became flappers had to have enough time and money, were in college or unmarried women that still lived at home, or independent office workers. Women started to rebel against almost everything they were taught growing up because they wanted to prove to society that the had the same abilities as men and that they deserved to be treated equally like men, and should not be frowned upon by society due to their

Show More
Related

  • Flappers in the 1920s

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Roaring Twenties with Women's New Right to Sexuality

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... fewer children was stressed to the patriarchal, consumerist society. The roaring twenties were a consumerist and capitalist age for America, and the liberalization of women occurred naturally as the younger generation was born into the new age of Freudian sexuality, however the flapper as a symbol for young women is incorrect. Out of proportion, and unfounded the flapper was a consumerist to exploit a rising cultural market. Women gained the right to their bodies, as America gained the right to its profit.

    Read More

  • Women in the Twentieth Century

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    After the success of antislavery movement in the early nineteenth century, activist women in the United States took another step toward claiming themselves a voice in politics. They were known as the suffragists. It took those women a lot of efforts and some decades to seek for the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. In her essay “The Next Generation of Suffragists: Harriot Stanton Blatch and Grassroots Politics,” Ellen Carol Dubois notes some hardships American suffragists faced in order to achieve the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Along with that essay, the film Iron-Jawed Angels somehow helps to paint a vivid image of the obstacles in the fight for women’s suffrage. In the essay “Gender at Work: The Sexual Division of Labor during World War II,” Ruth Milkman highlights the segregation between men and women at works during wartime some decades after the success of women suffrage movement. Similarly, women in the Glamour Girls of 1943 were segregated by men that they could only do the jobs temporarily and would not able to go back to work once the war over. In other words, many American women did help to claim themselves a voice by voting and giving hands in World War II but they were not fully great enough to change the public eyes about women.

    Read More

  • Women In The Nineteenth Century

    1709 Words  | 4 Pages

    towards African Americans are presented in number of works of scholars from all types of divers

    Read More

  • Flappers: The Untraditional Women of the 1920s

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Flappers Stereotypes

    1531 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... 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.

    Read More

  • Women's Role In 1920

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1920's the term flapper referred to a "new breed" of women. They wore short skirts and dresses which were straight and very loose. The arms were left bare and the waistline was dropped to the hips. By 1927 the length of the skirts had rose just below the knee which when they danced would be shown. The chests appeared to look very small and women would tape themselves to look even smaller. Bras were also sold to make them appear very small. Their hairstyles were cut very short and were known as a bob, another popular style that was later introduced was the "Eaton" or "Shingle". These styles had slicked the hair back and covered the ears with curls. Women started wearing "kiss proof" lipstick in shades of red, their eyes were ringed a dark black color, and their skin was powered to look very pale. One of the big things with the flappers were that they smoked cigarettes through long holders and drank alcohol openly in public now. They also started dating freely and danced all night long very provocatively. Jazz music was rising in population and the flappers brought it out even more. Not all women changed into becoming a flapper, yet the little numbers impacted the 1920's in a huge way.

    Read More

  • Women In The 1940's

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the early 1900’s, women who were married main jobs were to care for her family, manage their houses, and do housework. That is where the word housewife was come from. During the 1940's, women's roles and expectations in society were changing quickly and a lot. Before, women had very limited say in society. Since unemployment was so high during the Great Depression, most people were against women working because they saw it as women taking jobs from men that needed to work. Women were often stereotyped to stay home, have babies, and to be a good wife and mother. Advertisements often targeted women, showing them in the kitchen, talking with children, serving dinner, cleaning, and them with the joy of a clean house or the latest kitchen appliance.

    Read More

  • Women In The 1950's

    1715 Words  | 4 Pages

    The social perception of women has drastically changed since the 1950’s. The social role of women during the 1950’s was restrictive and repressed in many ways. Society during that time placed high importance on expectations of behavior in the way women conducted themselves in home life as well as in public. At home the wife was tasked with the role of being an obedient wife, caring mother, and homemaker. Women publicly were expected to form groups and bond over tea with a slice of cake. All the while government was pushing this idealize roll for women in a society “dominated” by men. However, during this time a percentage of women were finding their way into the work force of men. “Women were searching their places in a society led by men;

    Read More

  • The 1920s

    1825 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Freedom in America from World War I to the 1950s

    1552 Words  | 4 Pages

    Before the 1920's, life for women was very different. Women were unable to enjoy the privileges that men had and they were looked down upon and known merely as domestic workers. Now, during the 20's, life for women changed drastically. With new technology and appliances being created, women were left with a lot of free time to spare. They began seeking personal pleasure and expressing their individual and sexual freedom. Many took on the title as a "flapper;" dressing provocatively, smoking and drinking in public, and practicing birth control methods. Even better, on August 26th, 1920, Amendment 19 was passed giving women the right to vote. The 1920's truly allowed women to be looked at like human beings, rather than slaves to men like they had been in the past.

    Read More

  • The New Women of 1920's

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    During World War I, many men were drafted away from their families to fight for America. The men left an excess of jobs available for women to take. These jobs were not just an option but also a necessary responsibility to support their family, while their husbands were at war. In the absence of many men, women wore shorter skirts for functionality, learned to drive cars, and cut their hair. It is believed that because of the shortage of qualified men, women became more aggressive towards them, demonstrating behavior of a “Flapper” ("Flappers." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion”) World War 1 gave women a taste of what it was like to earn a living outside of the house and they liked the independence. When the men came back from the war, women were not so eager to give it up. Also, the war had wiped out a number of males, not only leaving more jobs available for women, but also leaving wives and...

    Read More

  • A 1920s Woman

    2068 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...hanges in women’s attitudes, actions, and morals left a great impact for women to be independent. The Flapper created a new emotional culture for women for all ages and races, as well as a new youth identity for herself. The 1920’s allowed women who never had their own voice to be reborn and to realize their roles in society. The decade will forever live on.

    Read More

  • The Women of the 1920's

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The 1920's: The Harlem Renaissance

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    For instance, new jobs became available to women between 1920 and 1930 and many immigrant women began to enjoy independence that was not available to them in the mother country. Flappers opposed traditional femininity in almost every sense, they wore their hair short, wore short dresses, downplayed their breasts, wore red lipstick (prior the 1920’s, red lipstick signaled prostitution) and smoked. Lastly, feminists were also promoting birth control and the idea was radical during this era, other social changes were as one can imagine, not very accepted by

    Read More

More about Women In The 1920's

Open Document