Women's Roles In The 1920s Essay

Women's Roles in the 1920s Research Paper.

“Women's roles were constantly changing and have not stopped still to this day.” Before the 1920s men and women were thought to have two separate roles in life. People believed women should be concerned with their children, home, and religion, while the men took care of business and politics. But this all changed in the 1920s, women got the right to vote, began working, and changed their style. Altogether in the 1920s women's roles have changed drastically and so has the way men viewed women.

Women did not have the same rights as men such as the right to vote, but that change after the 19th amendment was passed on June 4, 1919. But it was not an easy road. “The period 1800-1870, then, was one of the great--and often contradictory-- changes in the position of American women. By the end of the period, the debate over “Woman's proper place” had just began” (Dumenil). It all started in 1848 when the movement for women's rights started. Several generations of women suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, and lobbied to achieve their right to vote

and seventy years later they got that right. For a long time many people seemed to fear the idea of women's right to vote, but that did not seem like the case in 1920. “Suffragists had predicted that women voters would lift the moral tone of politics” (Andrist 63). However, as the 1920s continued it became apparent that women voting was not much different than men voting. By the end of the decade women were represented local, state, and national political communities. Although women being allowed to vote was not the only drastic change so was women starting to become part of the work force.
One of the most common ways women changed their roles in the 1920s was joining the workforce. During the Great War and the huge amount of men that were deployed created the need to employ women in hospitals, factories, and offices. When the war ended the women would return home or do more traditional jobs such as teaching or shop work. “Also in the 1920s the number of women working to raised by fifty percent.”(Benner). That was a huge amount considering how many women had jobs before the 1920s. They usually didn’t work if they were married because they were still sticking to the role of being stay at home moms while the husband worked and took care of the family financially. But among the single women there was a huge increase in employment. “Women were still not getting payed near as equally as men and were expected to quit their jobs if they married or pregnant” (Benner). Although women were still not getting payed as equally it was still a huge change for the women's roles.
Women who didn’t go straight to work began going to college where they usually became teachers and nurses.

Although very few women did so because colleges were not very welcoming to women. In the 1920s, only about forty-five percent of women with husbands who worked had jobs. Many believed that women should not work if their husbands did. Working for money gave women independence and by 1930 one in four women had a job. In the 1920s “Womens occupation in lower level jobs remained constant throughout the period” (Phuong). As the years went on women moved up in their jobs. Although there were an increasing amount of women in education and employment the main goal for a woman was still to be married. Most women only worked until they were married or became pregnant. Women joining the workforce was considered a huge change and so was womens styles during this

time.
Womens style which was once very conservative became very provocative. Before the 1920s womens style were very proper and hardly any skin was shown. In the 1800s women wear undergarments; stockings, drawers, and a shirt. Then they had their foundation garments; kerchief, corset, and shoes. Then they would put on their gown and cap. They usually wore their hair in tight buns underneath the cap. Although there were some women who stuck with this styles, others changed completely in the 1920s. “The important change in the young lady of the early Twenties; opposite, was in her growing poise and awareness of her new freedom” (Andrist 62). Women started wearing short skirts and dresses that were straight and loose also known as flappers. They started cutting their hair very short in the style that's know as the bob. Women also started wearing more makeup such as red lipsticks and dark eyeshadow. “They also started dating freely and danced all night very provocatively” (Benner). Women started leaving their role as a stay at home mom and began going out more. Another big change is women started smoking and drinking in public too. When women started changing their styles is when men started to view them differently.
In the novel The Great Gatsby women were portrayed differently than men. All of the men see and treat women as objects and not as people. During Nicks and Daisies conversation during her labor Daisy tells Nick that she was happy her child was a girl and said “I hope she’ll be a fool. That’s the best thing a girl can be in this word, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 17). This quote shows the view that society had for women during this time in society. Women were viewed as a fool's but maybe if she’s a beautiful fool she'll become something or be noticed by people.
Another example that showed how a woman's role is Tom and Gatsby's fight over Daisy this showed how both men viewed her as a prize or object. Gatsby proceeded to say to Tom “She never loved you..She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me” (Fitzgerald 130). This quote makes it seem that during the 1920s women went for whatever guy had more money and that men could “buy women. During Tom and Gatsby’s fight Daisy was completely silent. Daisy had no say and the two guys spoke for her. It shows they don't care about her or what she has to say.
Throughout the novel Gatsby strives for wealth and to be successful for Daisy. Gatsby tried to win Daisy back with his money and possessions, portraying that he could buy her. Many of the men thought they needed money to impress women. It showed that women will go for guys that had money. The Great Gatsby showed how women and men do not share the same morals. Although women and men did not have the same equal rights as men and were often spoken down too, it starts to change throughout the 1920s.
So many events throughout history have changed women's roles to this day. Women's roles have changed from the way people view them on a daily basis, the jobs women have today, their style, and their right to vote. Because of all these events in history, today men and women have equal rights!!