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history of the 1920s
social implications of the 1920s
social implications of the 1920s
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The 1920s marked the start of the Jazz Age, also known as the Roaring Twenties, as World War I came to a closure. It was a period of significant economic boom, cultural shifts and social changes. Prominent progress in technology brought about rapid modernization and urbanization after the war. This then resulted in many changes in people’s lifestyles. A bigger part of the population was able to enjoy higher standards of living due to higher affordability. Cultural wise, war affected the way both men and women viewed themselves and hence there was a major shift in mindsets and what was socially deemed acceptable. During the war, men were sent to the battlefield while women stayed behind and gradually entered the workforce. Women had to leave their tradition of home making behind to substitute the men’s job that were left vacant. During the war, both the men and women of that generation had broken out of society’s structure. As a result of the lengthy war, they found it hard to settle back into life before war and were also reluctant to adopt those rules again. Modernization freed their thoughts and people wanted a less rigid and more liberated life. These led to the rise of flapper girls. The term ‘flapper’ first came about in Great Britain after World War I. It was used to describe young girls in the awkward phase just before womanhood. Prior to the war, young women did not date. Instead they waited until a decent man formally paid her interest with suitable intentions. However, nearly a whole generation of young men died in the war, leaving nearly a whole generation of women without possible suitors. Thus, young women decided that they were not willing to waste their young lives away idly for spinsterhood. This was a breakthrou... ... middle of paper ... ...e constructed for comfort and beauty. Dresses still followed the styles previous eras, which were unflattering, during the first half of the 1920s. But as time progressed, dress styles also changed. Skirt hems began to rise in the 1920s, and by 1927, a flapper’s skirt ended just below the knee. Uneven hemlines were very popular. The most important feature of dresses in the 1920s was the low waistline, which went down to the hips. Coco Chanel, a big influence to flapper fashion, called this style ‘letting go of the waistline’. Layer 5 – Shoes When hemlines rose in the 1920s, this meant that shoes were more visible. Women therefore started to choose their shoes with more consideration. T-bar shoes, decorated with bows and buckles, and Mary Jane ankle strap button shoes were the most common shoes of the 1920s. Heels also became taller, some being over two inches tall.
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.
McNamee, Katilin. "The Importance of Flappers in This Time Period." Flapper Girls. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2013.
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.
Imagine walking in the streets where all other women and girls are dressed in long dresses, look modest, and have long hair with hats. Then, there is a girl with a short skirt and bobbed hair smoking a cigarette. This girl makes a statement and is critically judged by many people for dressing this way. Women during the 1920s were not to look “boyish” in any way, so when short hair and short skirt were introduced, it was seen as shameful. The girls wearing this new style were known as flappers. Their style was introduced in the early 1910s but did not spark until the 1920s. The style was said to be more comfortable, but was not appealing to the more conservative. Before the change of style, most women were dressed modestly; however, women's
Some women of the 1920s rebelled against being traditional. These women became known as flappers and impacted the post-war society. People in the 1920’s couldn’t make up their minds about flappers. Some were against them and some were with them. Therefore, some people in the 1920’s loved and idolized flappers, I on the other hand, believed that they were a disgrace to society. These women broke many rules leading young women to rebel against their families.
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.
The fashion of the 1920’s varied in style, color, and material in comparison to the modern day fashion we have today. The 1920’s, also known as the Roaring Twenties, was a time period where people went against traditions and tried different styles and ideas. Fur coats, bow pumps, tailored suits, and wool sweaters are just a small portion of what people wore in the 1920’s. However, fashion from the 1920’s can be divided into more complex branches such as social class, sports events, and occupations.
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.
In the early twentieth century, women were expected to dress modestly at all times and were predestined to be housewives. Once men were drafted into World War I, women needed a distraction such as working and providing for themselves and a way to show that they are just as strong alone and don’t need men to make decisions for them. Eventually a new breed of women emerged from society. Women that wore bobbed hair, short skirts, flamboyant dresses and had an enjoyment of jazz were considered to be “flapper”. The flapper was an in-between of adulthood and pure immaturity (NYU) . Flappers were daring, empowering and courageous. This group of women were determined to let society know that they were on a mission to steer society from the cultural norm. They believed women were just as powerful as men were and would use their voice, actions and even appearance to prove this theory. The Flapper went from being just a look to the beginning of a feminist awakening.
The lives of the young and wild women of the twenties began with a new attitude and a completely different look. The Flapper is “an emancipated young woman who embraced the new fashions and urban attitudes of the day”. Generally, one would cut their long hair down to a short, boy like bob and dye it jet black. Many wore dress that were very bright, flashy, loose fitting, and would not hang past the knee. Close fitting felt hats, many strings of beads, pumps, and skin toned stockings typically completed the look of a flapper. So many young women completely changed their lifestyles in their fight for equality. Smoking cigarettes and drinking immense amounts of alcohol in public became a normal attraction. Too many young girls were speaking openly about sexual activity, as well as other numerous activities that would have ruined their reputations, and lives not too long before. The discussion, of courtship and relationships completely and utterly offended...
Almost a century later, the flapper has become dated, but flapper-related issues have not. As long as controversies over youth culture, sex, and gender roles exists, the debate over everything flappers represented will continue in one form or another.
The 1920’s was the decade that introduce the wild side of the women youth. These young women were often middle-class and held steady jobs, but once the sun went down, their wild side emerged. They were labeled as flappers. These women were trying to break out of the habit of being entrapped in the austere standards given by society. They were young and rebellious, and wished to stray from the fundamental beliefs of how women should act and look like. Their goal was to escape the fate of the “socially silenced women in the Victorian age” (Flappers). F...
Fashion was hot off the press, distancing itself from the style of the previous age (Kalloniatis). Unlike the Gibson girl, flappers wanted to have more of a “boyish” look. They did this by cutting their hair into what was known as a “bob”: a cropped haircut that sat just under the ear. During the Jazz Age, men and women were shocked to see the young generation be so courageous, brave, and bold with their once long locks, but compared to society’s hair today with the many different haircuts and styles, the 1920s seem orthodox. In addition, they “...tightly wound their chest with strips of cloth in order to flatten it” (Rosenberg). These women decided against tight clothing and wore loose garments to move freely while they danced the Charleston. “Women wanted their clothes to reflect their freedom” (Kalloniatis). The lose clothes they wore showed more of their ankles, legs, and necks-- as if their body was an outfit accessory. Much like the automobiles being produced by Henry Ford, flappers represented the “live fast, die young” mentality of the time, their actions being often impulsive and risky. Technological developments like the automobile helped young men and women have more secret and private dates. Women not only rode in this new invention, but were daring enough to drive themselves (Rosenberg). This also was a shock to the older generation of this decade