The Women of the 1920's

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Women of the 1920's

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.

Women before the 1920's were very different from the women of the Roarin' 20's. Gwen Hoerr Jordan stated that the ladies before the 1920's wore dresses that covered up most of their skin, had pinned up long hair, were very modest, had chaperones and had men make all of their decisions (1). "On both sides of the Atlantic they'd been struggling against the kind of rigidly sexist culture that meant a women could be arrested for smoking a cigarette while walking down a public street" (Judith 1). The women of the 1920's were independent, demanded equality and lived with bold depravity which is considered a flapper. These women'as lives were not all fun and play; women had to work, often as maids in private homes, but, throughout the decade they could branch our to other jobs. "By 1920, there were more than 650 colleges that admitted both men and women, and more than seven percent of American women between the ages of 18 and 21 attended college" (Jordan 1-2). Women before the 1920's relied on men a lot and did not get very good educations.

The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote and let them feel like they have become full citizens which resulted in becoming a flapper. In 1917, women boycotted for the right to vote in front of the White House and for this "harmless act" many were incarcerated (West 1). On August 26, 1920, after a hard-won battle, women finally had become full citizens in their own minds. The 19th Amen...

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...Women And The Politics of the 1920s." OAH Magazine of History 21.3 (2007): 22-26. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Jailer-Chamberlain, Mildred. "Flappers in Fashion The 1920s." Antiques and Collecting Magazine 108.7 (2003): 24-30. MasterFILE Elite. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Jordan, Gwen Hoerr. "Women BREAKOUT." Cobblestone 27.4 (2006): 11-13 MasterFILE Elite. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Judith, Mackrell. "THE WOMEN WHO jazzed UPA GENERATION." Daily Mail 18 May

2013: 42. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

Sharot, Stephen. "The 'New Woman', Star Personas, And Cross-Class Romance Films in 1920s America." Journal of Gender Studies 19.1 (2010): 73-86. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

West, Carol. "Honoring the 90th Birthday of The 19th Amendment," Inside Tuscan Business 20.13 (2010) 17. Regional Business News. Web. 7 May 2014.

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