Have you ever wondered how women were treated by society within the 1920s? Even within the workforce? Well, in these two documents, “The New Woman of the 1920s'', and “In the Home of an Italian Rag Picker VS. The Portrait of Virginia Michael Stern '', both demonstrate the differences, and contrast between two women living in completely opposite lifestyles because of society’s treatment towards them individually, as well as society’s traditional views among women and how they presented themselves. In the document, “The New Woman of the 1920s' ', a traditional woman would have had her hair down, and longer, as well as wearing a dress that would reflect both her elegance, and pureness.
This “new woman” was also considered the “flapper.” In Joshua Zeitz book, “Flapper,” this term was “the notorious character type who bobbed her hair, smoked cigarettes, drank gin, sported short skirts, and passed her evenings in steamy jazz clubs, where she danced in a shockingly immodest fashion with a revolving cast of male suitors” (Zeitz, 6). Women who chose to take on this new style, adopted new fashions, personal freedoms, and challenged the traditional housewife role of women. With the flappers’ new rebellious lifestyle being introduced, women slowly gained the rights and some of the same freedoms as men.
Picture it: New York, 1920, automobiles filled with flappers and Jazz music flooding the streets, a new age is here. Now this setting did not always occur in the country. The women would wear modest clothing, every daily task was done by hand, social standards were set no matter your race, and drinking became a serious problem despite your age or gender. However this all came to an end during the American’s Golden Age. The 1920s was a time in the country’s history where gender was defined, industries boomed, and political problems arose.
“Flappers” better known as a groups of young woman who wore skirts, had bobbed hair, frequently listened to jazz, and tended to use sexual behavior fairly often. The picture of the group of Flappers in Document L shows the specific styles of clothing and traits of the Flappers during the twentieth century(DOC L). In the twenties, the traditionalist viewed them in a negative way. If one was considered a flapper, it meant that she had many sexual encounters. Traditionalists didn’t want women to strive to be like that.
Women and Flappers had a lot of change in the 1920’s. One example is in Doc 1 it says” the flapper, according to stereotypes, is a young woman who wears short & loose dresses, uses make-up, smokes and drinks alcohol, and attends many different glamorous dance parties.” This shows that flappers used to wear many “scandalous” things. It is evident that women were stereotyped as housewives. As for Women, An example in Doc 2 says “ The right of citizens of the United States to vote
The Roaring Twenties created many new types of people. Perhaps the most famous kind of person was the Flapper Woman. Flappers were an up-and-coming breed of women who were, “Northern, urban, young, middle-class women” (Flappers). This sounds typical of women during this time, but there is more than meets the eye. Flappers were no strangers
Since early ages, mothers have always criticized the ways their daughters acted. In the 1920s criticisms were taken a step further by the flappers, who completely revolutionized the view on females. Flappers in the 1920s had an impact on women for the future. Who they were, what they wore, and what their morals were was how their impacts changed the future for all the females. “The term "flapper" originated in the 1920s and refers to the fashion trend for unfastened rubber galoshes that "flapped" when walking, an attribution reinforced by the image of the free-wheeling flapper in popular culture.”
After the 19th amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote, woman began leaving behind their traditional roles and taking on new responsibilities, fashion trends and claiming their independence.(Doc 5.The New Woman). The younger generation of ladies in the 1920s surfaced into what is know as a flapper. Flappers listened to jazz music, embraced risqué fashion trends, and took part in bold behavior, which challenged their stereotype and led to more tension. The need breed of woman wanted to be accepted by the older generation, who often judged and disagreed with their new lifestyle. (doc 6.
“Like all other women I thought that there couldn’t be much improvement in the same old task of washing dishes.” This quote by Christine Frederick in 1912 speaks so much truth about the way women lived before the 1920s. Many women had believed that they were sought out to stay at home and be the regular housewife that the American people portrayed them to be. None of them probably believed that they would soon get the privilege to vote, have a job, or to even dress a little less modestly. They would soon come to the realization that their way of life would be changed when the 1920s came rushing in.
While a majority of the “old-fashioned” people disagreed with the ways of flappers in this time, others saw it as a declaration of independance. “(…) the New Woman of the 1920s boldly asserted her right to dance, drink, smoke, and date—to work her own property, to live free of the strictures that governed her mother’s generation. (…) She flouted Victorian-era conventions and scandalized her parents. In many ways, she controlled her own destiny.”
Before the 1920's, men and women each had certain roles and expectations set by the general community of people that kept men more in control. However, through the 1920's, a new woman came out/became visible and showed women in a new light. These ladies were starting to break the rules of society and be independent. In the end, this time period consisted of women expressing and enjoying themselves by beginning careers that they were interested in, wearing clothes that were flashy and revealing, drinking, and smoking in public. The Flappers were a great inspiration to all women around America.
Since women in the 1920s fought so hard for our rights, we are now able to smoke, drink, wear makeup, wear short dresses, and do whatever they want. We can go to parties, school, work, etc. and be able to wear our cute clothes that express ourselves without being judged or thought badly of. The most familiar symbol of the “Roaring Twenties” is probably the flapper (Document four). A flapper is a young woman with bobbed hair and short skirts who drank, smoked and said what might be termed “unladylike” things, in addition to being more sexually “free” than previous generations.
Despite this, women were able to make a huge impact on America through social reforms. Many young women went against the beliefs of their parents. Prior to the Roaring Twenties, America was in a Victorian era. Women wore dresses that were floor-length, their hair was long and premarital sex was almost non-existent. During the 1920’s however, some women became what are known as “flappers”.
American Women in the Late 1800’s Were married American women in the late 1800’s expected to restrict their sphere of interest to the home and the family? In the late 1800’s women were second-class citizens. Women were expected to limit their interest to the home and family. Women were not encouraged to obtain a real education or pursue a professional career. After marriage, women did not have the right to own their own property, keep their own wages, or sign a contract.
These bars changed how women acted. Women now would drink, smoke and talk about sexual relations in public. This created the new women, or flappers. They generally had much shorter skirts, were more politically proactive, and had a good time. According to the fifteenth reading women even bobbed their hair or cut it rather short.
