Joshua Zeitz's Flappers

Joshua Zeitz, an American author and historian writes about, the contemporary woman modernizing the new decade of the twenties. Flappers were the epitome of the twenties, the pushers against social norms, and the young rambunctious women who changed the meaning of what meant to be a woman. Zeitz includes quotes from the inventor of the flapper, F.Scott Fitzgerald “‘The flapper is growing stronger than ever; she gets wilder all the time ...She is continuously seeking for something due to increased her store of experience. She still is looking for new conventions to break -for a new thrills, for sensations to add zest to life, and she is growing more and more terrible’”, (Zeitz 7). This new breed of women challenged the ideal traditional roles

A flapper had pale skin, bobbed hair, and unfeminine bodies with no breasts or hips. Zeits describes the flapper as a “a sort of teenage girl whose gawky frame and posture were “supposed to need a certain type of clothing – long, straight lines to cover her awkwardness.’” In regards to past history, or even dating a decade before the flappers, the desired body type was “a round soft body gathered together in a small waist” ("See How Much the "Perfect" Female Body Has Changed in 100 Years (It's Crazy!)")Corsets and waist defining looks was the entire craze while in the twenties is a straight A-line type body, with little to no curves and no cleavage in sight. The body of the flapper mirrors a boyish

They scoffed at the confining fashions older women in society. The flappers did not want to be controlled by societies dress constrictions, Zeits describes that the flapper’s outfits were far from the normal attire worn by Victorian women. Flappers like divas pushed boundaries, society has one idea of style while the flappers had their own. The young women showed just enough skin to make a man always want more. Nevertheless, many questioned as to why flappers dressed in such an equally sexual and nonsexual way. “‘Women have come down off the pedestal lately. They are tired of this mysterious feminine-charm stuff. Maybe it goes with independence, earning your own living and voting and all that. There was always a bit of the harem in that cover-up-your-arms-and-legs business, don’t you think?’” (Zeits 7) Arms and legs were exposed as well as the knees, which was regarded as something completely scandalous. However body parts reserved for women were hidden under the shapeless a line