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Only Yesterday Frederick Lewis Allen Summary

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Only Yesterday by Frederick Lewis Allen was a piece that examined the dynamics of the cultural shift that men and more so women had experienced during the roaring twenties. Women had lived in a world where they had little to no voice for themselves and were pressured into doing the same things that every other woman was doing by society. The new generation was not satisfied with this and set up their own set of rules. Men also became more independent and would scoff at the rules and social codes that their parents and elders had created. We see what the author explains as a revolution in manners and morals led by this new generation of adolescents. This generation would help open the door to making themselves more independent and less concerned about how society viewed them. Many important changes were made to the …show more content…

Women were seen as “the guardians of morality” ( Allen 67). They were viewed as being innocent and were not as brute and vulgar as a man was. This entailed wearing very conservative clothing that would maintain the woman’s innocence. However, in the early 1920’s woman’s skirts would now be seen as much as nine inches above the ground and eventually would only go down to the knee. Although this does not feel like a big deal today it was huge in the early 1920’s. The New York Times even commented on this saying “the American woman has her skirts far beyond any modest limitations” ( Allen 68) Just the fact that this new generation of women had shorter skirts and thinner dresses drove older generations into an uproar. On top of the skirts, there was now a more widespread use of cosmetics by adolescent girls something that was also

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Women in the 1920s began to explore, and digest the newer trends within both beauty, and fashion; within this, they were able to discover what had suited them as individuals, alongside their worth as human beings. Women within the social structure of society during past time periods were below the value of men, they were appraised as if they were plastic dolls, thrown around in the horrendous ways of the way men had treated them. With this known towards all, women were able to pave the way for

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In the 1920s there were bold, venturesome, dauntless young women who broke society's idea of women standards to change the whole American culture. The book, Flapper, by Joshua Zeitz discusses the effects that books, movies, and celebrities of this time, had on the average women, which caused this era of flappers. These young women known as flappers weren’t the only change that the post World War One era brought. Throughout the book, these changes are brought up from religion to morals, to other changes, and these changes are what would completely develop new social norms in America.

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Lloyd Armbrust reputes that the flappers abandoned the old generation’s unflattering and tight fashion with their flowing dresses with bobbed hair to display their confidence. Flappers would hang their corsets and cut their hair to illustrate how women had the ability to wear what they want and be who they please. They disapproved of the modest dresses women were expected to wear and ridded themselves of the patriarchy’s body shaming notions. Before the 1920s, women were rarely seen in bars and saloons but, as the Prohibition was implemented, Armbrust notes the flappers segregated the bars to drink freely. These women had the ability to defy what society told them and learned that being “selfless” was oppressive.

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Flappers also wore short skirts and dresses, which were considered scandalous and inappropriate for women then. The hemlines of their skirts rose above the knee, which was a shocking departure from the ankle-length skirts that had been popular in previous decades (Pruitt). Flappers often went without stockings or undergarments, further emphasizing their new sense of freedom and independence (Onion, et al.). Another notable aspect of the appearance of flappers was their bold makeup. They wore bright red lipstick, which was seen as vulgar and inappropriate for women, and they used heavy eye makeup to create a dramatic look (Spivack).

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This “new order” of culture, “reflected indulgence, and an emphasis on immediate gratification, often in the form of sex and other bodily pleasures.” Sexual experiences combined with sexual promiscuity liberated young women to own their own bodies and to reject shame for doing so. Young women flaunted their new found sexuality by the specific clothing they chose to represent the flapper

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Before the 1920s there was a certain way women were expected to look

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During 1920s, a new era of fashion came in the United States. It was the era when women first abandoned restricting fashions of the past decades and began to wear more comfortable clothes. During this time the new girl was invented - a Flapper, who wore short skirts, bobbed her hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted her disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. This is the background for the 1926 cartoon created by Will B. Johnstone. The cartoon shows a flapper pulling out words from the dictionary, that portray the qualities that flappers got rid of in 1920s, such as modesty, obedience and prudery.

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As the 18th century was coming to a close, women 's fashion took on some changes. In art and architecture, many things from ancient Greece had become fashionable and this had an effect on fashion too. Skirts became narrower and waists became higher. Gowns had less lace, frills, and ruffles. Some fashions in the early 1800 's made women look much like statues of Greek goddesses!

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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.”

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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.

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As a result of technological progress and new opportunities for Americans to consume popular culture, the 1920s can be remembered as a period of immense innovation. Despite the fact that more traditional ways of thinking existed such as feelings toward immigrants and religious fundamentalism, to a greater extent, the 1920s were characterized by roles of women and the fight for freedom and equality. Before the 1920s, roles of women were mainly traditional. In general, the duty of a woman included taking care of the children, and the household. In the 1920’s, women just began to rebel against the traditions of the society, starting with becoming Flappers.

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The fashion of the 1920 s is a reflection of peoples extravagant lifestyles and elevated thinking. It was an exciting time to be a woman because more freedoms and opportunities were available, not to mention woman gaining the right to vote . There were new patterns of clothing, bras,and smaller corsets not to mention that most of the clothing was made by the woman themselves. Through the years woman have stayed at home and not had much involvement in the society.

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Some people would say being a women in the 1920s was difficult and their right. Besides the point knowing that they grew stronger because of things like the 19th amendment, women’s roles, and fashion/style choices that still would make them incredible role models. Although there are negative people and the world is negative women stood up for what's right in the 1920s, because it's what they believed in and you should do the same

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Instead, they wore thinner dresses that uncovered part of their legs,”. Another social change that occurred was that many young women began to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol in public with

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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”.

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