Sexism In The 1920s Essay

475 Words2 Pages

The 1920s were an era of exciting social reforms and deep cultural struggles. During this decade, time became progressive for women in America. Women were allowed to experience freedom on a more personal level. This didn’t hold back all the sexism that caused quite the controversy. Women from rural parts of the country started moving to the urban areas in search of jobs. In the work force, men received much more money than women did. The women who moved to the city found themselves with little money to go out and seek entertainment.
“The “New Woman” of the 1920s was now a sexual being, too, a fun-loving individual with desires of her own” (Oakes, James). The women were attention seekers. They interested themselves in education and social …show more content…

It soon became the largest labor union group in the United States. “The American Federation of Labor initially allowed only skilled workers to join the organization. Unskilled laborers initially did not have representation under the AFL. The group also originally prohibited women, African Americans, and other racial minorities from joining the organization” (Montgomery, David). The American Federation of Labor were not supports of the working women in the 1920s. This group did not want the competition of jobs between women and men. Before this time, jobs in the medical and education fields were considered “feminine”.
The 1920s were an Era of Juxtapositions. Women as workers and the fact that they gained new identities is a juxtaposition during this time. They were finally starting to become just as equal as the men. Another example of a juxtaposition would be death and the fact that people were living as if they were dying. In WWI, there were millions of casualties. Families and friends were affected greatly. The people in the 1920s wanted to make the best of life because death was becoming more common. Having fun was now the main focus and death was